What's the fourth of July like without a little grilling action? But instead of downing the typical hot dogs and hamburgers, why don't you try a new recipe that's packed with flavor and skimps on fat and calories? ...

Suffering from memory melt? It may be because you're ­cutting carbs, a study in Appetite reports. Volunteers followed either a very low-carb or a low-cal diet. Those who quit breaking bread performed worse on memory tests than their ­calorie-counting peers, but their scores returned to pre-diet levels when they started eating small amounts of starches again. Carb deprivation starves the brain of glucose, its primary energy source, says study co-author Holly A. Taylor, Ph.D. ...

Right now, you want food that's fresh and fast— and that features the season's bounty of healthy ingredients. These recipes from Mark Bittman, one of the country's most creative culinary gurus, do all that. Best of all, each one takes less than 20 minutes to make! ...

For those of us who don't want the fat of regular milk but miss its delicious creaminess, manufacturers add milk proteins to skim to thicken its texture and heighten its flavor. These products also deliver more protein and calcium: One cup of Farmland Dairies Skim Plus offers 405 milligrams of calcium and 11 grams of protein, whereas a cup of traditional nonfat milk has 300 milligrams of calcium and eight grams of protein. They're worth a try, but keep in mind that the new fortified milk has 20 to 30 more calories per cup than regular skim and costs up to twice as much.

Melamine is a compound made from nitrogen, carbon, and hydrogen. When used to manufacture mixing bowls and other dishware, it's encased in a strong polymer that keeps it out of your cake mix. The FDA says that polymerized melamine has been safely used in dishware for decades with no negative health effects. Melamine is also used as a fertilizer and food additive—until recently a common practice in China (melamine was the formula ingredient that sickened thousands of Chinese babies last year). Because it's toxic in very high doses, the FDA bans its use in the U.S. food supply.

Photo: ©iStockphoto.com Want a great new dinner idea? Celebrate the warm weather by cooking dinner outside. Grill up this healthy version of the Mexican pork dish carnitas — the original is typically simmered in its own fat. The toasted oregano in this recipe for grilled pork tacos with avocado-radish salad adds an authentic touch. To ensure a terrific fiber boost, look for low-carb tortillas that offer about 50 calories and 8 grams fiber. Click here for the full recipe: ...

Walk into any big grocery store in America and you're in for a sensory onslaught: a blinding array of packaged edibles, each one designed to send you into a food coma before you ingest a single calorie. Emblazoned on nearly every box, bag, and bottle is a multitude of nutritional claims, essentially screaming, "Buy me! Buy me!" ...