3 Fresh Thyme Openings in Chicago Area & Preview Twitter Party October 13!

**Disclosure: This is a sponsored post written on behalf of Fresh Thyme Farmer's Markets. All opinions are 100% my own and I am excited to share new Fresh Thyme news with you!

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How to eat healthy on the road {it can be done!}

June, July and August--those words mean something important to us: vacation time! Many of us hit the road or the skies some time during the summer break. While vacation is a time to indulge, some of us do not want to totally derail our diets. (After all, you worked so hard all year--right?) In fact, sometimes indulging a little too much can make us ill while on vacation. (I have spent my share of vacation days holed up in the hotel room. Not fun!) Here are a few ideas that I have for keeping your diet more under control while indulging.

• Pack a cooler for a road trip: With your own cooler, you have more control over what you are eating if you pack it yourself. Make sure to include plenty of veggies and fruit. We usually pick heartier items like apples and carrots.
• Take advantage of hotel rooms with kitchenettes: If you have a kitchenette, use it! You do not have to use it for every meal. However, each meal that you can make on your own will undoubtedly save you some calories.

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Poblano Grilled Cheese via Eating Well

Eating Well serves up another great recipe for all of you to try! We are always looking for new recipes that are easy and tasty. Eating Well's Hot Chile Grilled Cheese really fit the bill for us. While the poblanos did serve up some heat in this sandwich, I feel that the beans really helped to keep that heat from being overwhelming. (We do love spicy food in our house, but I know that some people aren't as keen on it!)

The peppers for the sandwich were easy to make--just pop them in the microwave and follow the directions. The recipe does call for a panini maker. Since we do not have a panini maker, I followed the stovetop directions and they worked like a charm! Also, I learned a new trick to play around with. For the cheese mixture, the recipe called for you to mix shredded cheese (Cheddar or Monterey Jack), cilantro, scallions, and yogurt. I really like how the mixture worked on the sandwich. I really see potential in adding yogurt to cheese to cut fat calories but keep flavor in other recipes. I will have to play with that.......

This is a great recipe worth trying out! We will definitely be making it again!

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Website Wednesday: Eating Well

One of my sources of healthy recipes is Eating Well. I am able to find a lot of new recipes there as well as old favorites re-envisioned in a healthier way. Even just by perusing the recipes, I have been able to make some of my standard recipes healthier! Additionally, Eating Well has all sorts of news about food and how to choose the best food for your particular diet. They also discuss such hot topics as the diet du jour and the new superfoods. There is a wealth of healthy diet information on the website, so take some time and look it over!

**Sorry for this post being a little late--we seem to all be fighting colds this week!

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Trader Joe's Organic Plain Nonfat Yogurt---Yum!

More times than not, when someone hears that I eat plain yogurt, they ask what kind. After months of trial and error, I settled on Trader Joe's Organic Nonfat Plain Yogurt. The plain yogurt world can be frustrating to navigate because so many of the plain yogurts have a strong taste. However, I have found that my preferred yogurt has a very light taste and is surprisingly creamy. In fact, it naturally tastes a little sweeter than other plain yogurts I have tried.

I love to eat my yogurt with some fresh raspberries and a little granola. I prefer a mixed berry granola that has freeze dried blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries in it. This mix definitely beats eating one of those fruit yogurt cups with random, unknown ingredients. Plus, you really get to up the fruit content, therefore getting more nutrients! I love this mix as a morning snack!

***Disclosure: I did not receive any compensation for this post. The opinions expressed are 100% my own.

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