Quick and Easy Meals on a Back-to-school Schedule
(ARA) - The start of a new school year means increasingly busy days are here. When your schedule suddenly fills with juggling work, soccer practice, PTA and carpool, the urge to grab dinner on the fly becomes more and more enticing. A few easy tips will help you get simple, delicious and healthy homemade meals on the table in no time.

Rice Helps the Heart, and the Wallet
(ARA) - With the rising cost of groceries, families are trying to make their hard-earned dollars go farther. Buying staples -- as opposed to manufactured mixes -- and using them in several different recipes is one way to reduce costs and yet provide a healthy meal for the entire family.

Prepare Yourself and Your Home for the Holidays
(ARA) - Holidays are the quintessential time for entertaining, but the hustle and bustle to create a welcoming home also invites a lot of stress.

Holiday Entertaining Made Easy
(ARA) - Holiday entertaining can feel overwhelming to even the most seasoned host. Between shopping, cooking, cleaning and decorating, it can feel like there's no time left to enjoy the festivities. But with a little time management and some creativity, having friends and family over to celebrate can be fun again.

Stay Safe While Preparing the Holiday Meals
(ARA) - The holiday season will be here before we know it, which means preparing for yummy feasting, the gathering of friends and family and shopping for all the food. Turkeys, hams, homemade salads and fruity desserts are all waiting to be whipped up and consumed.

Cocktails and Cuisine: A New Twist on a Classic Spirit
(ARA) - Ah, the cocktail party - it's been a classic, sophisticated entertaining staple for generations of Americans. But a sea change is taking place in how people think about cocktails. Across the country, in fine restaurants and the homes of savvy hosts, cocktails aren't going solo anymore.

Dream Weddings are Possible, Even on a Budget
(ARA) - Your wedding day is one of the most important days of your life, one you have probably spent years dreaming about. When color-coordinated linens, a beautiful outdoor tent and elaborate candelabras are your vision, don't let your budget confine your imagination.

The Super Snack Couple: Pretzels and Chocolate
(ARA) - Quick -- what packs antioxidants, nutrients like magnesium, calcium and copper, fiber and grains while satisfying sweet and salty cravings and serving as a convenient, portable treat? It's a match made in snacking heaven: the pairing of pretzels and chocolate.

Navigating the Holidays without Sacrificing Your Health
(ARA) - Family feasts, lunch with friends and baskets of goodies arriving at the office - the holidays are filled with opportunities to enjoy food, fun and the company of loved ones. But they're also rife with risk for anyone trying to eat healthy.

Easy, Portable Breakfast Ideas
(ARA) - After eight hours of sleep, our bodies feel refreshed, but dehydration and low sugar levels from hours of not eating can leave us dragging. That's why eating breakfast is such an important part of a healthy, balanced lifestyle. Even if your mornings are rushed, there are easy ways to make sure you get your breakfast and enjoy it.

Vanilla Spices Up Holiday Dishes
(ARA) - Pro chefs and casual cooks alike will soon create confections for the holiday season. The best-loved delicacies will have one of the world's most popular flavors in common -- vanilla, with its heady, aromatic taste combined with sweet, fruity and floral scents.

Add Some Spice to Your Everyday Life
(ARA) - Emeril Lagasse knows a thing or two when it comes to adding some flavor into life. Known for his signature big, bold flavors, Lagasse has mastered the art of cooking. With the launch of a new show on Planet Green, new episodes of "Emeril Live!" on Fine Living Network, and "Essence of Emeril" on Food Network, he is constantly inventing ways to spice up everyday life.

Convenient, Economical Solutions for Mealtime Madness
(ARA) - It's no secret that Americans are busy, and getting together for dinner often seems like an extraordinary task. As food prices continue to increase, families are not only taking hits to their household budgets, they are experiencing long work hours, conflicting schedules and not finding enough time to cook a meal and have dinner together.

Chocolate - a True American Tradition
(ARA) - You've probably heard the saying, "As American as baseball, mom and apple pie." Well, the original author of that famous phrase left something out. Chocolate is all-American too. So as you celebrate Thanksgiving over a meal with friends and family this year, take a moment to consider how chocolate has helped to shape the American experience for more than three centuries.

Boning Up on Bone Health this Fall Season
(ARA) - Parents work hard to arm their children with tools necessary to build a lifetime of knowledge. But children need to develop more than their minds to lead a long and healthy life - they need to develop strong bones, too.

Chef-inspired Recipes for Cooking at Home
(ARA) - The popularity of food-focused TV, devoted "foodie" bloggers and countless epicurean magazines have encouraged Americans to develop palates that desire lavish gourmet adventures. Dining out on extravagant cuisine is not always an option, but you don't have to break the bank for a haute culinary experience -- channel your inner chef and find inspiration in your own kitchen.

