Food and Beverage

Don't always blame the holiday platters. Your widening waistline may have more to do with your drink, especially if you're giddy at the thought of the open bar at the office holiday bash. Drinking low-cal requires a little know-how, so let's review a few key tips to keep your alcohol merriment calorically responsible.

What's Your Proof and Mixer? Try diet tonic or diet soda with your gin or rum instead of the straight, sweet stuff. Light lemonade is great, so is coffee. Watch out for fruit juices, 6 ounces of orange juice has 84 calories. Consider infused vodkas and flavored liquors, which take mixers out of the equation. And don't forget 80-proof vodka has 64 calories per ounce, compared to 82 calories in 100-proof. The pour matters, too. Longer pours mean more calories.

Alcohol and Food are Co-Dependent. Alcohol and food can have a frenzied relationship. An 8-ounce Long Island iced tea has more calories (780) than a McDonald's Big Mac. And one too many top shelf Long Islands often means you'll succumb to a Big Mac attack at the end of the night, after six parmesan puffs, four shrimp tempuras and three truffles.

Don't Drink Dessert. Your cocktail does not need a sugared rim, shaved chocolate,...

Who says you can't get something for nothing? Try these top five ways to score free food!

1. Art Openings: As every struggling artist and art student knows, art show openings are a great place to score free wine and cheese. To make it even easier to find the free food -- er, appreciate new art -- many cities have designated specific nights, often Thursdays or Fridays, for gallery opening events. The fun is not just limited to large urban art centers, either; many smaller cities host art hops, which guide art enthusiasts and those with a fondness for cheese from gallery to gallery.

2. Coupons: Through careful combination of coupons and grocery store specials, it is possible to get name brand food for absolutely nothing. Many grocery stores will double or even triple manufacturer's coupons, and some markets offer their own retailer coupons, which can be combined with the manufacturer's coupons for even deeper discounts. Modern couponing is more than clipping discounts from the Sunday paper; there are also Internet printable coupons and grocery e-coupons. To make the most of the free food deals, many couponers get advice from...

When your family decides to go out to eat, it can be a struggle to find a nutritious meal at a place where everyone will have a good time. Some restaurant chains are more family-friendly. Here are the top 10 national chains, where you'll get good food, a friendly staff and great prices.

Buca di Beppo This Italian restaurant, with 86 locations nationwide, offers traditional Italian cuisine served family style. This allows you to share your meals and your kids won't be stuck with spaghetti and meatballs.

Chili's There are thousands of Chili's restaurants, and the kids' menu offers fun activities to occupy your kids. When it comes time to order, there's also a variety of sides from black beans to mandarin oranges. There's even corn. Entrees include grilled chicken, pasta and pizza.

Chuck E. Cheese This pizzeria is a fun destination for children with age-appropriate games, rides and entertainment. The chain offers value packages that include pizza, game tokens and beverages at a discounted price. Chuck E. Cheese is also a great place to host a birthday party. Just be careful, this is definitely a kids-centered zone, and you might get seated next to the next birthday girl -- who just opened a karaoke set!

Cracker...

Though for some the term "gourmet" may still conjure images of pristine white tablecloths, swanky silver platters and Michelin-starred dining, this interpretation has been stripped of its highfalutin' connotations in recent decades.

The term is linked to Gourmet magazine -- an iconic publication that Condé Nast debatably considered outdated when it shut down operations in October 2009. According to the New York Times, the magazine after its inception in 1941 "thrived on a rush of postwar aspiration and became a touchstone for readers who wanted lives filled with dinner parties, reservations at important restaurants and exotic but comfortable travel."

Aspirational it may have been, but the magazine also sparked interest in home cooking beyond the Betty Crocker-inspired casual casseroles, and brought "gourmet" into the home, achievable by care paid to quality ingredients and careful cooking by the homemaker. How could a focus on seasonal produce and cooking one's own meals be considered elite?

With the increasing popularity of the Food...

Try these ten traditional Christmas foods to help you kick off the holiday season in a festive spirit:

1. Yule Log or Bûche de Noël: A French dessert dating back to approximately the 19th Century, the Yule Log is created from a Genoese sponge cake which is frosted and rolled into the shape of a log. The Bûche de Noël is frosted to look like bark and decorated with fanciful marzipan mushrooms.

2. Mincemeat Pie: This Christmas food has evolved since its origins, when mincemeat pies were savory pastries made from leftover scraps of meats. Modern mincemeat pies tend to be sweeter, and are typically made from apples, raisins, spices, and suet (animal fat).

3. Christmas Pudding: Also known as plum pudding, the traditional Christmas pudding is a heavy dark concoction made with ingredients which were historically expensive, like fruits, nuts and brandy. It became a staple in English Christmas celebrations, and was often doused with brandy and set on fire before being served, as described in the Charles Dickens classic "A Christmas Carol".

4. Gingerbread House: The ...