Spring cleaning is a great excuse to wash and disinfect the kitchen.

Are you inspired to do some spring cleaning?

Spring cleaning, especially in the kitchen, can have multiple health benefits

As I looked around my office, the inspiration for this weekly column was right in front of me. Spring cleaning needs to be on my to-do list. Fortunately, my office isn’t dusty, and the carpet was vacuumed recently. However, piles of paper accumulated on my desk and table during the winter, just like the deep

Most of us enjoy peanuts as a tasty snack, but to others, they’re a deadly allergen.

Peanut allergies are serious business

Peanuts are among the foods most associated with allergic reactions and the symptoms can range from mild to severe

We have someone with a severe peanut allergy on board, so peanut-containing snacks will not be served,” the flight attendant announced. “Please refrain from eating any of your own snack foods with peanuts as an ingredient for the duration of the trip,” he continued. I had packs of peanut butter crackers and peanuts in my


Fashion, television and nutritional thinking have all changed in the past 40 years.

Looking back on nutrition trends

Though nutrition recommendations have changed over the years, moderation is still key

Where were you in 1979? I know some of my readers were adults at the time. Others were teens or children. Still others weren’t born yet. I was recently at the 40th anniversary meeting of a nutrition group that featured a keynote speaker who walked us through decades of changes in nutrition recommendations. Trust me:

While higher in sugar, brown bananas are a little easier to digest and offer slightly more antioxidants.

Going bananas for brown bananas

Even the ripeness of bananas is a valuable resource in the kitchen

Does the sight of brown spots on bananas make you uneasy or do you enjoy that intense, sweet flavour that comes from brown bananas? If eating freckled bananas right out of the fruit basket isn’t your thing, perhaps some tasty recipes using overripe bananas might pique your interest. Let’s put any fear to rest; brown

Fruits and vegetables are typically the foods most lacking in diets and often wasted in kitchens.

Keep a cap on fruit and vegetable spoilage

Fresh produce is among the foods consumers waste the most

“This would be a good followup article,” my husband said with a grin. I pondered his suggestion as I grabbed a grocery cart. A while back, I wrote about a grocery shopping trip I took with our son. I was providing a “kitchen warming” gift for him after he moved into his own place. I


This time of year many of us can’t wait for the chance to grow some of our own food.

Is anyone else anxious for spring?

Now is a good time to think about what we put on our plate and perhaps growing some of the food we eat

The woman looked in my cart, glanced up at me and smiled. “I know how you feel,” she said. I didn’t look sad or dejected, by the way. I laughed and kept adding more items to my cart. What was I loading in my cart? I’ll give you a hint: I was in a hardware

Only a kitchen thermometer can tell you for sure if a food item has been cooked safely without overcooking.

Where’s your food thermometer?

If you don’t have this essential piece of kitchen equipment, you need to get one

Hi, I’m Julie. What’s your name?” I asked the woman sitting at the table at a food safety conference. She responded with her name and place of work, and asked me where I work. “I work at North Dakota State University,” I replied. “I went to college there,” she said enthusiastically. “What was your major?”

Grapes and cheese on skewers. A fun way to serve fruit and cheese while also controlling portion size.

Snacks and lunches to go

Spring can be a busy time so try these quick and nutritious food ideas

Spring break marks the home stretch for school and the start of spring farm work. For us home cooks, this means making more lunches and snacks to go. Keeping your kids and farmers fuelled with good food will help them function at their best and prevent fatigue, constipation, energy crashes and dehydration. For the best


A light snack of the right kind at night may actually help you sleep better.

How do late-night snacks and beverages affect sleep?

Prairie Fare: Recent evidence shows that having a small bedtime snack might be good for us


I glanced at my alarm clock one morning. I was expecting the alarm would be going off any minute. I usually get up at 6 a.m. The clock said 7:24 a.m. I blinked hard and looked again. The time hadn’t changed. We had overslept. I jumped out of bed and knocked on my school-age daughter’s

Cold weather can cause your appetite to go into overdrive.

Does freezing weather increase the calories we burn?

Our environmental conditions can definitely affect our metabolism

When I arrived at work, the temperature was 14 C. At this temperature, the students on campus ordinarily would have packed away their winter coats, scarves, hats, mittens and boots. They are wearing shorts and flip-flops. Unfortunately, 14 C was the temperature in my office. The outdoor temperature was at least 35° colder, so my