Though meals made from scratch are always better, sometimes the convenience of frozen meals is too difficult to pass up. And the pictures on the boxes of those frozen meals usually look quite tempting, don't they? The reality is often quite different, though. The portions are small and you can be left feeling hungry -- all that extra sodium and preservatives don't feel worth it when it's not even satisfying. But, with a few added ingredients, you can make those frozen meals more nutritious, tasty, and filling.

Women's Health shares lots of easy ideas -- such as adding basil, garlic, asparagus, or tomato to a Healthy Choice Chicken Alfredo dinner. Check out their other ideas as well. Then, the next time you're resorting to a heat-and-eat meal, look around your pantry or fridge and see what fresh and nutritious ingredients you can add.

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Curious to know how celebrities squeeze fitness into their daily lives? Want to know the secrets of the stars? Bi-weekly, our That's Fit fitness expert Fitz sits down with the celebs we want to know more about, and digs out their great and not-so-great methods to staying healthy.

James Tupper plays "Owen", the hunky new rich guy getting busy with Christina Applegate's character on Samantha Who? He's a rising star who spent two years working opposite Ann Heche (his girlfriend in real-life) in Men in Trees and has also worked on hit shows like CSI:New York, Gilmore Girls and many others. James greeted me with a super cheery "Hi Fitz!" for this interview and was really sarcastic and fun throughout. He's an easy guy who loves carpentry, outdoor exercise and playing with Anne's 6-year-old son Homer.

Want to know how he prepares to show skin on camera? Read on!

Fitz: I love Samantha Who? It's such a cute show. What's it like working with the lovely Miss Christina Applegate?

James: It's amazing. She is a fantastic comedian. We work 14-hour days, and she is awesome from beginning to end. I really enjoy working with her. She's also really smart; she blows through crossword puzzles on the set.

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A little while ago, we told you about Yum Brands restaurants making an effort to get healthier by displaying calorie counts on menu boards. Now they're going a step further with one of their brands -- Long John Silver's seafood restaurants are not only revealing their calorie counts, they're populating their menu with healthier items. Whereas a standard meal at the restaurant chain consisted of only deep-fried food, the new Freshside Grille will offer non-fried options like grilled Pacific salmon, grilled shrimp scampi, vegetable medley, and seasoned rice.

So how do these healthier meals stack up? According to their nutrition calculator, like this.

• The Grilled Salmon has 150 calories, 5 g of fat and 440 g of sodium.
  
• The Shrimp Scampi (full portion) has 110 calories, 5 g of fat and 610 g of sodium.
  
• The Vegetable Medley has 50 calories and 2 g of fat.
  
• However, the rice has 270 calories, 4.5 g of fat and 670 g of sodium. Yikes.
  

All in all, not bad -- just avoid the rice if you're cutting calories.

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Fresh fruits and veggies are an essential part of a healthy diet. But once they're fresh, they're hard to keep that way -- know the rules of the produce aisle to keep your healthy snacks as tasty as possible:

• Store on the counter: Basil, cucumbers, peppers, watermelon, tomatoes.
  
• Store in the Fridge: Beets, blueberries, corn, radishes, raspberries, strawberries, yellow squash, zucchini.
  
• Store in a cool, dry place: Butternut squash, yams, potatoes, onions.
  
• Ripen on the counter, then refrigerate: Avocados, peaches, pears, kiwis.
  
  

Other things you can do: Keep produce in a perforate bag, and be sure to keep fruits and veggies in a separate drawer in the fridge. If you start to notice something close to spoiling, use it or freeze it.

Got any additional tips? Let us know in the comments.

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By now, we should all be aware that we're supposed to be getting our five to 10 servings of fruit and veggies a day. But how many of us are actually eating that amount? No enough, according to this article from the Daily Mail. Only one in eight people in Britain are getting five servings a day. The average was 2.5 servings, and 12% of participants didn't get any produce during the day.

If you're not getting enough fruit and veggies in your diet, you're only hurting yourself, so if you want to look and feel your best, take steps to work fresh produce into your eating habits. It's not hard -- order a salad on the side instead of fries, have a vegetable cocktail like V8 instead of a coke, or choose to snack on an apple instead of chips. You owe it to yourself.

