Chocolate hazelnut spreads such as Nutella can be a delicious way to add variety to your sandwiches and baked goods. However, you might not want to give up on peanut butter just yet, since it has a number of advantages over chocolate hazelnut spreads when it comes to nutrition.

Unlike starchy vegetables, nonstarchy vegetables are low in both carbohydrates and calories, making them a particularly healthy addition to your diet. On average, a 1/2-cup serving of cooked nonstarchy vegetables or a cup of raw nonstarchy vegetables has only 25 calories and 2 grams of carbohydrates.

If you have diabetes, choosing the right foods in the right amounts and eating them at the right time can become challenging and even overwhelming.

If you must have a cookie from time to time, a ginger snap is among your best options, compared to other varieties such as chocolate chip or sugar cookies. Most ginger snaps are lower in fat and sugar than other types of cookies, and you'll also get a good dose of certain vitamins and minerals, as well.

Although oils and fats don't have their own food group in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's ChooseMyPlate dietary guidelines, the department still recommends including some oil in your diet each day. Women should aim for the equivalent of 5 teaspoons daily, while men should consume 6 teaspoons.

Protein is found in every cell, tissue and organ in the human body and is necessary for optimal functioning. Protein is a macronutrient, and therefore provides the body with energy. It is constantly being broken down, digested and replaced by dietary sources.

The plethora of plant-based cooking oils on the market today often make it difficult to determine when to use which one during meal preparation. Two of these oils, rice bran oil and sunflower oil, have similar nutrient profiles at 120 calories and about 13 grams of fat per tablespoon.

Marinating a steak in kosher salt before cooking it helps to get salt further into a piece of meat, providing consistent flavor throughout, instead of on just the outer portion. Marinating meat in kosher salt also helps to draw water out of steak, which can them be removed, resulting in more flavorful piece of meat.

An omelet is a protein-rich dish that can also supply fiber, potassium and vitamin C, depending on what ingredients you add to the eggs. The butter usually used to cook the omelet adds a good deal of saturated fat to the final product.

Americans don't get enough health-promoting seafood in their diet, according to the publication "Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010." Eating 8 ounces of seafood a week reduces your risk of heart disease.

Kosher dill pickles are made from small cucumbers known as gherkins. Made in the traditional Jewish manner using dill, garlic and salt brine to give the characteristic mouth-puckering, sour, pungent flavor, Kosher dills have few calories and few nutrients, unless you eat them by the barrel full.

If you're working, studying or simply trying to stay awake in the evening -- it's easy to reach for a cup of coffee or a can of soda. Doing so, however, can have a negative effect on your ability to sleep soundly.