Say whaaaat? Look, my “healthy” snacks barely make it under a hundred calories. How in the world can my dinner top that?

Introducing one of my absolute favorite foods – spaghetti squash. Now, this gourd was introduced to me about a year ago, but I never actually bought into it. I thought it was just another one of those healthy food items that tasted really bland and would just be a phase. Boy, was I wrong!

It’s called spaghetti squash because it is the perfect substitute for pasta. It has a medium-heavy texture that looks like spaghetti and tastes a little sweet. Want to know the best part? Here are the nutrition facts for one cup of this delicious squash:

42 calories, 0g fat, 10g carbs, 2g fiber, and 1g protein

Ummm, amazing! It tastes great paired with marinara sauce and turkey meatballs. Due to my crazy work out schedule, I have to eat more than one cup (which is a huge splurge, I know) but it’s so fulfilling. If you ever have a food cheat day, this will easily put you back on track.

I’m not a homemaker, so anything that involves lots of preparing and waiting is not my thing. Fortunately, it’s super easy to make this. Here’s the quick and easy!

1. Purchase spaghetti squash. It’s only $2.99 at Trader Joe’s and I think it turns out to be a similar price at other supermarkets.

2. Cut the squash in half or poke 10 holes in it. If you can get it to cut open, it will look like a pumpkin inside. Simply pull out all of the seeds.

3. MICROWAVE it! I know, right? It’s like making cup of noodles. Microwave the whole squash on high for about 15-17 minutes (depending on how big the squash is). You can also steam or bake it, but it takes much longer.

4. Take it out of the microwave. Use a fork to scrape the inside of the squash. It will come out in strands, just like spaghetti! So fun. It’ll be extremely hot, so just be careful.

5. Serve with marinara sauce, meatballs or sauce up your own creation.

So easy, right? I’m not skipping any steps – I promise! Try your miracle 100-calorie dinner and let me know what you think. I’m so addicted to it and I hope you love it too. Remember, a healthy body is comprised of 80% nutrition and 20% fitness. Fill your body with only the best.

I’m happy to share – after all, that is what this column is all about – so check them out!

1. Make a schedule for yourself.

This is really the most basic time-management tool. I use a daily planner and I write a new to-do list for each day. Then I cross things out as I finish them. For longer-term projects, I write down the due date and then I write down what I need to accomplish on the project on a daily or weekly basis. You can do whatever works for you—color-code your schedule, write it on a white board, use an electronic calendar, etc.

2. Consolidate activities.

I used to go to the bank every time I got a new check, which sometimes meant I’d be going several times per week. I wasn’t using that money immediately after depositing it, so there was no reason for me to go so often. Now, I only go to the bank once every two weeks. It saves me tons of time, and I just keep all my checks together until I go on my biweekly trip.

Think about the things you do often—run errands, cook, do homework—and then think about whether you can consolidate any of them. Maybe it would help you to cook several huge batches of food on weekends and then freeze them in meal-sized portions to use throughout the week. Can you do a quick math assignment while you’re riding the subway or waiting on the phone for a customer-service rep? If so, you’ll have more free time later.

3. Eliminate activities.

There are probably a few hobbies you have that you really enjoy doing, and a few things you do that you may consider a slight waste of time. I spend way too much time surfing the Internet, so if I’m going to write a big article or work on a portion of my book, I’ll disable my wireless connection. If you feel like you watch too much TV, you might want to drop a couple of shows from your repertoire and catch up on episodes online later (but only if you have extra time). Consider your biggest time-wasters (Bromance, anyone?), and get rid of them! You’ll be amazed at how your week opens up if you downgrade this way.

I know many of you guys are multitasking mavens, so please feel free to share more tips in the comments!

[Image courtesy of blogs.theage.com.]

[I used to think I knew everything…until I found myself stranded in the middle of adulthood with no map and no one to guide me when I got lost. I have learned a lot since then - from how to balance a checkbook to how to sew on a button - and will share my wisdom with you.