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A couple months ago, Martha was debating whether or not she should invest in a juicer. A valid question. After all, when you prepare your own juice you have complete control over the ingredients. You choose what fruits and veggies you include and you're guaranteed to have no preservatives, no artificial colors, and no sweeteners.

When you juice fruits and vegetables you keep all of the vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants found in the fresh produce. You do, however, sacrifice much of the fiber. So while juicing is a healthy practice, it shouldn't take the place of all of your fruits and vegetable intake.

Natural Health lists the top 7 fruits and veggies for juicing. Check out the gallery for the complete list.

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We can't ignore the fact that the economy is in a bit of a slump. And whether or not we recognize it, this affects nearly every aspect of our lives -- including our eating habits. During times of financial hardship, it's a natural reaction to stock up on foods that are processed and full of preservatives, but our healthy habits shouldn't be the first thing to go when things get a bit tough.

At least that's what nutritionist Jane Clarke says in her weekly column for The Daily Mail. She offers a few tips for reducing waste -- and ultimately cost -- when you're shopping for the family:

• Buy sliced, fresh whole wheat bread and freeze what you don't use right away.
• Add cheap, healthy ingredients like beans to your meat dishes to make the meat go further.
• Buy only as much fresh fruit as you know you can consume, and stock up on frozen fruit instead.
• In fruits do go limp, cook them (or freeze them) right away instead of throwing them out.

How do you stretch your grocery dollars?

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Our CSA Farm has begun to produce an abundance of tomatoes these past few weeks. Aside from eating them like apples, as my three-year-old often chooses to do, you can make fresh tomato salad, salsa, or fresh tomato sauce.

Our very informal uncooked recipe goes something like this:

• Chop a bunch of tomatoes and put them in a bowl.
• Add enough balsamic vinegar and olive oil to cover them.
• Stir fresh minced garlic and chopped fresh basil into the tomato mixture.
• Season with seas salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
• Let marinate at room temperature at least 30 minutes before serving.
  
  

This is such a refreshing summer meal when served on pasta with a green salad, or a tasty snack as a bruschetta topping.

For all the love I have of tomatoes, I really can't stand a traditional gazpacho soup, or any tomato soup for that matter. It is just too... tomato-y! Gazpacho is so healthy, though, with all of those fresh, raw veggies.

Well, I found a gazpacho recipe that will satisfy even the pickiest gazpacho eaters, as long as they like avocado. Mothering's Avocado Gazpacho recipe is the perfect answer for my gazpacho issues: it is basically traditional gazpacho, with avocado instead of tomato.

And the beauty of this cold soup is that you toss all the ingredients into a blender, press a button, and you're done. I have to think that with the healthy fats in avocados that this recipe adds a new layer of nutrition, too.

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I've heard it before: Blueberries are tops. More confirmation: Real Age says the blue berry -- linked to healthy skin, hearts, and eyes and powerful enough to keep cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer's a bay -- is so good we should be eating one to two cups per day. It's not always easy to score fresh blueberries, though. Never fear: The frozen variety is just as good for you. Here, a bunch of ideas for using frozen berries so you can satisfy your cup-a-day.

• Put a cup of frozen berries in the fridge in the evening to defrost; in the morning, sprinkle over cereal or stir into yogurt.
  
• Throw some berries in a blender and whip up a quick fruit smoothie.
• Use a few as edible ice cubes in your favorite drinks.
  
• Eat them plain, like tiny popsicles.
• Add to a fruit salad about 15 minutes before serving.
• Toss a handful into muffin or quick-bread batter. Add five to 15 minutes to the baking time to compensate for their chilling effect.
  
  

Real Age says you can eat berries for every occasion. With only 79 calories per cup, you're not likely to gain weight from this indulgence. Plus, the antioxidants will do you lots of good.

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Curious to know how celebrities squeeze fitness into their daily lives? Want to know the secrets of the stars? Bi-weekly, our That's Fit fitness expert Fitz sits down with the celebs we want to know more about, and digs out their great and not-so-great methods to staying healthy.

Mmmmmm. Just the mention of Chef Jens Dahlmanns's name puts my mind in ecstasy. His is the name of the man who created what I'd choose as my 'last meal.' He's the premier Chef of Disney's signature restaurant The California Grill, who also oversees a staff of award-winning chefs atop Disney's Contemporary Resort. Chef Jens was classically trained in European kitchens and worked for Le Cirque 2000 in New York City and Cafe 'L Europe in Palm Beach, Florida, before joining Disney in April 2004.

