Pretzels are just one of the many seemingly "healthful" foods that really aren't! (Photo credit: glutino.com)

Whether because of deceptive language of manufacturers (i.e. “all natural”) or simply because of simple misconceptions of food, many people do not realize that some healthful foods are really not as nutritious as they seem. You may want to think twice next time you’re contemplating reaching for these seemingly healthful foods:

Muffins. Muffins may seem like a wholesome breakfast, but they are really just giant unfrosted cupcakes. Even “healthier” muffins like bran muffins can contain four hundred calories, not to mention large amounts of sugar. You’re better off sticking with eggs and toast.

Smoothies. Homemade smoothies aren’t nearly as bad as the ones sold at stores like Jamba Juice. Jamba Juice smoothies are said to contain large servings of fruit, but along with that comes syrups, sugar, and other not-so-good-for-you additives.

Nutrition bars. Nutrition bars are often packed with preservatives, artificial ingredients, and don’t actually contain as much healthy nutrients (like fiber and protein) than you would think. Most nutrition bars also have calorie counts similar to candy bars.

Pretzels. They’re better for you than chips, but only in the number of calories. One serving of pretzels can contain as much as a quarter of a person’s daily sodium allowance. Eat in moderation!

Sushi. Fish is good for you, but it’s not exactly nutritious or low in calories when rolled with other condiments such as mayonnaise and cream cheese. Raw fish, or sashimi, is a good choice to keep calories and sodium down (just watch the soy sauce!).

Some of these foods can be made at home and adding the ingredients yourself will make you more aware of what you are consuming. The foods lists above are not necessarily “bad” for you, but if you are looking for a healthy snack, look elsewhere.

Are you fasting for the Lenten season and find yourself craving some warm chicken noodle soup or Vietnamese pho and don’t know where to turn for your soup fix? You don’t need meat to enjoy a hearty soup on a cold, blustery day. Here’s a vegetarian chili soup recipe that will satisfy your hunger and your taste buds!

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 3/4 cup chopped carrots
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 3/4 cup chopped celery
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 1/2 cups chopped fresh mushrooms
• 1 (28 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes with liquid, chopped
• 1 (19 ounce) can kidney beans with liquid
• 1 (11 ounce) can whole kernel corn, undrained
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Saute onions, carrots, and garlic until tender. Stir in green pepper, red pepper, celery, and chili powder. Cook until vegetables are tender, about 6 minutes.

2. Stir in mushrooms, and cook 4 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, kidney beans, and corn. Season with cumin, oregano, and basil. Bring to a boil, and reduce heat to medium. Cover, and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

This recipe serves six people, please visit http://allrecipes.com to view serving sizes and amount of ingredients when adjusted. Enjoy your chili!

Everyday, we run home from school and go straight to our refrigerators or cabinets for snacks. We gorge voraciously on unhealthy snacks filled with fat, high-fructose corn syrup, and calories. These foods might make your taste buds happy, but junk food can definitely damage your body in the long run. Instead of eating snacks high in calories, try to find foods with fewer calories and less fat—low-calorie snacks can taste just as good as the high-calorie ones. To see the nutrition facts of any snack, be sure to read the label on the back and pay attention to the ingredients. Here are some common snacks that can be traded in for a healthier version:

Haagen Daz to Breyers Ice cream: Although Haagen Daz manufactures some of the tastiest frozen delicacies, it contains a shocking 270 calories for one cup of vanilla ice cream. It has 18 grams of fat with 11 grams of saturated fat. Instead, try trading your Haagen Daz ice cream in for Breyers ice cream, which contains only 130 calories per cup of ice cream. Breyers ice cream also contains only 7 grams of fat, which is less than half of the fat in Haagen Daz
ice cream. Making this simple change help you stay healthy while treating yourself to a frozen treat.

Lays to Popped Chips: Lays, Cheetos, Doritos—these are all the well-known chips that we all chow-down on during super bowl games, movies, and television. The delicious taste of these perfect chips may be blocking you from seeing the nutrition facts, but the truth is, these chips are unhealthy, and there is definitely a better path to satisfy chip cravings. Doritos contain about 140 calories for 11 chips; but of course, no one counts their chips when a big bag of fatty goodness is in front of you. Cheetos contain 160 calories for 21 cheetos, but when eating Cheetos, you are eating more than just sticks of fat, you are eating fake cheese. Lays may be giving people the hoax that they are “healthy”, but it contains 150 calories for one ounce of chips. Instead, try eating pop chips to cut down your daily caloric intake-pop chips contain only 120 calories for 20 chips. Also, another tip is to use portions sizes when eating chips.

