Living a healthy lifestyle doesn’t have to mean putting yourself on a juice fast and/or becoming a marathon runner. A more realistic way to become health-conscious is to make small changes to your daily routine. Here are a few ideas:

1. Cut out the empty calories. Replace “easy” sugary snacks like a can of soda and a candy bar with something just as simple but nutritious, like a water bottle and a cup of high-protein Greek yogurt.

2. Take the stairs. Sure, even one flight seems daunting after a long day at the office. But try to push yourself to climb the staircase instead of copping out with that relaxing (and ever-so-tempting) ride up the elevator.

3. Go for a walk. If you’re bored and can’t decide how to pass your waking hours, why not stroll through your neighborhood instead of planting yourself in front of the television for the entire afternoon. As a bonus, you’ll not only burn some extra calories, but you’ll also get to know your hometown.

4. Cook more at home. Eating out can add up to a lot of excess calories. When someone else is cooking for you, you can’t know how much oil, cream, and sodium goes into the dish (and usually you’ll get a lot of those when you eat out). When you prepare your own food, you know exactly what goes into it.

5. Notice the colors on your plate. Different nutrients color foods differently, so a rainbow meal means that you’re filling up on all the proper nutrients. Pile on green, orange, and red, and limit yourself on the browns and whites. We’re talking natural colors here, of course… a rainbow-frosted cupcake is not the right choice to stay healthy. :)

6. Limit processed foods. Instead of spending your grocery money on fancy microwavable meals with three thousand ingredients, just keep it simple. Try to make time to prepare food yourself, and stick with ingredients whose names you can recognize (and not from chemistry class).

7. Pile on the veggies. Be sure to incorporate vegetables into all your meals. If you’re eating eggs, add some spinach and onions. If you’re having chicken, add a salad on the side.

8. Eat more protein. Protein keeps you fuller for longer and does not cause the famous cravings, or sugar crashes, that carbohydrates often cause. Including some form of protein (eggs, yogurt, lean meat, cheese) in every meal and snack will help you feel satiated and help prevent snack attacks.

9. Don’t be afraid of good fats. Low fat diets often backfire, because they tend to be very high in simple carbohydrates. Fat is good for you – especially the fat found in foods such as avocado, salmon, and olive oil, and recent research shows that dairy fat can be beneficial too.

10. Walk or bike short distances. Though many of us are used to driving anywhere outside a 20-foot radius, distances of less than a mile are easily walkable, and distances less than three miles (especially on flat terrain) are easy to bike. Plus, gas prices are only rising… so you’ll be doing your wallet a favor as well.

Can’t stand Brussels sprouts? The little ones refuse anything green? No worries. Just get a little sneaky with your cooking and include healthy additions in standard recipes. I’m usually one to try something new…but it rarely sticks. But when it comes to experimenting with healthy add-ins, I’ve been doing it on a daily basis – and even my kids enjoy it (gasp!).

Here’s how I’ve found my way to scientific satisfaction and more energy in the kitchen:

1. Breakfast burritos. I have mixed these up in all sorts of ways, adding in pureed onions and peppers until they look like ‘sauce’. Which makes them less detectable to the kids (visible pepper avoiders) and adds in tasty flavors. I’ve substituted brown rice for white and still no one has noticed! I’ve replaced sour cream with VOSKOS^® Greek yogurt (VOSKOS^® is one of my favorite add-ins…you may notice as you read on) to reduce the amount of fat and increase protein.

2. Muffins. This is a great go-to snack that everyone loves. Few can resist the smell of fresh bread baking in the oven, at it’s best in the form of a muffin that fits in your hand. Sweet or savory, muffins have become a vehicle for me to include whatever is on hand: oatmeal, greek yogurt, flax seed, etc. Get creative- a puree of blueberries and kale made for a bright muffin adventure one morning!

3. Dessert. Cake batter is delicate so you have to be careful here. I did have one memorable disaster that led me to my first (and only) rule of additions: Add in small portions first, larger portions later. A quarter cup of something is likely to go undetected in desserts – replace some of the butter with applesauce or VOSKOS^® greek yogurt, add in a fruit or even carrot puree. Sweet potatoes are an excellent addition to a rich dessert. It feels great to make recipes more healthful and see how the detectives…er, I mean family try to determine what I’ve done differently. Often they don’t notice at all…shh!

4. Dips. We are all prey to the allure of dips; hummus, ranch dressing, salsa…it adds flavor and texture to veggies or chips. I’ve been able to add in roasted peppers, garlic, onions, beans, olive oil, carrots and squash to create some well-received dressings for carrots and pretzels. Replacing part or all of the sour cream with Greek yogurt should go without saying at this point.

One final tip: Parties and movie nights are good times to introduce a new dish…picky folks tend to inspect a little less and feel inclined to enjoy the food when they’re content with the activities going on around them.

Best of all, when yo start experimenting with healthifying your recipes, the kids aren’t the only ones eating healthier. The adults in my household are enjoying the fruits of my experiments too. Try it for yourself! include a sneaky, nutritious addition (such as oats or pureed beans) in Grandma’s meatloaf for tonight’s dinner!

Don’t spend a fortune combatting dry winter skin! You can enjoy a softer, plumper, glowingly hydrated complexion with an inexpensive product that is already in your refrigerator.

Are you suffering from dry winter skin? You can get natural relief without expensive beauty products. “Relief for your dry skin may be as close as your refrigerator,” says Emily Neukircher, the marketing manager for VOSKOS^® Greek Yogurt, America’s first nationally-distributed Greek Yogurt brand.

“Many expensive moisturizers and facial creams contain lactic acid, which is found naturally in Greek yogurt,” says Neukircher. “Lactic acid is a gentle exfoliant. Adding a natural moisturizer like honey helps rehydrate dry skin.”

This simple face mask recipe contains just two ingredients, and is perfect for soothing dry winter complexions. It’s easy to apply first thing in the morning, and remove in the shower.

VOSKOS^® Greek Yogurt Honey Mask

1 Tablespoon Plain Organic VOSKOS^® Greek Yogurt
1 Tablespoon Organic Honey

Add honey to a small microwave-safe bowl, and microwave for just a few seconds, until it is warmed to approximately body temperature and becomes runny.

Remove bowl from microwave and stir in VOSKOS^® Greek yogurt. Blend until just mixed.

Apply to cleansed face (avoiding eyes) and allow to sit on your skin for 15 minutes. During the last 5 minutes, you can get into the shower and allow the steam to help moisturize your skin even more.

Remove mask with a warm, damp washcloth.

“This natural moisturizing mask can help you combat the dull, dry skin that comes from heated indoor air this time of year,” says Neukircher. “And if you eat the rest of the yogurt, from the container, it will help you feel as good on the inside as you look on the outside!”

Greek yogurt is thicker and creamier than regular yogurt, and contains a number of probiotics—naturally occurring friendly bacteria that are present in our digestive systems. Some research has linked probiotics to healthy digestion and regularity.

Eating Greek yogurt may be even more important during “flu season.” In a study, people who ate two cups of live-culture yogurt every day for three months produced higher levels of immunity-boosting interferon. The probiotics in yogurt have also been shown to stimulate the production of infection-fighting white blood cells.