Photo: JelleS/Flickr

There's nothing like a summer camping trip -- long, hot days spent hiking or swimming in the lake and cool nights around a campfire. When packing up all the gear for your next camping trip, remember to pack health and nutrition, too. Campfire cooking isn't limited to hot dogs and s'mores. With a little planning and creativity, you can have some delicious and tasty meals that are in keeping with your healthy eating goals:

• Breakfast. Scrambled eggs are a natural on the campfire. Just pack a cast iron skillet and a spatula. Also bring healthy mix-ins like green pepper, onion and mushrooms. Or bake these flaxseed-loaded Morning Glory Muffins ahead of time. Granola also makes a healthy breakfast as well as a handy trail snack. Fruit is also handy and healthy.
  
• Lunch. Bring a softside cooler that's easy to take with you while hiking, boating or touring the local towns. Pack fruits, vegetables, healthful sandwiches on whole wheat and other nutritious foods.
• Dinner. There are plenty of healthy, filling and delicious foods you can cook on your campfire. Try beef kebobs, roasted vegetable fajitas, even baked pears for dessert.

Remember to incorporate lots of physical activity into your camping trips, too. Water skiing, hiking, swimming, volleyball, biking, and other activities are obvious choices. But be sure to check for opportunities that are unique to the area as well, such as climbing sand dunes or going parasailing. Your camping trip won't only be an escape from the every day... it will also be a chance to get fit and healthy.

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When the mercury rises, who wants to turn the oven on? And, while grilled food tastes great in the summer, even standing near a hot grill can be unbearable when the weather is hot.

If the heat has you down, perk up with some delicious -- and healthful -- no-cook meals. Some ideas:

• Tomato-Watermelon Soup. Chilled or at room temperature, this blended soup is a unique taste, and it's rich in lycopene.
• Artichoke and Beef Lettuce Wraps. Roast beef from the deli is tossed with artichoke hearts, chickpeas, zucchini and other healthful ingredients in this tasty lettuce wrap.
• Salmon and Cucumber Boats. Skip the bagel -- instead pair lox with cucumber and fiber-rich triangles of pumpernickel.

It's also helpful to think ahead when you know you're not going to want to cook. When cooking dinner one night, think ahead and see what you can cook for later in the week. For example, if you're baking chicken for dinner, bake an extra piece or two for use in a cold chicken salad later in the week. Or, save a bit of grilled salmon and use it on top of a mixed greens salad another night.

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I'll admit it. I'm addicted to the Food Network. I work from home, but I miss the noise of the bustling busy office environment I used to work in. To compensate for the silence, the Food Network is on quietly in the background almost all day.

Though I love to watch the shows, I rarely make the foods I see. But over at Vitamin G, they're wondering if the Food Network is making it harder for us to eat healthfully. A lot of the commenters agree with the theory. Says one person: "Those shows instantly make me hungry, even if I just ate a meal and normally wouldn't be! I can't watch them or I would get as big as a house."

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Welcome to Walking the Walk, a feature that takes a deeper look at commonly shared diet and fitness advice. Every other week, I'll choose one piece of advice and practice it for seven days. Then I'll report back on what I discovered about making it work in real life and how it affected my own personal fitness -- and how it ultimately can affect your own efforts.

When it comes to unhealthy habits, eating out has been the hardest one for me to break. If I really put my mind to it, I can plan, prepare and cook healthy meals ... for about three days. Then I find myself making excuses. And then I find myself sitting at a restaurant, letting someone else cook.

In my defense, we don't have a typical 9-to-5 schedule. Between work hours and family activities, at least two nights a week, I'm pulling in the driveway at 7 PM with nothing in mind for dinner (not so good for a healthy diet).

But like I said, those are just excuses. While it's nice to have someone cook and clean up, I pay for this habit with more than just money. Restaurant portions are far too big, and they can be loaded with fat and sodium.

So this week for Walking the Walk, I'm going to eat every meal and snack at home. This is one healthy habit I'm hoping will stick.

Wellness Chef Laurie Erickson demonstrates how to make both healthy and delicious fish tacos. You can use her recipe with tofu or chicken as well!

For more great cooking tips, fun fit tips, and innovative training videos visit SportsHealthExericse.org.

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Isn't it amazing how chefs make the cutting and chopping process seem so pretty and perfect? I have often wished I had those skills, but now I do ... cause I watched this video. Tune in and let Wellness Chef Laurie Erickson show you how to do it right. Amazing how simple she makes it seem.

SportsHealthExercise.org is jam packed with tons of amazing fit tips, videos and recipes.

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Drew Barrymore recently admitted she's clueless in the kitchen, and she makes her friends cook for her whenever they visit. "I don't cook, I can't cook, and it is really abominable to see me in the kitchen," says the 33-year-old actress, adding, "I order in takeaway food or get my friends to cook because a lot of them are very good."

The thing about take-out food (or delivery food for that matter) is it's often loaded with calories, fat and sodium, so I don't know how Drew manages to stay so slim on her current diet. If you're as domestically disabled as Drew, don't rely on the Chinese place down the street to whip up a nutritious, waistline-friendly meal. Sign up for a cooking class in your area and keep in mind that fixing yourself a delicious salad requires no culinary skills at all.

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"I'd cook more if I had a better kitchen." Does this sound like the kind of excuse that might come out of your mouth? It would mine, but I can't ignore the fact that two years ago, when I was slumming it in a tiny one-bedroom rental place with a stove older than me, I cooked a lot more than I do now that I have quality appliances.

Thing is, the quality of your kitchen has nothing to do with your ability to cook. And, if you ask food guru Mark Bittman, blaming a small kitchen is no excuse. "When it comes to kitchens, size and equipment don't count nearly as much as devotion, passion, common sense and, of course, experience," he says. "To spend tens of thousands of dollars or more on a kitchen before learning how to cook ... is to fall into the same kind of silly consumerism that leads people to believe that an expensive gym membership will get them into shape."

If you want to get healthier, it's time to start taking an interest in what you're putting into your body by preparing your own meals -- small kitchen be darned. To find out what you can do with your limited cooking space, check out some of Bittman's advice here.

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A lot has been said about President-elect Barack Obama's love of food. He's got favorite restaurants all over Chicago -- both chichi gourmet hot spots and local greasy spoons. But his favorite meal to cook at home is rumored to be chili.

Chili is the perfect comfort food, especially in these frigid winter temperatures. But as much as he loves food, Barack Obama is also committed to diet and fitness. I mean, who couldn't notice that when those shirtless pics from Hawaii popped up?

Our future Mr. President will probably be too busy in the next 100 days to cook up a pot of chili, but if you're in the mood for a bowl of Barack Obama's favorite food, here are some tips for making this spicy dish a little healthier.

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I have a weird fear to confess. Back when I used to work in an office environment, I was always afraid to leave my slow cooker on while I was at work. Silly, isn't it? It's about as sensible as saying I'm afraid to put clothes in my washing machine. (I'm not afraid of that. Really. I'm not totally weird ... just a little bit.)

Now that I work from home, the slow cooker is my best friend. Sometimes I'll take a break from work mid-day, get dinner going, and then I get to enjoy the delicious smells of dinner cooking while I'm typing away on my computer.

Cooking Light has a series of healthful slow cooker recipes that I can't wait to try. The Vegetable and Chickpea Curry sounds delicious to me. How about you? Are you a fan of the slow cooker? If so, what is your favorite slow cooked meal?

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With groceries at such a high price, sending any leftover down the disposal is like throwing money away. So be more economical with your food and try these clever ways to use every last bite:

• Rice. Have some steamed vegetables left over from tonight's side dish? Or maybe you just have small bits of fresh veggies waiting in the crisper. Vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, onion, corn, green beans and peas make a great addition to steamed brown rice.
• Omelet. Leftover vegetables can also be added to an omelet for a quick, healthful and easy meal.
• Pizza. Leftover protein such as chicken, ground beef or sausage makes a great pizza topping. Try a BBQ chicken pizza or come up with your own unique combination. It's hard to go wrong.
  
• Potato cakes. Leftover mashed potatoes can be made into tasty potato cakes.
• Soup. It's pretty hard to go wrong with soup. Use up leftover vegetables and add them to a broth base along with barley or another whole grain.
  
• Calzone. ParentDish's Rob Barrett shows you how to turn almost any leftover into a delicious calzone.
• Salads. Tuna, chicken, beef, cut veggies, nuts and fruit are all great salad toppers.

Using and reusing leftovers is an economical way to go. But remember safety and ditch those leftovers when it's time.

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Grocery costs are a bit crazy right now. I was forgiving of it when fuel costs were also outlandish ... after all, food has to be transported so fuel costs directly effect grocery costs. But now the fuel costs are down and grocery costs are staying high. I don't know about you, but I think it's totally unfair.

In these tight economic times, we all have to be penny-pinchers. Since meat is one of the most expensive grocery items to buy, it only makes sense to cut back. Beans and tofu spring to mind as meat-replacements -- they're inexpensive, filling and high in protein. Another great option -- though not high in protein -- is mushrooms.

Swapping mushrooms for meat isn't only economical, it's healthful, lower in calories, filling and completely tasty. Try them in lasagna or grill up a marinated portobello as a burger. A recent study found that when participants ate meals where mushrooms replaced beef, they consumed an average of 420 fewer calories. Great news if you're trying to lose weight!

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Sometimes, it's not just what you eat, it's how you prepare it. If you want a french fry, a baked version is undeniably healthier than a deep-fried version.

The queen of all things domestic, Martha Stewart, has recipes for every healthy cooking method:

• Baking. When you bake foods rather than fry or other fat-adding cooking methods, you can reduce your overall calorie intake. (Now if only cakes and cookies could be considered healthful just because they're baked.) Some of the healthy baking recipes on Martha Stewart Living include Walnut Crusted Chicken Breasts and Parmesan Coated Sweet Potato Fries.
• Steaming. When vegetables are just lightly steamed, you can retain many of the nutrients. Some recipes to try are Steamed Broccoli With Miso-Sesame Sauce and Green Beans With Golden Raisins.
• Stir-Frying. Stir-fries are such a quick and easy go-to meal. And you have complete control over how much fat you add to the dish. Try out Brown Rice Stir Fry.
• Sauteing. When you use healthy fats like olive oil, sauteing can be a light and healthy way to cook. Give Cinnamon-Spiced Moroccan Chicken and Saute-Steamed Swiss Chard a try.

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It must be fun to work at Cooking Light magazine -- concocting all sorts of healthful recipes and taste-testing all of them. Wait a minute. Maybe that's not so great. Even healthful recipes can land heavily on your hips if you do too much taste testing.

So, in lieu of trying it all myself, I'm happy to accept Cooking Light staffers' picks of the best recipes from 2008. There are 46 recipes in their Greatest Hits of 2008 list -- here are some of the recipes that are tempting my taste buds:

• Seafood Risotto. The three S's in this dish make me a bit weak in the knees: Shrimp, scallops, and saffron. Yum.
  
• Golden Winter Soup. Soup is a favorite in my house, and this one sounds particularly comforting.
• Korean Spiced Beef and Cabbage Rolls. My mother used to make a meat and cabbage "pie" when I was a kid, and I loved it. The Korean spices in this recipe would put a unique twist on a familiar taste.

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Gwyneth Paltrow is one fit girl. She's got all sorts of tips for how you can shape up too. Here, she says you've got to sleep and eliminate white foods from your diet. And here, sleep gets a nod again. So does yoga, walking, and cooking your own food.

Gwyneth is now offering some holiday shopping tips and while I'm surprised the fit one isn't peddling any fitness gear on her website wish list, I do see plenty of kitchen items. Hey, she's serious: Do your own cooking. Start by trying out some of these gadgets.

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