Candy bars to Granola Bars: Just thinking about a beautifully, chocolate-coated snickers bar makes you want to drool, but that bar of heaven is actually a bar of fat. Instead of eating candy bars that contain high amounts of sugar, try eating granola bars such as fiber-one bars, nutri-grain bars, and chewy oat bars.

Soda to Juice:We all love to pop open a can of soda, but there are other ways to satisfy your craving for sugary water. Try drinking juices and teas, such as ice teas and organic juices that contain fewer calories.

Nothing beats baking homemade cookies on Valentine’s Day to share with friends and family. Here is a simple but delicious recipe for short bread cookies, cut into heart shapes and dipped into chocolate. Short bread cookies are buttery, flakey cookies that are perfect with a cup of tea!

Equipment:

1)      Cookie tray

2)     Cooling rack (optional)

3)     A rolling pin

4)     Heart shaped cookie cutter

5)     Electric mixer or whisk

6)     Bowls and spoons used for mixing the ingredients

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup powdered (confectioners or icing) sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup of chocolate chips (used for decorating)

Materials: Wrapping Cookies

1)  Plastic wrap

2) Containers or boxes

3) Decorative ribbon

4) Scissors

Directions: Making the Cookies

1. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl first: The 2 cups of all-purpose flour, ¼ tsp of salt, and ½ cup of powdered sugar
2. Cream the 2 sticks of butter with an electric mixer or with a whisk
3. Slowly add the combined dry ingredients with the 2 sticks of creamed butter
4. After, add 1 tsp of vanilla extract
5. The batter should start clumping into a dough-like mixture. Once the batter becomes dough, harden the batter by putting the cookie dough in the refrigerator for 3 hrs or longer ( It is easier to cut out heart shapes from firm cookie dough)
6. After 3 hrs (or longer) take out the dough and roll it out with a rolling pin
7. Take your cookie cutter and cut out heart shape cookies
8. Place the heart shape cut-outs on a cookie tray and bake them in a 350̊ oven for 15 minutes

Directions: Dipping the cookies in chocolate

1. Melt the chocolate chips by using a double boiler or a microwave
2. Once the chocolate is melted, wait for it too cool
3. Take your baked heart cookies and dip the edge into the chocolate, giving the cookie a nice finishing touch

Directions: Dressing up your cookies for gift-giving

1. Find a box or container that can hold your cookies
2. Lay out a piece of plastic wrap and place the cookies in a container in the middle of the plastic wrap
3. Fold the sides of the plastic wrap up, scrunching the top
4. Use decorative ribbon to fasten the scrunched top part of the plastic wrap

February is the cusp of spring. Soon, the supermarket will be filled with domestic fruits and vegetables once again. Follow this list to be prepared for what is coming.

Apricots
With their sweet flavor and fleshy skin, apricots are fresh and abundant in the spring. Look for a smooth, blemish-free peel and a sweet fragrance to the nose. They are filled with vitamin C.

Asparagus
Sweet and crisp when cooked perfectly, asparagus is abundant with vitamin K. The tops should be smooth and compact with a bright green façade.

Avocado
The perfect avocado is buttery and creamy, holding a large amount of good fats. Look for a little give when squeezing.

Pineapple
The fragrance from the root should be strong even from afar. Opening the fruit should hit you like a wave of sweetness. Enjoy the benefits of thiamine and vitamin B as well.

Radishes
A sweet root vegetable best enjoyed in spring, look for fresh green tops and bright colors. These have a huge amount of vitamin C.

Snap Peas
Eaten fresh or cooked, snapped peas are sweetest in the spring. Like their name, pods should snap. Also, look for bright, crisp bodies. Eat these for vitamin C and E.

Strawberries
You should not have to sniff hard to catch their scent. Avoid the yellow stemmed strawberries. When you bite through their delicate skin, you are consuming more vitamin C than an orange.