We first spoke on the phone a week before I was to dine at his spectacular grill. From a fitness trainer standpoint, he gave all of the 'right answers.' Not that he was contrived, but his stance on cooking is what I would wish to hear. If you've read my features before, you'll know that I preach the importance of lean fresh foods. Read on to see how dead-on Chef Jens is to that style of eating. From a regular gal's point of view, it was just really exciting and fun to hear Chef Jens talk about food. He described white asparagus the same way most men would describe a beautiful woman. I could imagine what each item tasted like as he described them.

My experience at The California Grill was almost indescribable. Chef Jens and his staff were pampering to say the least. He greeted me with a sample of the white asparagus he gushed about, and I knew I was in for something special. The combinations of flavors and textures were to die for! I relished every bite and cleaned each and every plate that landed in front of me (highly unusual for me). The man knows how to make fresh food taste divine. The advice he gave in this interview is exactly what I, as your online Fitzness Trainer, want you to follow. Chef Jens just knows far better than I, how to make all of the healthy stuff taste heavenly.

Fitz: How much does "healthy" influence the foods you create for your menus?

Chef Jens: Healthy actually has a lot to do with our menu. First of all, Disney has set an initiative for enhancing our menus in a healthy way, so across all of the Disney parks and restaurants you'll find better choices. On my part, I'm always driven by what's fresh in the market. We create meals based on the season. At the California Grill, our menu changes according to what foods are in season. Fresh food equals leaner and "cleaner" food. I never use processed ingredients.

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If forced to choose between a snack of fresh or dried fruit, I'd go fresh. Mostly because I like fruit in its freshest state but also because I've always assumed it's the healthiest choice. But is it?

Yes, fresh fruit is healthier than dried fruit. Here's why.

When fruits are dried, they lose water and nutrients and acquire more calories and sugar. Consider apricots. One cup of the fresh stuff contains 75 calories. The dried variety: 313. Fresh apricots also have more fiber, more vitamin A and C, more beta-carotene, and more potassium.

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Christina Cherif of Oakland Based Urban Gardens (OBUGS), a nonprofit that provides garden-based education programs at four Oakland schools, conducts weekly gardening lessons for first-graders. And when the students see her coming, they cry, "Yeah, the garden lady!"

Dropping seeds into little hands, asking questions about roots and stems, and marveling at the wide eyes and wonder she sees on the faces of her pupils, Cherif is just one person representing the growing trend of incorporating instructional gardening into the school curriculum.

For children in urban environments, especially in low-income areas where access to fresh produce is limited or non-existent, kids don't know much about the origin of food. Bringing gardens to them opens up a whole new world.

"A lot of the kids we work with don't know where food comes from," said Michelle Lieberman, executive director of OBUGS. "A benefit of school gardens is that they see the life cycle."

Interested in helping young minds grow through gardening? Check out kidsgardening.com to get started.

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When you grab your veggies in the grocery store, do you go for fresh, frozen, or canned? If you grab frozen or canned vegetables, you may be onto something -- these options tend to deliver even more nutrients than their fresh counterparts.

All forms of produce are low in calories and contain fiber and phytochemicals -- plant compounds that provide varied health benefits. And when it comes to fiber, fresh is best. But for plentiful nutrients, already-cooked produce is tops. Cooking makes nutrients more readily available to the body, and the time fresh produce spends sitting on shelves depletes their nutrients.

There are some downsides to frozen and canned foods, however, like additives you won't find in the fresh produce aisles. So be careful. Look for low-sodium items, avoid all cream and cheese sauces, and steer clear of any label that reads "sweetened."

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If it's not already on your Turkey Day menu, you might want to consider whipping up some pumpkin delights for your holiday guests. Nutrition experts say a little pumpkin in your diet could help ward off everything from cancer to blindness.

The low-calorie pumpkin -- also rich in vitamin A, potassium, and fiber -- is a known Superfood with super powers that can help save your sight, lower your blood pressure, even help you drop those unwanted pounds. Both fresh and canned pumpkin work wonders but the canned variety is the most nutritious since canning allows for the preservation of vitamins.

Are your recipe wheels turning? If so, aim for dishes that combine the healthiest of ingredients and minimal amounts of sugar.

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