By Ro Howe

Our long-time contributor Ro Howe, chef/owner of Barraud Caterers, in New York City, had a grim, dour mom. Happily, she acquired several second mothers: the stern but benign Benedictine nuns at her boarding school. Here, in fond memory of the nuns-her-mothers, is a recipe for a real, and comforting, English pudding.

Ten tips for leading the good life.

By Ro Howe

Here’s a menu, smiling at the edges and warm in the middle, for a spring-welcoming feast.

Potluck dinners take much of the stress out of a feast that comes with built-in stress: long-distance travel; messy group or familial relationships; molto quadrupled-recipe cooking. It’s easier, that is, as long as you PLAN!

Just looking at the place-names Marsala, Bodrum, and Alexandria evokes in me such taste-memory nostalgia for the cultures and cuisines I have experienced there! From time to time, Women’s Voices for Change will be posting my thoughts about utilizing the Mediterranean chef’s healthy—and delectable—approach to eating.

Again the heated questions: How to quench our thirst? What to eat when we’re too hot and bothered to cook?

A weight-loss plateau: It’s a very scary, very real scenario. But before you decide to totally surrender to the fact that the scale may never move again, ponder the advice nutritionist Keri Gans gives her patients.

Scouting the Web this week, we were inspired by Nike’s tribute video of pioneering women in sports; moved by one artist’s using art to advocate for women who have been victims of violence; tickled by a new Declaration of Independence (from dieting); and inspired all over again—this time by some fabulous sexagenarians.

For the elegant picnic Ro Howe, chef/owner of Barraud Caterers, in New York City (see Part One), has devised to mark the day of our Revolution, she offers these grilling recipes, as well as suggestions for sparking games for both children and grown-ups.

Our favorite chef, Ro Howe, owner of Barraud Caterers Ltd., in New York City, starts off her summer picnic series for WVFC with a simple but elegant repast—a tribute to the people of France, whose revolution gave ordinary citizens grounds (literally) for eating in the open air.

By Keri Gans, M.S., R.D., C.D.N

Cleaning out my cupboards, I let my nutritionist persona take over: What really should be in there? Is what I have as healthy as it could be?

By Ro Howe

Here’s one of the nibbles I suggest for the delectable “day of enchantment” dinner you’ll be preparing.

By Susan Delson

The recipes in Anna Thomas’s “Love Soup” are vegetarian, and every bit as satisfying as those in the author’s “Vegetarian Epicure.” But their flavor springs from healthier sources.

By Patricia Yarberry Allen, M.D.

Many of us find it hard to regain control of our lives, time, money, and health. It all seems just too much. Here are five ways to take control of January and get your optimism back.

By Keri Gans, M.S., R.D., C.D.N.

Getting the winter blues? With less daylight and colder temperatures, it’s easy to do. But fueling your body properly is always a step in the right direction, making you feel and look better.