I've recently had to re-evaluate my dietary habits.. for a variety of reasons.. and have realized that my snacking habits were the worst.. so I've now found a healthy snack which is cheap, extremely healthy and tastes good! Almonds are available everywhere and here are 5 quick reasons you need to start snacking on them:

1. Almonds - and all nuts - lower cholesterol.

2. They may help you lose weight.

3. They are full of heart-healthy monounsaturated fats and vitamin E (good for heart and disease prevention)

4. They contain loads of magnesium, a mineral of which most people don't get enough.

5. Almonds lower the rise in blood sugar and insulin that happens after eating, making them a good tool in the arsenal against diabetes.

6. Protein! Don't ever again ask a vegan how he or she gets enough protein. A quarter cup of almonds contains more protein than an egg

Next time you're at your local grocery store, hit the fresh produce section and grab a package of natural whole almonds and if anyone has ideas on how to incorporate them into other meals. post them below!

"Come try this!" That's the first thing I said after taking a bite of this spinach dip. It tastes good cool or warm. It's great with tortilla chips or even bread. Only bad thing is it's quite addictive. But it has spinach in it so I think that counts for my veggie of the day!

Meals which are typically in a 'kit' Im not fond of.. but Ive got to admit to having had a LOT of Hamburger Helpers throughout my life.. (beef stroganoff is still my favorite). My daughter brought my attention to a new product line called 'Microwave Singles' within the Hamburger Helper family.. apparently lovely Betty Crocker has provided 4 products within this new line: Cheeseburger Macaroni, Cheesy Beef Taco, Cheesy Lasagna and Stroganoff. A box ($3-$4) comes with four single serving packets, so based on your appetite you can now scale up or down as necessary! I love dynamic portioning of meals and not having to deal with leftovers! My daughter only allowed me to have only two spoonfuls since this was a meal she was able to prepare herself.. funny how kids realize how good things taste when you put effort into making it! (Note: adult supervision is always required when kids prepare food) I was surprised to see that the packets came with beef.. now it's not the healthiest but it is a convenient snack when you know your kids are getting a good healthy diet.

My husband has a need to buy everything low-fat, no fat, light, low sugar, etc. Most of what he buys I can handle but I revolt when it comes to anything but regular ice cream--please see previous post on my family's devotion to ice cream. However. One time he came back with 2 half-gallons of light ice cream. One of which was Breyer's Double Churned, Extra Creamy, Light Chocolate Mocha Silk ice cream. The words creamy, chocolate and mocha were enough to make me try it. I was very impressed. If I had not read the label, my experienced taste buds would not have known the difference. I have also tried the Butter Pecan and although it wasn’t quite as good and creamy as regular Butter Pecan, it was definite a good substitute when you’re counting calories and fat--even if it's not by choice.