Every Monday I will be back to teach you how to do something useful, even if it also happens to be completely random. Because, hey, you never know when you just might need to know how to change a tire…or mix a perfect martini.]

It’s that time of year again—a chill is in the air, you’ll freeze without your scarf, and a salad just isn’t going to cut it for dinner anymore. You need heartiness, and what better way to get it than from soup?

But hold the phone. I’m not talking about Chicken and Stars here. Ohhhh, no. I’m talking about real soup; soup that you make with fresh vegetables and your hands (although please refrain from putting your actual hands in the soup).

Homemade soup is not just something your grandmother makes. It’s a very simple equation: ingredients + broth + flavor = soup. Each of these components can be mixed and matched to create tons of awesome soups, so here are some basics to get you started.

Ingredients

My favorite kind of soup to make is a variety that I affectionately deem “hobo soup”—it involves chopping up whatever I have in the fridge and tossing it in a big pot with some broth. If you are slightly more refined (which you probably are), you may want to decide on a kind of soup before you start making it. Get together the things you need—broccoli and cheese for cream of broccoli soup, pasta and carrots and celery and chicken for chicken noodle, flour for dumpling soup, etc. Basic soup recipes are available online, so when in doubt, Google. Get all your ingredients together and prepare them by chopping, sifting, and sorting. If you want more flavor to your soup, you can sauté certain ingredients (such as onions or celery) before adding broth.

Broth

The broth is the important base of your soup. You could also call it the stock. If you have leftover turkey stock from Thanksgiving, don’t throw it away—use it to make soup. If you don’t have any stock, don’t worry—you can use canned vegetable broth or chicken/beef/whatever broth. If you’re making a creamy soup, use milk as your broth. And in a real pinch, you can use water. Figure that you need between 1 and 1 ½ cups of broth for each serving of soup. When all of your ingredients are prepared, pour broth in your pot and add the ingredients. Simmer covered or uncovered for at least 20 minutes or until all of the ingredients are fully cooked and at the consistency you want. If you’d like a thick broth, whisk together 2 tablespoons of broth with 1 tablespoon of flour, and add that mixture to your broth.

Flavor

Much of your soup’s flavor will come from the broth, but it’s nice to add a little something extra. Italian Wedding soup will include basil, for example, and you may want to add cheese to a cream soup or a little bit of cumin to kick up a pumpkin soup. Stick with standbys for the first few times you make your own soup, but after that, you should have a good idea of how you can branch out and still end up with a delicious flavor every time.

All right. After writing that, I’m going to go dig into my leftover corn chowder (homemade soup keeps really well, by the way). I’ll share my recipe if you guys will share yours. What’s your favorite kind of homemade soup?

[Image courtesy of whatwereeating.com.]

My tongue ruminated on memories of peanut sauce and bean sprouts, quickly tasting each dish with which it was presented and re-shelving the phantom platter for a later craving. When my eyes came to rest on the Spicy Green Curry, I knew my mouth had found what it wanted.

Something in me was telling me that this was the dish I should order, despite the warning label under the menu description advertising this as a “very spicy dish.” Or maybe precisely because of that label.

As I barreled my way through that burning sensation that was my breakfast, I wondered why on Earth I was doing this to myself. There was so much spice that I could barely taste anything else. There were hints of coconut milk here, and eggplant there, but mostly my mouth was a wasteland of curry on fire.

That got me thinking about my whole relationship with spicy food. I can’t say that I really like how it tastes. So why do I love eating it?

As a child, if I thought I saw even one speck of pepper in a dish, I wouldn’t eat it. I hated hot food. It burned. It hurt. I had good common sense. Except there was always this nagging part of me that said, “You are Jamaican. You are supposed to like spicy food.”

Nowadays, telling me that an item is superspicy is like dangling catnip in front of a cat. I have gulped chunks of wasabi, gobbled whole jalapeno peppers, and guzzled teaspoons of hot sauce on request. I make a great show of being unaffected by the fact that my head is imploding.