Simple Tips Add Sparkle to Holiday Entertaining
(ARA) - This holiday season make all your festive get-togethers sparkle by using simple and innovative ways to entertain friends and family. Being creative with items you already own and a few extras will make your parties shine.

Water Coolers - Not Just for the Office Anymore
(ARA) - Water coolers -- the machines with a bottle on top that dispense water -- are typically associated with offices. But drinking water is beneficial for everyone, not just office workers, and having a home water cooler is convenient, cost effective and environmentally friendly.

Tips to Make Your Home Sparkle for the Holidays
(ARA) - Holiday entertaining requires more than artful decorations, tasty hors d'oeuvres and some cheerful librations. Savvy hosts know that great holiday entertaining occurs in a home that sparkles as brightly as the decorations that adorn it.

Spice Up the Holiday Meal with New Food Traditions
(ARA) - When one thinks of the traditional holiday feast, visions of turkey overflowing with stuffing, rich green bean casserole and heaping helpings of mashed potatoes slathered in rich brown gravy likely come to mind. While it's hard to shake a fork at the traditional holiday feast, it's easy to get stuck in a rut after 20 years of basting good ol' Tom Turkey and cracking open the annual can of cranberry sauce.

Shopping for Affordable Organic Foods Has Never Been Easier
(ARA) - Providing a family with nutritious, well-balanced meals is hard enough for busy consumers, but in today's changing economy, affordability is also a factor. While it may seem like the cost of everything from gas to groceries is on the rise, the good news is that you can feed your entire family organic and natural foods at a lower cost without having to make an extra trip to a specialty health food store. Now you can find a variety of organic and natural products at your local supermarket, for a lot less than you might expect.

More Meat-eaters Trying Vegan Foods for Taste, Health and Safety
(ARA) - Ah, the love of the burger - it's a unifying American experience. But if the fat content in fast food burgers makes your heart burn with shame, and meat recalls have you worrying about what's in that burger you made at home, you're not alone. Is it any wonder that interest in vegan alternatives to traditional meat meals is on the rise - even among people who still consider themselves meat-eaters?

Glam, Gorgeous and Green Entertaining
(ARA) - So you've made the environmentally conscious choice to be green this year ... but with the holidays just around the corner, how will this decision impact your entertaining?

Ten Solutions for Guiltless Gobbling
(ARA) - For most Americans, Thanksgiving without turkey is like the Fourth of July without fireworks. That's why it's important not to deprive yourself during holiday meals. The holidays are full of temptations and an occasional treat is fine as long as you make sure to keep short- and long-term health goals in mind.

Healthy Habits for a Happy Family
(ARA) - If you're the parent of a toddler, whether he is in preschool, daycare, or at home, it is important to incorporate healthy habits at an early age. Between hectic work schedules, school, play dates and activities, health and nutrition can sometimes take a backseat to convenience for busy parents.

Eat Breakfast and Lose Weight
(ARA) - Whether you're skipping breakfast to save on calories or running out the door in a rush with only a cup of coffee in hand, you're not doing yourself or your health any favors. Numerous studies have shown that eating breakfast can help people lose weight while promoting heart health, cognitive performance and increased energy.

Myth Busting: Some Helpful Tips for a Nutritious Pregnancy
(ARA) - If there ever was a love/hate relationship for the record books, it's the relationship between a pregnant woman and food. On one hand, it's a time when food cravings go on overdrive, and the body shouts "More, more, more!" On the other hand, certain foods can trigger discomforts such as nausea, causing a "Less, less, less!" reaction. Here are some common myth busters about pregnancy and nutrition.

Swapping Baking Stress for Sweet Success and Memories
(ARA) - With the advent of the holiday season, spirited mothers everywhere are faced with a cornucopia of seasonal tasks, from shopping and wrapping to decorating and, perhaps the most time-intensive project of them all, holiday baking. Often a tireless effort to benefit friends and family, holiday baking -- with a little creativity -- can become the highlight of your season.

The Recipe for Cool Weather Comfort Foods
(ARA) - As the weather gets brisk and the sun sets earlier, we find ourselves yearning for food and beverages that are simple, familiar and home-made. Comfort food is as soothing as a warm sweater, but it doesn't have to be boring if you add a little creativity.

Family Dinnertime Benefits Too Tempting to Pass Up
(ARA) - The benefits of the family dinner hour are more than nutritional. Children in families who spend dinnertime together gain dietary, educational and behavioral benefits, as well.