Makeover Monday: Skinny Potato Soup

We are a little over a week into 2012.  How are those New Year's resolutions going?  If losing weight was on your list of goals for the year, no doubt you have had some cravings in this last week.  Maybe you've passed on dessert a few more times than you usually do.  Maybe you've purged your house of junk food.  Maybe you've coaxed yourself off the couch and onto a treadmill in the evenings.  I bet you could use some comfort food right about now.  How about a nice hot bowl of creamy potato soup?  

Think you can't fit a creamy soup into your new diet plan?  Now you can!  I love potato soup, but I don't love all the fat that comes with its rich creaminess.  So I got rid of the fat.  But I didn't want a thin, wimpy soup.  What's a girl to do?  My big secret to cut calories without taste in this soup is veggies power.

Pinto Beans and Cheesy Cornbread

I spend a lot of reading food blogs.  Probably too much time.  I love exploring the creations of fellow cooking enthusiasts.  There are so many talented people out there who are constantly coming up with the next latest and greatest thing.  But sometimes pure and simple hits the spot.  Simple, meet beans and cornbread.

This is one of the easiest dishes you could ever make.  It is nothing fancy, but it is the kind of meal that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.  This isn't the kind of meal you put together in an instant after a long day at work.  But this is perfect for a busy Saturday.  Just put it on the stove, and forget it for a few hours while you go about your business.

Whole Wheat Rosemary Beer Bread

Everyone loves the taste of fresh baked bread.  But not everyone loves the time it takes to make fresh bread.  Quick bread to the rescue!  The hands-on time required for this beer bread is approximately 2 minutes.  And with the addition of a bit of rosemary, this bread smells wonderful, and it tastes like something that took hours.

Homemade Beef and Black Bean Tacos

Until a few years ago, I didn't make anything from scratch.  I mean anything.  Everything I ate was either from a box, can, or a pouch.  Then I found myself out of school, working 8-5, and with a precious little thing known as free time.  So I started dabbling in making food from scratch.  And I will never go back!  It turns out that food made from scratch usually isn't that time consuming, it tastes better, and it comes without a list of chemicals! 

One of my from-a-pouch meals used to be tacos.  I have always loved tacos, but since I started making my own seasoning mix, I love tacos even more!  I developed my recipe by picking and choosing things I liked from other recipes, and some experimenting.  I just make a batch of this seasoning, store it in an old chili powder bottle with the recipe written on it, and when I get that taco craving, I just whip some up.  Easy!  

Health Tips: How to Stick to Your New Year’s Resolution

As we take down the 2011 calendars and put up the shiny new 2012 calendars, many of us are thinking about the positive changes we would like to make in the new year.  And after the onslaught of sugary, rich, holiday foods, more than a few folks are thinking about eating healthier.  While we are all ripe enthusiasm now, that excitement seems to quickly fade as January gives way to February.  

The fact is that losing weight is tough.  So how do you make that New Year’s resolution last longer than a Kardashian marriage?  Here are a few tips that can help you stick with your good intentions in 2012: