When it comes to cutting calories, you're usually better off making your meals at home. But there's one area where a restaurant may have a leg up on the home chef. Salad dressing.

It's not that restaurant salad dressings are lower in calories ... more than likely, they're not. But if you're pouring your salad dressing on top, you're probably getting more dressing than you really need. And, no, I'm not suggesting you dip your fork in the dressing before each bite because -- let's be honest -- that's annoying and just doesn't give you enough flavor.

The New York Times recipe tester has spent a lot of time working in restaurants and she says that if you're dressing your salad, you're dressing the wrong thing. Surprising, isn't it? It's kind of like finding out you're supposed to wear your shoes on your hands. After all, it's called salad dressing. Restaurants usually put dressing in a squirt bottle and then -- once the salad is mixed and in the bowl -- squirt a ring or two of dressing on the bowl. They toss the salad against the sides of the bowl until it's evenly coated.

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Faith Hill celebrated her 41st birthday by appearing on the cover of Shape magazine in a bikini and a cardigan. There's no question that she looks smokin' hot. Though there is a question about why anyone would ever wear a cardigan with a bikini ... but we'll blame that on the stylist.

Hill said that she loves to exercise, and she cooks with fresh veggies from her own garden -- Mediterranean dishes are a favorite. I'm glad to hear it, because based on the recipes she says are her go-to dishes, she obviously needs the balance healthful meals and exercise give her. Hill's favorite dishes are:

• Corn bread dressing with gravy
• Coca-Cola cake
• Sausage balls

While they may be yummy, these are certainly not figure-friendly recipes. If you want to try out any of Hill's favorite recipes, be sure to follow the "Make it Healthier" instructions Shape magazine provides. And, if you want to look as sexy as Faith Hill, balance treats like this with healthier foods and plenty of exercise.

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Got Thanksgiving plans? Of course, you do. You'll get together with friends, family or both, either at their house or yours. A few people will work feverishly in the kitchen, while the others will gobble up appys and drinks. Finally, everyone will gather together in merriment, and the grand finale will happen: The serving of the prodigal meal. Most will go back for seconds, some will undo the top button on their pants, some will thank their lucky stars they wore fat pants. Then most of us will fall asleep in the living room. Sound familiar?

Thanksgiving -- 'tis the season for over-indulgence. But just how much over-indulgence are we talking here?

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Turkey sandwiches, turkey sandwiches, and more turkey sandwiches. Unless you get a little creative, that's what you're probably going to be facing in a few days. So plan ahead and have some tasty and healthful turkey recipes on hand.

Rob Barrett from Cooking With Dads and ParentDish posted about this fun idea -- turning your leftovers into a yummy calzone. It's not strictly for Thanksgiving, but how delish would a calzone stuffed with turkey, dressing, and fresh cranberry sauce be? (Hopefully you're using whole-grain bread for your stuffing.)

The recipes calls for four cups of flour -- I'd switch half or all of that to whole-wheat flour. Other than that, the recipe is as healthful as the foods you stuff inside of it.

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For some people, the word salad equals healthy. Unfortunately, that's not always the case. Take Wendy's Southwest Taco Salad for example -- it has 640 calories and 39 grams of fat. Or McDonald's Premium Southwest Chicken Salad, which has 430 calories and 20 grams of fat, and that's before you pour on the dressing.

But salad slip-ups aren't limited to fast food or other restaurants. People make plenty of not-so-healthy choices when it comes to the salads they make themselves. Divine Caroline shares 10 common salad saboteurs to watch out for:

• Bad choices. Skip the creamy pasta salads, gelatins, and other choices on the salad bar. Instead, load up with tons of veggies.
  
• Choosing lesser greens. Avoid the iceberg! It has little nutritional value, so opt for spinach, spring greens, or other dark greens.

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This weekend, our family went to a Mexican Fiesta party. I gotta say, not only were the food offerings delicious -- and plentiful! -- they were also healthy. From guacamole and veggies to slow-cooked beans with cilantro, there was something to satisfy every taste, and every nutritional need.

My favorite had to be the Mexican chopped salad with honey lime dressing. This salad had greens, chunks and color, color, color. Everything is fresh and the balanced ingredients are oozing nutrition.

Talk about a masterpiece: romaine, black beans, corn, tomato, avocado, jicama, radishes, red pepper, and a delectable dressing, complete with fresh garlic.

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I love eating veggies, but most store-bought salad dressings leave me cold. They rarely live up to my expectations -- they're either too sweet, too salty, too tangy, too rich, too fatty ... well, you get the point. For me, simplicity is king. I like combining just a few ingredients, and it often seems like manufactured salad dressings try too hard to be overly flavourful.

But the solution is simple: Make your own dressings. It's surprisingly easy to do. Mark's Daily Apple recently published a list of top DIY Salad dressings. Why not give some of the recipes a try?

Love Caesar salad? Combine these ingredients for a homemade caesar vinaigrette: White wine vinegar, olive oil, freshly grated parmesan, freshly ground pepper, freshly chopped garlic, a squeeze of lemon juice and a few finely-cut anchovies.

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Whether for breakfast, lunch, dinner or a snack, salad is one of the healthier options out there. But these days, salads are so rarely made up of only healthy stuff -- now once-healthy veggies are drenched in things like cheese and fat. But the most offensive salad ingredient? Too often it's the salad dressing.

Not all salad dressings are bad for you--vinaigrettes, for instance, are tangy and low in fat. But creamy dressings like ranch, Caesar, blue cheese and thousand island will pack a calorie wallop. In fact, some salads have a many calories as a cheeseburger, and it's all down to the dressing.

