Eats

The feast is over, your visitors have gone, and your refrigerator is filled to overflowing with—leftovers! The thrill of hosting Thanksgiving often gives way to the agony of anticipating days of turkey sandwiches and microwaved potatoes and gravy.

It's almost that time again—the holiday party season. Even if you've developed healthy eating habits that get you through the rest of the year, the holiday season is fraught with challenges. But you can survive parties and stress, relatives and big holiday dinners, if you find some simple advice to follow.

Don't let the kids have all the fun this Halloween. Take some time for creative play in the kitchen and add to the fun with some of these terrifyingly tasty treats. The kids can even join in the fun by helping make these ghoulish goodies to share with their friends.

It's that time again—fall is in the air, football is on the field, and tailgating abounds in Lake Country! If you're planning a stadium-centered affair, a good place to start is foodnetwork.com, where you'll find lots of tempting tailgating recipes.

Now that summer's here, it's time to pack up the picnic basket and head outside, where the combination food, family, and fellowship can create the perfect dining experience. To keep your event happy and healthy, follow these few simple food safety tips.

1. Avoid including foods that contain eggs, homemade mayonnaise, milk or other dairy products.

Running is a popular form of exercise. Almost anyone can do it almost anywhere, and you may not need to invest in anything more than a pair of good shoes.

But if you plan to start running, you'll be well advised to learn about diet and how what you eat affects your performance—and your overall health. Here, a quick surf of the Internet reveals lots of useful information.

"If it says 'Minnesota Grown,' it’s gotta be good"—and the 2011 Minnesota Grown Directory is packed with hundreds of places to find great locally grown foods. This free publication is now available, offering a convenient guide to orchards, farmers’ markets, berry farms, and garden centers where you can purchase products directly from the grower.

Now that the calendar says it's springtime, it's also time to start planning to plant. Even though Lake Country straddles USDA Hardiness Zones 3 and 4, where we can get frosts as late as May 15, you can still get an early start on your vegetable garden.

Okay, we've been good since the holidays, watching our diets and exercising regularly. So let's indulge—just a little—for Valentine's Day. After all, we've earned it—and February is Chocolate Month.

There's snow all around, weeks of winter still ahead, and you might be getting tired of all that white cold stuff. One way to beat the winter blues is to think of new ways to use ordinary things—like snow, for instance. In addition to building snowmen or shoveling it out of your way, you can use snow—yes, plain old ordinary snow—to create culinary delights.