Hot chocolate isn’t the only warm, engaging, conversation-starting wintery meal-ender you can serve in a mug. In less time than it might take you to serve up that comforting beverage, you can use it to inspire a five-minute doozy of a dessert.

Kristen is a food lover, writer, and founder of Slender Kitchen—a food blog that believes healthy eating and meal planning should be delicious, fun, and stress free.

After struggling with her own weight loss and inaptitude in the kitchen, Kristen finally found the key to her own success was learning to prepare healthy, delicious, easy recipes at home and creating weekly meal plans.  Today on Slender Kitchen, she shares these good-for-you recipes and meal plans so anyone can be a star in the kitchen and reach their health and weight loss goals.

It is a tradition to have “Appetizer Day” at our Publisher, Elizabeth Millen’s home each year prior to the November magazine coming out. This year, we decided to shake things up a bit and have a “Party Favorites Day” instead. For Party Favorites Day, the entire Pink Magazine staff chose their favorite party recipe, prepared it, and brought it to share, along with the recipe, of course! To add to the fun, we gathered an impressive, eclectic assortment of serving trays from our wonderful advertisers in order to beautifully present our creations. This also allows us to show you that if we can do it, so can you.

Have you ever whipped up your signature sauce and thought..."Gosh, I could sell this stuff"?The men behind the Lowcountry's newest saucy sensation are here to say it can be done!

Karina Allrich is publisher, recipe developer and author Gluten-Free Goddess®. Karina discovered she was gluten intolerant in late 2001—after a decade of unseemly, classic celiac symptoms. She has been cooking and baking gluten-free ever since, serving up hundreds of original recipes on her popular food blog, launched in late fall 2005.

One in three woman die of heart disease and stroke. The American Heart Association is dedicated to making a change by building healthier lives. They offer a variety of tips and recipes, flanked with research and advocacies to educate Americans on the best ways to improve their lives.

Usually entrees are not only the stars of meals, but of leftovers the next day, too. Don’t shun your sides, though. In fact, they often can do double-duty and easily transform into the centerpiece of an entirely new meal.

Melissa is the founder, photographer and writer of Simply Whisked, a food blog dedicated to making wholesome, exciting food from scratch. She spent the past five years living overseas in France and Kazakhstan while her husband played professional hockey. During that time, she learned to be adventurous in the kitchen and adapt her cooking to locally available ingredients. She also was lucky enough to experience a variety of cuisines as they traveled. Simply Whisked was created to document all of it.

Co-owners Amy Shippy and Laura Hale consider their boutique bakeries' success divinely inspired. Both with various backgrounds and a love for cooking, they complement one another perfectly as co-owners and entrepreneurs ...and their story is definitely a fun one.

Whether you are a born-and-bred Southerner or got here as fast as you could, there is nothing more sinful than an incredible bite of pimento cheese. It is in the repertoire of every good Southern cook and a staple at any family or friends’ gathering.

Marisa McClellan is a writer, teacher, and blogger at Food in Jars. She is the author of Food in Jars: Preserving in Small Batches Year-Round and Preserving by the Pint: Quick Seasonal Canning for Small Spaces. She has written for Fine Cooking, Parents Magazine, Vegetarian Times, USA Today, the Food Network, Serious Eats, Food 52, The Kitchn, Saveur, Edible Philly, and more. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband. Find more of her jams, pickles, and preserves (all cooked up in her 80-square-foot kitchen) at www.foodinjars.com.

America’s beloved little indigo-colored berry has been around for ages. 13,000 years to be precise. Who can resist that burst of blueberry flavor whether it’s picked fresh or in a muffin or a pie? Taste alone makes these violet-tinged poppers desirable; but now they’ve been anointed as a health food—full of antioxidants and part of a healthy brain diet. This month we invite you to include these delicious blueberry recipes as part of your entertaining agenda or everyday plans. The only thing better than serving delectable, healthy food is eating it!

Hi, I’m Tina, a work at home mom, food blogger, recipe developer and the woman behind Mommy’s Kitchen!  I live in Texas and my blog features old-fashioned classics, comfort food and family recipes that are easy on your budget. My goal is to get families out of the fast food line and back to the dinner table, family style, with easy, delicious recipes.

June 1 is National Tomato Day, the start of a summer season of succulent delights when tomatoes play a starring role. Sun-warmed, cold or cooked, tomatoes are the key ingredient in 78 percent of America’s favorite recipes.