Nicci Micco, deputy editor of features 'EatingWell Media Group'
Eating Well Magazine - new book - Dinners at 500 Calories or Less (and they taste GOOD) Its that time of year again when we all think "maybe I should eat better or shed a few pounds" – this year make it not such a torturous chore – this book has over 100 recipes that are easy, under 500 calories and they actually taste so good you will WANT to eat this way every night!!! From the James Beard Award-winning series of cookbooks come 140 more easy, delicious recipes for a nutritious meal . A recent New York Times article proclaiming, "Calorie Counting is Back," cited everything from an upswing in low-calorie, processed-food snackpacks to New York's new requirement of chain restaurants to post calorie counts alongside menu items, not to mention a couple of bills in
Congress seeking to standardize calorie-labeling nationwide. Taking these initiatives to heart (literally), author and senior food editor Jessie Price and nutrition editor Nicci Micco, along with their test-kitchen colleagues at EatingWell, wanted to make the calorie-counting easy—which is why they've done it for us! In EATING WELL: 500-CALORIE DINNERS (Countryman Press: December 1, 2009; $24.95), Price and Micco present an easy-to-follow, seven-step plan for weight loss, debunking myths and offering smart solutions for common weight-loss challenges. They break down calorie counts of frequently used ingredients, altogether making readers better informed about the dishes they consume. And the dishes themselves? With recipes like Grilled Salmon & Summer Squash with Romesco Sauce served with new potatoes, Hawaiian Ginger-Chicken Stew with brown rice, and Greek Orzo Stuffed Peppers with roasted broccoli—along with satisfying salads and sandwiches, several hearty sides, desserts, and more—staying within 500 calories never tasted so good. "For most people, dinner is the hardest meal to plan for," says Micco. "If you can plan for a 500-calorie dinner, and keep what you eat the rest of the day to 1,000 to 1,500 calories, most people will be able to maintain a healthy weight or even lose." The menus and meals in EATING WELL: 500-CALORIE DINNERS are designed to work with most diet plans and are analyzed for nutritional values, cost, and how they match up with some of the country's most popular diet plans including Weight Watchers, South Beach and others. Says Price, "The secret to being satisfied is having food that tastes delicious and fills you up." It's that simple! And these dinners intend to do just that. James Beard Award winning Chef Shawn McClain "Sage"
Shawn McClain, chef/owner of Spring, Green Zebra and Custom House restaurants, has a knack for balancing the next trend with refinement and sensibility. A graduate of the School of Culinary Arts at Kendall College (Evanston, Il., 1990), McClain's star rose quickly in the culinary world. He broke onto the national scene while at Trio restaurant, earning four-stars from both the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times. His style came into focus at Trio – one that juxtaposes Eastern influence into Western foundations, and after seven accolade-filled years, he left to open Spring. Spring, his homage to seafood, opened to extraordinary critical and consumer success,
including McClain being selected by Esquire magazine as "Chef of the Year." In February 2002, McClain was named the "Rising Star Chef of the Year" at the inaugural Jean Banchet Awards for Culinary Excellence and Spring was nominated by the James Beard Foundation as the "Best New Restaurant" of 2001. In 2002 he was also named one of Crain's Chicago's "40 Under 40" a moniker he has clearly lived up to. In 2004, McClain was ready to take on new challenge and opened his second restaurant, Green Zebra. An immediate success, this vanguard concept brings vegetables to the center of the plate, and has been lauded by The New York Times, Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, and several other prestigious publications. Green Zebra once again emphasizes Chef McClain's insistence on the quality of ingredients and his flair for menu innovations. In 2005, McClain swung the pendulum in the opposite direction and opened Custom House. Located in a historic, boutique hotel setting in Chicago's Printer's Row; this modern interpretation of the classic steak house focuses on artisan meats and classic sides re-interpreted with McClain's unique flair. Custom house has opened to rave reviews and been awarded three stars from the Chicago Tribune and well as the Chicago Sun-Times. In 2006, McClain was honored with the "Best Chef Midwest" award from the James Beard Foundation. McClain's ability to create singular restaurants that satisfy on many levels continues to excite diners. He passionate creativity is unrelenting and he is always striving to improve his natural talent. McClain lives in the city, near both Green Zebra and Spring.Christopher Knight ("Peter Brady") LIVE from the CES in Las Vegas
Enter the "TechZones" To See The Must-Haves of 2010