I think it goes along with some unrequited need for a rite of passage. I put it right up there with my extra piercings, substance experimentation, and tattoos. There is something about spicy food that says, “I am no longer a child,” even if it doesn’t quite say, “I am an adult.” I am subjecting myself to the pain simply to prove that I can do it.

Don’t we all have our little tests of self-mutilation? Like stalking around on stilettos for the entire day, or going through cramps with no Midol, or running the entire five miles even though the last six months have been spent lazily on the couch?

However much I have to suffer, it doesn’t look like I’m going to stop eating spicy foods anytime soon. The other day I ate half a block of cheese full of jabanero peppers. Yum.

If you’re feeling adventurous (or slightly masochistic), here’s a recipe for some Jerk Chicken that will scorch your tastebuds.

[photo from img.timeinc.net]

A recent issue of Shape magazine suggested eating vegetarian once a week, and I was like, “Heyyy I already do that! I rock!” They also featured a mouthwatering recipe for vegetarian paella. That’s not going to happen. So, whether you’re a carnivore or a herbivore, trying to shave some calories from your diet, or too busy to slave over a hot stove, I give you vegetarian meals in five minutes or less. All you need is a microwave.

1. Boca Meatless Chili

You need:

–Boca Meatless Chili, from the freezer section of your grocery store.

–2 slices of whole wheat bread

*Zap the chili for three minutes, stir, and nuke for one more minute.

*While the chili is in the microwave, pop the whole wheat bread in the toaster.

*Cut the whole wheat toast in quarters, top with tasty chili, and enjoy!

The vegetarian chili is spicy enough to satisfy your taste buds, and for you South Beach Dieters out there, it works for phases 2 and 3. Plus, it packs 20 grams of protein for extra energy. One package is only ONE measly gram of fat and 150 calories, so even with the whole wheat toast, you’re looking at 3-5 grams of fat and just over 300 calories for a totally satisfying meal.

2. Garden Burger Buffalo Wrap

You need:

–One Garden Burger brand veggie patty, from the freezer section

–A low-carb tortilla wrap (I recommend a wheat or spinach flavor)

–One slice Kraft 2% milk Colby-Jack cheese

–Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce

–Lettuce and tomato

*Throw the Garden Burger in the microwave for 30-35 seconds on each side. I usually top the patty with cheese when there’s about 15 seconds left to cook so it gets all melty and delicious.

*Pour a thin line of Red Hot sauce down the center of your tortilla.

*Slice the Garden Burger and cheese into strips and arrange it evenly on the tortilla so you’ll be able to roll it up.

*Top with lettuce and tomato, wrap it up, and prepare yourself for some fiery goodness.

Personally, I am obsessed with Garden Burgers, but other brands, such as Boca and Morningstar Farms also make pretty good vegetarian burgers. The Garden Burger brand packs only 100 calories and 3.5 grams of fat. The cool Colby-Jack cheese (5 grams fat, 50 calories) pairs well with Frank’s spicy sauce, which won’t add fat or calories to the sandwich. Bonus: spicy foods rev your metabolism!

3. Steamed Vegetable Plate

You need:

–One Dole Vegetables Microwave-Ready Bag, from the produce section

–Kraft 2% milk shredded mozzarella cheese

–Bertolli Vodka Sauce

*Pierce holes in the bag of veggies, and microwave for 3-5 minutes.

*While the veggies are “steaming,” heat the vodka sauce on the stove (Okay, I know I said you only need a microwave. If you don’t have a stove, you can heat the sauce in the micro while the veggies are cooling).

*Mix vegetables and sauce together, and sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top. The hot vegetables will melt the cheese.

Since discovering these handy steam-in-a-microwave packs, I’ve cut a LOT of pasta out of my life, which also happens to cut carbs. The vodka sauce is a bit higher in fat than I usually cook with (10 grams of fat for half a cup), but it’s an indulgence I’m willing to allow. The melted mozz is a great finish. For a lower-fat option, use regular marinara sauce.

