Paula from Indiana is svelte so something must be working. Or else it’s genetics and she’s never had jodhpur thighs muffin top or back boob to worry about anyway. But even better than her “skinny secrets” is her archive of recipes and how-tos. She makes her own nonfat Greek Yogurt, for example. Now, I used to make yogurt when the kids were young because I didn’t want chemical additives going into their little tummies. I had a yogurt maker and all sorts of equipment and flavour doo-dads to go with it, but I was never satisfied with the texture – it was always sort of too glassy and not acidic enough. I’m going to give Paula’s recipe a try, though, because it seems simpler and you get to use ingredients you have on hand. She also uses the Greek Yogurt in a low-cal Creamy Balsamic Salad Dressing, to go on top of the lettuce in a jar. Balsamic – another taste favourite.

                             Paula also has a section on a group-blogger project called Tuesdays With Dorie, where they choose one recipe from a cookbook Baking: From My House to Yours, written by Dorie Greenspan and everyone bakes the recipe and shares their views – after they’ve eaten it, of course!  Check out the list of irresistibles on Paula’s website or go directly to Dorie’s site, called In the Kitchen and On the Road with Dorie.

It’s not cool enough to start thinking about baking again but there’s always room to hoard more recipes. Gingered Carrot Cookies sound both healthy and decadent. Can’t wait to bake some. The air conditioning is on – I think I have a bag of mini-carrots languishing in the veggie drawer. We’ll see how it goes…..