How can you dress up your salad without negating its health benefits? Make healthy dressing choices. Creamy ones are out -- instead, opt for vinegar and oil-based salad dressings. Noshtopia has a bunch of great ideas that you can check out here. And if in doubt? Make your own home-made dressings -- that way, you can control what goes in to your salad.

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When I say "good" I mean good for you. When I say cheap, I mean making this recipe will cost you only $6.22. For this price, you'll get six cups of this yummy Avocado Tomatilla Dressing. You'll get a healthy bite to eat too.

Avocado Tomatilla Dressing

Ingredients

Low-fat plain yogurt, 16 ounce, $175
Tomatillos (drained), 28-ounce can, $1.69
Salt, 1/2 teaspoon, $0.05
Avocado, 1 large, $0.89
Fresh Jalapeno (stemmed), 1 large, $0.10
Lime Juice, 1 lime, $0.25
Cilantro (stems removed), 1 bunch, $1.49

Directions

Combine all ingredients and process or blend until smooth. Store in an airtight container until ready to serve.

Nutritional Information (per 1/4 cup)

37 calories, 4 g carbohydrates, 2 g fat, 1 g protein, 63 mg sodium, 38 mg calcium

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My husband and I ate lunch on Friday at our favorite spot -- Heavenly Ham. Whenever we go, we both get salads and we love that we get to pick our lettuce -- spinach, romaine, and a spring mix are the options -- and all of our toppings too. A sliced hard-boiled egg, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, grapes, and a mix of nuts are just some of what fills our bowls (no meat toppings for us). And while I order up a teeny, tiny bit of oil and vinegar on my veggie medley, my hubby always denies the dressing. The folks making his salads sometimes think he's crazy. How can he not douse his meal with something tangy, creamy, or sweet, some ask. His response is always be the same: There's no need for dressing with all the scrumptious treats he chooses. He actually wants to taste each ingredient. Adding dressing would make his salad taste like, well, dressing. He also wants a healthy salad. Dressing is one sure-fire way to transform a healthy meal into an unhealthy one -- so no dressing for him.

No dressing for one of the Heavenly Ham servers too. On Friday, she approached John and thanked him for the no-dressing idea. She told him she's nixed the dressing herself and likes her salads so much better without. She can really taste all the goodies, she told John, and the tomatoes, grapes, and cucumbers provide a perfect amount of juice for her mixture. There's nothing dry about her salad. And there's really nothing unhealthy about it either.

If you're looking to make just one small diet change, one change that guarantees a great pay-off, consider John's idea. It's helped him drop a significant amount of weight and improve his overall health. It can do the same for you.

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Before too long, we may be able to go to our local drug store and pick up honey adhesive strips. It worked for the Egyptians, why not now? That's the thinking behind Medihoney, a new product based on manuka honey which has been known to kill germs and heal wounds where traditional antibiotics fail.

Dressing wounds has been an issue for diabetes patients when drug-resistant germs keep some abrasions from healing. This is where honey comes in. Using a material based on seaweed, they soak the dressing in leptospermum honey. It will not only kill microbes, but soak up fluids and get rid of the bad smell of wounds.

Honey being used in this way has picked up in other parts of the world already. Even when the concentration is diluted ten times, this stuff can kill bacteria. Let's hope honey-based medical products hit the open market soon -- some hospitals are already using it! People with weak immune systems or persistent trauma will be able to get a lot out of this.

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Thanksgiving is close by, and one of my favourite parts of the turkey dinner is without a doubt the stuffing, particularly the way my mum makes it. With the exception of dessert, thanksgiving dishes are usually pretty healthy -- there's lots of vegetables and lean turkey meat, so it seems stuffing is the least healthy part of the meal. But is it? It's basically just bread, vegetables and herbs cooked inside the turkey, right? So is it healthy or not?

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There's nothing precise about this salsa recipe. But there's everything healthy about it. And that's why you should give it try. It goes like this:

Cut up watermelon into chunks -- big chunks, little chunks, you decide. Then cut up a few fresh peaches into similar-sized pieces. Add some diced jalapenos to suit your desire for spice, some cut up bits of cilantro, a sprinkling of onions, and a dash of Light Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing -- which you could also leave out entirely. The juices from the fruit may do just the trick in exchange for less fat and calories.

Now mix it all up, and use your fruity salsa as a dip for the healthiest tortilla chips you can find (try blue chips from your grocery store's health food section), for a topping on your favorite fish, for a dressing on your yummy salad, or for anything your little heart desires. It doesn't really matter where your salsa lands. It's sure to spice up just about anything -- and in only the healthiest of ways.

For me, fast-food is a turn-off. And I fear the day I have no other option than to end up in line at McDonald's. What ever will I do when faced with the unhealthy options available at such as establishment? Have no fear, says one Kansas dietitian, who reports there are tactics for surviving my worst fear. Here are a few:

• Go plain. The plainer the food, the healthier it is. A plain hamburger at McDonald's has nine grams of fat; a double cheeseburger has 23.

• Choose mustard and ketchup. Say "no thanks" to mayo and special sauces and you'll save 10 to 17 grams of fat.

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When you're trying to lose weight and you're eating out, what are you going to order? Chances are you'll opt for the salad, but surprise! That's not always the best choice.

One of the biggest offenders is the famous Caesar salad. The emperor's salad is full of fat and calories, and can punch a huge hole in your diet with up to 700 calories in an entree-sized order. Other salads might not be the best either. To avoid sabotaging your diet with a salad, hold the cheese, the croutons, the creamy dressings and pretty much anything else that makes it taste like you're not dieting.

But there is hope: Making your own dressings, with healthy ingredients, can make a world of difference to both your waistline and your tastebuds. Do you have any recipes?

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