He's best known for his role as Peter Brady on The Brady Bunch...but there's more to this former child star. Christopher Knight has been busy. His love of computers led him to the corporate world of hi-tech. He has served
as vice president for several companies over the years, working on million-dollar projects and even co-founded a software company. Join Christopher as he shows your viewers revolutionary new designs, software, and products that will act as a preview of our future world. You know, regardless of the state of the economy, one thing never changes: our love of new technology. We are always looking for newer, faster and smarter ways to make our lives easier. This year's Consumer Electronics Show will profile the hottest technology coming to the market. Christopher Anton Knight (born November 7, 1957; New York City, New York) is an Americanactor best known for playing Peter Brady on the 1970s series, The Brady Bunch. He has since gone on to become a successful businessman and has enjoyed a semi-resurgence in the public eye with recent TV appearances. His father, Edward Knight, is also an actor. He is married to reality TV star Adrianne Curry.Vicki Gunvalson "Real Housewives of Orange County"
The most fearless and adventurous of all the housewives, Vicki Gunvalson, 47, is one of the original ladies of "The Real Housewives of Orange County," appearing on the docu-series since season one. She owns a successful life insurance business, which viewers will see is continuing to boom with now over 600 agents under her helm. She is married to her second husband Donn Gunvalson, who is an executive at a shipping company. She has two children from a previous marriage – Michael, 23, who graduated from the University of Colorado, Boulder and Briana, 22,
who graduated from nursing school and is now working in a prestigious Orange County hospital. Both Michael and Briana live at home with Vicki and Donn. Vicki was born and raised in the Chicago area, but now lives in the gated Orange County community of Coto de Caza and is a transformed Southern California girl through and through. Her success is self-made and she doesn't tolerate people who don't work with the same intense ethic as she does. She prides herself on living life to its fullest, playing hard and taking her family on new adventures. She is famous for checking things off her personal "bucket list" (this season she goes skydiving and takes her family on a vacation to Italy). Vicki is strong, determined and a force of nature, fiercely loyal to her friends, but if someone rubs her the wrong way, then they better watch out. This season, viewers will see that Vicki has taken personal inventory on her life and is finding new wings to fly. For the first time in many, many years she is not responsible for paying school tuition. Now with some of the pressure off of her shoulders, she can truly shift her attention to her marriage to Donn, who has always been so patient and kind to his rambunctious wife. Viewers will see their marriage mature as they become far more tolerant and appreciative of one another. Vicki is famous for her enthusiastic "Woo Hoo!," which even inspired Sugar Ray's Mark McGrath to pen a single about her catchphrase. But as is too often typical for Vicki, life throws curveballs at her this season. She is crestfallen with changes in a close friendship and news that one of her children is facing a serious medical crisisJim Fiolek Exec Director - Santa Barbara County Vintner's Association
Great food to complement your favorite local wine is easy to find in Santa Barbara County. Seems like wherever there is good wine, you will find great chefs and we are lucky to have a thriving culinary environment here in Wine Country. From Pacific fusion to Italian to traditional Santa Maria Style barbecue to home-made wine country cuisine – we've got a chef and a restaurant to please just about anyone. Santa Barbara County has a history of winemaking and winegrape growing
stretching back more than 200 years to before California was a state. From the Mission Era of early California through the Ranchero and Pueblo Era, struggling through Prohibition to the beginning of the modern era of viniculuture that started in the 60's, Santa Barbara County continues to combine traditional, hand-made techniques, with the latest cutting-edge innovations in grape-growing and winemaking. Father Junipero Serra brought grapevine cuttings from Mexico in 1782 to be planted in the fertile bottoms of Sycamore Creek (in what is now known as the Milpas district of Santa Barbara). The largest mission vineyard, about 25 acres, was located in the San Jose Creek area, and an adobe winery, built nearby in 1804, is now Goleta's oldest landmark. In 1884, Justinian Caire imported grape slips from France and planted a 150-acre vineyard on Santa Cruz Island. His prize-winning wines were shipped to San Francisco for bottling. A grapevine planted in 1842 on a farm in Carpinteria grew to monstrous proportions. In fifty years, it had a trunk measuring nine feet around, an arbor covering two acres and an annual yield of ten tons of grapes!