I'm a big fan of Mexican food, but not a fan of all the fat that usually goes along with it. That doesn't hold me back from enjoying it whenever I want, though. I just order or make each dish in a much smarter and healthier way.

Homemade Tortilla Chips are a staple item and the great news is, they're painfully easy to make. I whip up a batch quickly and serve them with salsa (which is naturally nonfat) or my Fat Free Mexican O-Layered Dip.

Both recipes are available in my online recipe book at Fitzness.com, and I hope you'll give them a try. Other fun toppings to add to your chips are lean grilled meat, veggies, low fat or nonfat cheeses and sour cream.

Just like any other style of cooking, whenever you ditch the oil, butter and fatty sauces ... you'll end up with a much healthier meal. Ole!

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When I invented this recipe years ago, I told my husband what I was making and a big fat question mark suddenly appeared over his head. He looked at me like I was a bit insane, but didn't say those words. I think he was afraid to hurt my feelings.

But vindication came as he took his first bite. Sweet Crusted Chicken Nuggets are to die for. As my husband did that day, every single guest in my house has cleaned their entire plate when I make them. I imagine yours will be received in a similar way.

My secret formula is available in the online recipe book at my site Fitzness.com. They're very easy to make and don't take a lot of time either.

Serve them with grilled veggies, a sweet potato or on top of a salad to round things out in a healthy way. Enjoy!

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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What? What do you mean I've posted a quinoa and grilled zucchini recipe before? OK, I admit it, I did the deed. But since these two recipes are so radically different, I thought it would be fun to do a comparison of the two recipes; surely you'll choose a favorite.

The new quinoa and grilled zucchini recipe has eggs, pine nuts, goat cheese and a tantalizing yogurt avocado dressing, all providing protein and other nutrients. The original recipe I posted has garbanzo beans as added protein.

Most of the flavor in the original quinoa recipe is provided by curry spices, like cumin, paprika and turmeric. In this new recipe, fresh cilantro dominates for a very different flavor. Both recipes use healthy spices, so we're win-win here.

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Is the zucchini growing like crazy in your garden? It's that time of year, and probably also the time when you start getting sick of your same old zucchini recipes.

Zucchini is a healthy summer squash, full of manganese, vitamin C, and magnesium, among other plentiful vitamins and minerals. Don't just bake with it -- although I know you are tempted to make some amazing zucchini bread! Instead, make some recipes worthy of zucchini's healthy status.

Over at Kalyn's Kitchen, you'll find ten delicious zucchini recipes, all healthy and low-calorie, ranging from grilled zucchini (my favorite way, with Italian salad dressing!) to roasted zucchini with green onions, feta cheese and basil.

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Sounds impossible, doesn't it? Who in the world ever thought of going to Disney and eating healthy? Crazy talk, right? Wrong! Your loving online Fitzness Expert (me) who has extremely high standards on what I put in both my children's mouth and my own can spend a day at the Magic Kingdom or EPCOT and eat as well as I would in my own home. Disney has made grand efforts to improve the healthfulness of the foods they offer, and has even gone overboard with an abundance of fresh fruit stands located throughout each theme park.

I just spent a week at Walt Disney World in Florida and returned home half a pound less than I was the day before vacation. Want to eat right while enjoying the magic with Mickey Mouse? Read on.

• Mickey makes mealtime easy on the fitness fan. Every restaurant I ventured through offered several menu options based on lean grilled meat, veggies, and/or fruit. Even the children's meals come standard with side items like: grapes, carrot sticks, and unsweetened applesauce. They also come with bottled water or skim milk. Sweet! Parents would have to go out of their way to substitute french fries and soda for their children instead of the healthy stuff. Eww! You the fitness fan, certainly wouldn't do that!
• Sit down dining restaurants offer Egg Beaters cooked without oil in lieu of regular scrambled eggs. I enjoyed this perk while dining with Minnie and Goofy at Disney's Yacht Club Resort.
• Resort dining facilities offer endless refrigerators full of fresh fruit, veggies, yogurt, dried fruit, nutritious snack bars and more.
• Seek out healthier desserts. Anywhere they are served, Disney has made efforts to make reduced fat, low sugar or fresh fruit treats available.

