Reflections of First Time Gardeners

Last year I was a doe-eyed eager first-time gardener. And to complicate things, I was learning to garden in the South, after spending my whole life in the Midwest. The climate and soil and waterfall were all different. I tried to learn what I could, and in my typical fashion I probably even went a bit overboard trying to learn everything about gardening. And then, at some point, I just took a

Eight things to love about Weight Watchers Yogurt

Early on in my efforts to find a life-long eating style that suited my tastes and my life tempo, I realized that I would be permanent friends with yogurt. It is smooth and creamy, with a texture that instantly reminds me of more fattening desserts, but without all the guilt. Yogurt comes in a dizzying array of flavors, so you are not likely to get completely sick of it. Yogurt has a healthy dose

The most common new year's resolutions...

Recently I asked readers to share with me their resolutions for a healthier new year. Turns out nearly all the resolutions fit into just eight categories. That sort of surprised me. And while there are some classic "eat less, exercise more" some of the frequently mentioned topics surprised me a bit.

I am forever drinking gallons of water, but I usually feel as though I'm in the minority. I

The Survivor's Kitchen: Share your stories of food, love, cancer and recovery

When someone you love is diagnosed with cancer it is a shocking, horrible thing. I will never forget when I first heard that my mother had a rare and deadly form of cancer called Synovial Cell Sarcoma. I was living in Accra, Ghana on a Fulbright. I had bought a phone card to use at the public payphone to make an international call, because in those days the cell phone revolution had not yet swept

Resolution Redux: A poignant and painful confession and atonement

If the date on my calendar is to be believed, I am only one week into 2011. That just feels patently false. Yet there it is, staring at me in black and white. Only one small week into 2011 and already the list of "to dos" and "haven't dones" looms large and staggering like something out of a Salvadore Dali painting. And so, like a good Catholic, I'm resolving to absolve myself through a public

Goals for a healthier new year, and a chance to win $100!

I'm still trying to adjust to life as a Southerner after our move to Nashville last year. One of the biggest adjustments has been the food. Southern folks LOVE their food, and rightfully so: it is delicious. But traditionally it is delicious in that fried, smothered and soaked in sausage kind of way. Which is to say, not so kind on the behind.

Visit my skinny gourmet reviews blog and read my

Food Photography Workshop at Southern Food Blogging Conference

The astonishingly gifted Jennifer Davick, food photographer for Southern Living, has put a call out to emerging food photographers! She's teaching a food photography workshop at @foodblogsouth. Interested? Contact Jennifer Davick on Facebook.

You can see more of Jennifer's food photography, and hear her take on the life photographic on her blog.