The average American gobbles up 16 pounds of turkey each year -- about double the amount people ate in the 1960s. The poultry's increase in popularity may be linked to its nutrition. Turkey -- especially the white breast meat -- is high in protein and low in total fat, saturated fat and cholesterol.

Balancing a busy schedule with healthful, home-cooked meals is no easy feat. It usually requires a degree of organization and planning, and preparing foods ahead of time whenever possible. Some ingredients, such as fresh vegetables, can be partially cooked ahead of time. Others, such as chicken, can not.

A convection feature on your toaster oven speeds up the cooking time. This is done via a fan that circulates the hot air around the oven. By moving the air around, you get even heat dispersal and avoid cold spots. Many toaster ovens have two settings; bake or convection bake.

Some spices could cause miscarriage or early pregnancy loss, but not because of their spicy flavor. Many spices and herbs stimulate uterine contractions or uterine bleeding, which can cause very early miscarriage or later pregnancy loss.

If you're making homemade marshmallow or crispy rice squares, or if you just want to harden regular commercial marshmallows, remember that marshmallows become hard through exposure to air and cool temperatures. Storing them in a tightly closed container is the best way to keep them soft and fresh.

Kale provides a sturdy green suitable for cooked dishes. It's often used as a substitute for spinach in side dishes, casseroles and soups. Kale is most readily available fresh in spring and fall, but frozen kale is available year-round.

Baking drumsticks in the oven on properly prepared cookware ensures the meat doesn't stick to the dish. Lubrication methods vary depending on whether you use cookware with a nonstick finish or one without.

Whether you never eat meat or are simply trying to cut back for health reasons, frozen veggie burgers offer the kind of kind of quick-but-healthy meal option that takes well to more than one kind of cooking technique.

Ground cumin and whole cumin seeds are commonly used to add flavor to foods, especially in Indian, Middle Eastern and North African cooking. Allergies to cumin and other spices are relatively rare, but can develop in older children and adults.

A 1/2-cup serving of cubed butternut squash contains no fat, 2 grams of dietary fiber and over 100 percent of the daily allowance of vitamin A recommended for healthy adults.

Rice contains versatile complex carbohydrates that can help provide your body with fuel for energy. Of the numerous varieties of rice, the two people consume the most are white and brown.

Cooking veggie patties in your oven takes longer than with stove-top cooking but requires less attention as the patties cook. However, because the steps you take to prepare the patties are the same, most any veggie patty recipe is a good candidate for oven baking.