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We all know that home-cooked meals are generally healthier than restaurant ones. But have you ever stopped to wonder why? It's all down to the money -- flavour sells better than bland so restaurants will do whatever they can to make your dish taste good. Here are some examples from a chef:

• Even the veggies have fat. Steamed and grilled veggies at restaurants are often cooked with butter or another fat to make them more flavourful.
  
• Egg-White Omelets are no better. They too are cooked in copious amounts of fat, often 2 tablespoons or more.
  
• Grilled and toasted sandwiches might have butter on the outside and the inside. It's adds flavour and helps keep it together too.
  
• The salad is mostly fat and cheese. Guess what? Veggies aren't healthy if they're drenched in unhealthy stuff.
  
• Grilled meat isn't necessarily lean. Meats, no matter the cut or cooking method, are typically brushed with oil before being cooked. It helps keep it from sticking to the pan or grill. Then more butter is often added after cooking for flavour.
  
• Sushi isn't always the lean choice. Pay attention to the mayonnaise, cream cheese and deep-fried tempura in the rolls.
  

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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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I've talked about Dr. Katz's healthy advice before, and he's recently weighed in on his tips for eating out. He says that there are two important choices when going out for a meal: The restaurant and what you order. When picking a restaurant, it's important to choose one that has healthy options that you enjoy. Choosing a restaurant with a salad bar is a great idea, or if you want some protein, choose a place the offers grilled meats.

When ordering, avoid meats that are breaded and/or fried. Here's one clue that I find helpful: if it says 'crispy', it's probably breaded and fried. As for your side, choose the salad or veggies always. Skip the fries -- you'll feel better about it.

What are your eating out tips?

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One of the best parts about spring, summer, and fall is grilling outdoors. Sadly, the typical grilled menu of hamburgers, brats, and steaks isn't so easy on the health-conscious dieter and their waistline. But happily, there are some healthier and just-as-tasty grilling alternatives.

Try vegetable pizza with the crust-and-all made right on the grill, and grill fruit like bananas and pineapples, or cantaloupe, on kabobs with mint and honey. And for dessert, try grilling slices of angel food cake until they're crusty on the outside and then top with frozen fruit. My mouth is watering just writing this!

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If you're interested in losing weight, you should begin by making small steps towards a healthier life. So what should these changes be? This article suggests the following:

-Stop drinking juice, soda and any other high-sugar beverage
-Cut down on the fat you use, even if it's healthy fat like olive oil
-Hold the mayo -- it will save you 110 calories per tablespoon
-Boost your fiber intake by switching to whole grains and increasing the amount of veggies you consume
-Opt for grilled instead of fried. And for the record, when something is described as 'crispy' (think chicken) that almost always means it's battered and fried. And if you're not already, pick the skinless variety of chicken over the original version.

Sounds simple enough. What do you think?

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Italian food can go either way where your fitness level is concerned. It can be mega nutritious and low in calories, or it can be a belly busting nightmare loaded with calories and fat. Choosing which way you'd like your meal to go isn't a brainteaser, it just requires for you to make the choice and stick with it.

Meat: Choose a lean cut and grill it. Avoid fried versions of chicken Parmesan. .

Vegetables: Italy is renowned for it's incredibly fresh and delicious vegetables, which they like to use quite liberally. You should do the same. Primavera is a term you should become familiar with and use it often when going Italian.

Sauce: The sauce is where lots of folks screw up royally. Think marinara. Marinara sauce is made from tomatoes. Lots are even naturally fat free. Alfredo is bad bad bad. I know that we don't like to put 'labels' on things, but too bad! If you are not specifically creating your own low fat version of the white stuff say the heck away from it. It's made from cream, butter, cheese, and all sorts of things that combine to clog your arteries and stuff your jeans. Sauces with the words oil or butter in them need to stay in the kitchen as well, Hey, it's Italian. Go red!

If your New Year's resolution is to eat healthier you might need some inspiration. How about this? It's a detailed account of what you would be eating if, just for one day, everything you consumed was perfectly healthy. It's a perfect days of food. Breakfast is oatmeal, maybe with fruit. Your morning snack is grapes with low-fat cheese. Lunch is a tuna sandwich on whole wheat with veggies. The afternoon snack is walnuts and more cheese. Dinner is grilled salmon with broccoli. The day is even topped off with a (healthy) dessert. Does it sound do-able?

I know, your idea of a perfect day doesn't include things like Broccoli, oatmeal and low fat anything. But it's perfect for your body, and your body needs to be spoiled too.

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