Do you want a fruity pick me up after those hard days of exams and long classes? Try these light dishes that can be made quick and easy

Fruit and Yogurt Parfait- Serves 1
1 Macintosh Apple or ¼ cup of chopped Macintosh apples
1 whole banana or ¼ cup of chopped bananas
¼ cup of any kind of berry (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries)
¼ cup of granola or glazed tree nuts
2 cups of vanilla or plain yogurt

Wash the apple and berries to then dry for a minute. Cut the apple and banana into ¼ inch slices. Combine all the fruits into a separate bowl (can be used separate dish on its own.)In a cup place a spoonful of yogurt at the bottom of container, then layer with a spoonful of fruit mixture. Keep on layering the yogurt and fruit mixture until both run out. Pour granola on top of the last layer to complete the parfait.

Cranberry and Walnut Salad – Serves 3
2 full heads of Romaine Lettuce (about 12-16 leaves)
1 cup of dried cranberries
1 cup of feta cheese
¾ cup of chopped walnuts
¾ cup of chilled Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing

Wash the Romaine in cold water. Dry the Romaine until the leaves no longer drip of water. Cut the leaves into 1 ½ inch pieces. Combine the lettuce, cranberries, feta cheese and walnuts into a bowl. Add dressing into the bowl and serve.

Did you know that an apple can predict your future husband, or in your case, your future boyfriend? It’s silly and superstitious, but if you’re in for some Valentine’s Day fun, then try this out!

1. If you peel the apple skin in one piece and throw the skin over your shoulder, the apple skin will fall in the shape of a letter that might also be your future boyfriends first initial.
2. To find out what way your love will approach you from, squeeze an apple seed between two fingers until the seed flies out, and the direction it flies out is the direction your love will approach you from.
3. Give random name to a bunch of apple seeds and stick the all onto your face and wait for them to fall off one by one. The last one to fall off will be the one who will love you unconditionally forever and ever.

Now, if these methods are too silly for you or if you already know your destined one, here are some Valentine’s Day recipes for you to make for that special someone.

Heart Shaped Mini Apple Pie’s:

1 box pre-made pie crust

1 apple peeled and sliced

1 tablespoon cinnamon and lemon juice

½ tablespoon nutmeg

2 tablespoon flour+ extra for dusting the table with

3 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg beaten with 1 teaspoon milk

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees F
2. Thaw the pre-made pie dough out on the dusted kitchen top.
3. While the pie crust is thawing, combine the sliced apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon of flour in a small bowl.
4. Roll out the dough to make a larger circle and cut the dough in half.
5. Divide the flour evenly between the two pie crusts and spread the flour in the middle of the pie crusts, making sure not to touch the sides.
6. Pile the apple mixture onto the center of the crust and fold the pie crust up to cover some of the apples and shape it into a heart shape.
7. Brush the pie with the egg and bake until golden brown, about 10-12 minutes.

Raspberry Cupcakes with pink buttercream and chocolate drizzle:

1 box vanilla cake mix

½ cup raspberries pureed

1 can vanilla buttercream

2-3 drops red food coloring

12 ounce chocolate, melted

Instructions:

1. Mix the cake as directed on the box and mix in the pureed raspberries.
2. Bake the cake in cupcake pans according to the box and start to work on your buttercream.
3. Tint the store-bought buttercream with the red food coloring until your get your desired pink color.
4. When the cupcakes are done baking, take them out and place them to cool on a rack until they are cool enough to apply the frosting.
5. Put the icing buttercream into a pipping bag fitted with a star pipe, or just spread it onto the cupcake with a butter knife.
6. Melt the chocolate in a bowl and spoon it into a ziplock bag.
7. Cut a tiny hole on the bag and drizzle it on the cupcakes.

Chocolate Ganache Cake from Martha Stewarts:

• 3 tablespoons slivered blanched almonds
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/4 cups (spooned and leveled) all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons grated orange or lemon zest, (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into pieces
• 12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make dough in a food processor, and pulse almonds until finely ground. Add sugar, flour, zest (if desired), and salt; pulse until combined. Add butter, pulsing until coarse crumbs form with no large butter lumps (dough should clump together when squeezed with fingers).
2. Immediately transfer dough to a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Using a measuring cup, evenly press dough in bottom and up sides of pan.
3. Bake in center of oven until golden brown and firm to the touch, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, about 1 hour.
4. Make ganache: Place chocolate in a large mixing bowl. In a small saucepan, bring cream to a boil. Pour hot cream, through a sieve, over chocolate. Stir until smooth and creamy in texture. Mix in vanilla.
5. Pour chocolate mixture into center of cooled tart shell (if chocolate is lumpy, pass through a sieve). Let stand until set, about 2 hours, or chill for 1 hour.