Looking for a healthful vegetable side dish? Try the grill-steam process! Combining the hot sear of a grill with steam's gentle touch is a perfect -- and speedy -- way to add pep to any vegetable side dish.

Between celiac disease, gluten sensitivity, and dietary choices, it seems like everyone knows at least a few people who are no longer eating gluten. However, just because you or a family member has given up gluten doesn't mean that you have to miss out on nutrients. Today I'd like to share a guide to a few of my favorite healthful, vitamin- and mineral-rich foods, all of which are free of gluten...

High in vital trace minerals and unique antioxidants, oats can lower cholesterol levels and help you reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. They're also naturally gluten-free! What's not to love? Let's take a closer look at these nutrient powerhouses.

Here's the last installment of the Dietary Guidelines Nutrients of Concern series. Since the guidelines advise people to "Choose foods that provide more potassium, dietary fiber, calcium, and vitamin D, which are nutrients of concern in American diets," we've focused on discussing one of these nutrients per week. This week, we're going to talk about vitamin D...

Are you ready for a tasty and warming winter soup? This one comes together in just 30 minutes! It's also loaded with healthful vegetables and tasty spices...

If Americans stick with a diet that is far lower in fatty animal products and cholesterol and composed largely of whole grains, vegetables, and fruits, then they will reduce the inflammation and other chemical changes that promote colon cancer.

I just got back from the USDA MyPlate National Partners in Person meeting, and boy did I learn a lot! Much of the discussion revolved around consumers — how to communicate key health messages to them in a way that would resonate, how to keep them engaged in healthful habits, etc. I thought that you mind find this information as useful as I did, so here are my notes from those discussions…

What is potassium? Why is it a nutrient of concern? How can people increase their potassium intake? What impact does potassium have on health? Get the answers to all these questions -- and more! -- in today's post!

I just got back from the 2015 USDA MyPlate National Partners in Person Meeting and I have so much to tell you!

One of the things I love about MyPlate is its practicality. Rather than asking you to imagine your daily eating habits as a pyramid, MyPlate simply rallies its viewers to make their plates look like its own image: a balanced plate. With half the plate devoted to fruits and vegetables, and the rest divided between protein and whole grains (with some nonfat dairy on the side), MyPlate presents a healthful approach to any meal or snack...

Today, I want to talk about sweetening drinks, both hot and cold. There’s so much more to the story than sugar! Here are some of my favorite ways to sweeten drinks…

Try this tasty and sweet smoothie in your next cooking demonstration -- it couldn't be easier or more versatile!

Most Americans simply aren’t getting enough of certain vital nutrients, including calcium, dietary fiber, potassium, and vitamin D. Let's start with a closer look at calcium -- what it is, where to get it, what your body does with it, and what happens when you don't get enough...

What do you know about salt substitutes? My team and I have exhaustively researched 10 different varieties of salt and salt substitutes, and we've compiled the highlights of what we found into a handy-dandy chart.

Want to see even more information about 15 different salts and salt substitutes? Check out this brand-new chart!

Happy Health Education Week! Here are some of the top health education resources that my team and I have created over the years. Since we're here to help you look your very best, right now, I thought I would collect our favorite posts on popular health topics and share them in one handy place! So here you go -- our top blog posts about heart health, diabetes, cancer, nutrition, and physical activity. Which ones will make your life easier?

There are lots of ways to cut down on sodium. Here are a few tried-and-tested approaches to reducing the salt in your diet...

What do you know about citrus? What do your clients know? Today I want to offer a closer look at the basics of citrus -- what types of citrus fruits there are, what nutrients they contain, what impact on health they can have, and ways to incorporate them into a healthful eating pattern. There's even a new handout, if you know where to look!