There are plenty of meat-free products out there that are tasty, convenient, and healthy, so play around with your cooking, er, microwaving. Boca Chik’N patties also make for a mean sandwich, and if you find yourself a fan of Garden Burgers, you can sub them for meat in just about any recipe– I like to top salads with meatless patties, on occasion.

Plus, get your friends on the vegetarian bandwagon by making Boca Meatless Chili nachos, with Baked! Tostitos and Kraft 2% milk Mexican Cheese blend. Congratulate yourself on cutting calories by drinking an ice cold, calorie-packed margarita!

You might think a blender is essential for successful smoothie making, but I’ve used my food processor on countless occasions and been just fine. Until recently, I believed that the Perfect Smoothie was strawberry-banana, with a thick (though not lumpy) texture and a little yogurt and milk thrown in for good measure.

Two days ago, though, I discovered a new Perfect Smoothie, and I am now convinced that nothing can beat it. It is criminal that I should keep this new recipe to myself, so I am sharing it with CC’s readership so that every one of you can also make yourselves delirious with enjoyment over this particular smoothie.

It’s easy: you just need one banana, half a mango (peeled and roughly chopped), a little over half a cup of milk, a tablespoon of heavy cream, half a teaspoon of sugar, and one ice cube.

You might need to crush the ice cube before you throw it in the blender/food processor, because a full cube of ice can sometimes make the blades in those devices go haywire. Once you have smaller pieces of ice, though, throw them in the blender along with everything else, and go crazy. I like to puree the smoothie until it’s really smooth, but you can leave it a little chunkier if you want.

Pure bliss, I swear. Pick up a mango next time you go to the store, and you can thank me later.

For a two-person dish, you need ¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp pepper, ½ tsp rosemary (fresh is best, but dried works, too), one small butternut squash, cooking spray, 2-3 slices of bacon, ½ c onions or shallots, 8 oz uncooked pasta, 2 tablespoons flour, 1 c milk, and ½ c shredded parmesan or asiago cheese.

First, heat the oven to 425. Prepare your butternut squash by halving it lengthwise and scooping out the seeds with a spoon.

Coat a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and cooking spray, then lay the squash halves, cut side up, on the sheet. Sprinkle them with the salt, the pepper, and the rosemary. Bake the squash for an hour. Don’t turn off the oven when it’s done, because you’ll need it again soon.

If you’re short on time, you can also peel and cube the squash before you bake it. You want cubes of about 1” all around. Scatter the cubes on the baking sheet, coat with the above mixture, and cook for 30-45 minutes.

When the squash is done, it should be soft and dark, like this:

While you wait for it to cool, chop the onions or shallots…

… and fry the bacon.

Sauté the onions in the bacon grease (you can drain a little bit of grease off if there’s really a lot in the pan). Keep the onions cooking for 5-8 minutes, until they soften and start to brown.

Also, put your pasta on to boil. Cook it as you normally would, until it’s soft. While the onions are browning, peel and chop your squash (if you didn’t before you put it in the oven). It should be soft… if it isn’t, you may need to cook it for a few more minutes.

Crumble the bacon slices into small pieces, and mix them in a bowl with the squash cubes and browned onions.

When your pasta is done cooking, drain it.

Whisk your 2 tablespoons of flour and cup of milk together in a bowl, then put them in a pot over low heat. Continue whisking for 1-2 minutes or until the mixture thickens. You’ll need to stir it often if not constantly.

Remove your milk mixture from the heat and add your cheese, stirring until it melts. Put the pasta in the pot and stir that in, too, until everything is combined.

Next, find a 1-quart baking dish. Coat it lightly with cooking spray, then pour the pasta mixture into the bottom of it. Spoon the squash mixture on top, and divide it evenly through the dish. Finally, sprinkle your masterpiece with cheese.

Bake until the cheese on top is melted, about 10-15 minutes, and serve to people you like a lot (including yourself, obviously). Enjoy!

Ha, ha, ha. I’m laughing all the way to the grocery store.

