Taco salad can be one of the most unhealthy dishes around when it comes to the fat content alone.

In the past, I avoided taco salads for that very reason. I have enough problems controlling my weight. Like most of the women in my family as soon as I hit the age of 25 my metabolism began slowing down and I began putting on weight. That coupled with a job that required me to park myself at a desk all day didn't help either.

It seemed like one of the only ways I could control my weight was to control what I put in my mouth. But I hated giving up my favorite foods, taco salad being one of those favorite foods. And we all know it's a fact that if we deny ourselves for too long what we truly desire eating, sooner or later we're going to binge.

So, I began learning how to take recipes that were not healthy and turning them into healthy ones, that way I didn't have to give up my favorite foods.

Here are some tips for turning your taco salad recipe healthy...

Even if you only cook at home occasionally, having the right cutting board can be crucial. Particularly if you like to cut up fresh vegetables or meat yourself rather than purchasing them pre-cut which can cost more money.

There are different types of cutting boards and some are better than others depending on your needs in the kitchen.

Here, we'll cover the 4 main types of kitchen cutting boards:

Plastic

Wood

Glass

Corian

...along with the pros and cons of each.

Synsepalum dulcificum is the Latin name for Miracle Fruit. The fruit was given its common name because of its effect on the taste buds. It makes everything sweet.

Producers turn it into a powder that you swirl in your mouth before eating other things. When you’ve had it there for a minute or so, the powder on your tongue makes your taste buds ultra sensitive to sugar.

So if, for example, you then ate a grapefruit, it would taste very sweet.

It only works when cool though, so doesn’t make a lot of difference to coffee or other hot drinks or foods.

Over the past weekend, Jim and I had to make a trip from the Grand Canyon to Page, Arizona to have some work done on our truck at the Ford dealership there. Because it's the closest dealership to us, and because it's about 150 miles away, we decided to go on Sunday afternoon and spend the night so we could be there when they opened.

Eating in restaurants I have never been in before is difficult because I have to know that what I eat is gluten free.

When you're traveling and you're trying to find gluten-free foods when you dine out, some cuisines are easier than others.

We wound up at a local Mexican restaurant called Fiesta Mexicana.

Have you started gardening for groceries yet?

A Bankrate article suggests that if you plant a garden, you will harvest savings. 

People used to go to places like Home Depot, Lowe's, and garden centers asking for flowers, but these days people are asking for fruit and vegetable plants. 
Source: a TV news report

It sounds like an excellent idea and I am actually quite intrigued.  I am also very afraid.  I have never grown anything edible in my life. 

So what does an amateur who wants to harvest a few fruits and vegetables for the first time do? 

Actually, I did manage to harvest a few chives a couple of summers ago in a pot on the deck, but the output was quite pitiful.  Add to that the fact that I hate bugs, and worms, and dirt, and ants, and well, most outside things. 

If you can't already tell, the idea of gardening for my own produce is quite scary.

By now you’re probably familiar with the amazing health benefits of green tea.

You may want to add green tea to your daily diet and are a bit confused about the different types of green tea available. A trip to a large tea store with its myriad of choices can be overwhelming with the many metal bins filled to the brim with tea leaves.

Here’s how to sort through the many choices of green tea available to you and pick the one that’s right for you.

There are many reasons why consumers should consider buying locally-grown produce:

For one, when you buy locally grown produce you are investing in your own community.

You are also helping small family farms compete.

Locally-grown produce is also eco-friendly.

The produce you buy at the supermarket is shipped an average of 1500 miles before it ends up on the shelf.

Food that travels so many miles cannot be called sustainable.

Plus, the taste of freshly grown local produce is impossible to beat!

Luckily, vast numbers of Americans are already getting turned on to the benefits of buying local produce.

But what do you do when the harvest is over, winter arrives, and local farms go into hibernation until spring?

With a little old fashioned ingenuity and a few free hours to kill, you can continue to enjoy the benefits of local produce all year long.

What makes this possible is a process known as home canning.