No, seriously, though, that’s a lot of vegetables. And it’s not that I don’t like vegetables—it’s just that I don’t really eat them. I can eat about ten zillion servings of fruit per day, but when it comes to vegetables… I feel like a small child sometimes because I have to sneak them into my own food. I mean, who does that?

Maybe you will after trying this awesome homemade mac and cheese.

To make enough for just you, you need 1-2 chopped carrots, a few broccoli florets (if you don’t like broccoli, you can use cauliflower), enough dry pasta for yourself (4-6 oz.), about ½ cup cheese (any kind you like, or you can mix kinds), 1 tablespoon of flour, ½ cup milk, and 1-2 cups chicken broth (optional).

First, boil the pasta in the chicken broth. If you don’t have any chicken broth, use water instead.

Next, chop the broccoli and carrots finely (or toss them in a food processor, and pulse them a few times). When the pasta has 4-5 minutes left to cook, pour the vegetables in the pot to join the pasta.

While the pasta and vegetables are getting tender, mix the milk and flour together.

Drain the pasta if you used water, or don’t if you used chicken broth (just make sure there’s not so much broth in the pan that it’s overwhelming the pasta). Add the milk and flour mixture.

Cook the pasta, veggies, and milk mixture for another minute or so, until it thickens and begins to bubble. Turn off the heat, and add the cheese. Stir until it’s melted, then serve yourself up some veggie mac and cheese!

At least once a week, I find myself with less than a half-hour window to make and eat dinner. I guess I could just grab a sandwich or some Chinese takeout or something, but I have this annoying insistence that most of what I eat taste delicious and have recognizable ingredients. Yeah, I know, I’m a tough customer.

Since there’s no way I’d have time on those days to do more than punch a few buttons on the microwave or set the dial on the oven, I rely on three staple dinners that I can freeze and pop out of the freezer whenever I want. I usually make giant batches of each and then separate them into single portions that I can easily grab from the icicles.

1. Tamales. I don’t want to lie; tamales are a lot of work to make, but it’s worth it when you can spend half a day making them, eat a few fresh, then freeze all the rest to enjoy in minutes whenever you feel like it. Plus, if you use this great recipe, you won’t have to boil the meat as long as they recommend if you halve or quarter the total amounts of everything.

2. Pizza dough. True, pizza dough by itself isn’t much of a meal. But the things you can do with it are wondrous. If I’m crunched for time, I thaw out a single portion of dough and bake a mini-pizza or wrap it around ingredients to form a calzone:

Until you’ve tried it, you won’t know just how awesome it is. Try making a big batch of dough using this recipe from Epicurious.

3. Veggie burgers. You can always buy a package of Boca burgers and snatch one from the freezer when you’re running late, but it’s so much more delicious and worthwhile to make your own. This recipe for black bean burgers is fabulous, and they pack an amazing amount of nutrition and texture.

Got any other simple ideas that can sit in the freezer and make the perfect meal? Share your yummy knowledge with the world!

Here’s what you need: enough dry pasta (of any kind) for two people, about a tablespoon of olive oil, 1 celery stalk, 1 carrot, 2 garlic cloves, half an onion, about ¼ or 1/3 lb. ground beef or ground turkey, about 1/3 cup milk, 2-3 plum tomatoes, ½ teaspoon dry oregano, ½ teaspoon dry basil, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, and a couple tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese (optional).

First, chop the celery, carrot, onion, garlic, and tomatoes. That is, by far, the most work in the recipe. Everything else is smooth sailing.

Swirl the olive oil in a pan and put it on low-medium heat. Add everything you just chopped except the tomatoes. Sauté for about 5 minutes.

Crumble the ground beef into the mix and stir for about a minute. Then add the milk, and cook the mixture for another 2 minutes. Most of the milk will evaporate, which is what you want to happen.

After that, add the tomatoes.

Then add the oregano, basil, salt, and pepper.

It should be starting to smell great in your kitchen right about now. Turn the heat down to low and continue simmering the sauce for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, you can cook and drain your pasta.

When time’s up, pour the sauce on your pasta, top with cheese if you like, and enjoy!