Beverages

Another breakfast option: Whip up a smoothie with other fruits.

Watermelon is a lycopene star — 1 cup has nearly 7 milligrams of the cancer fighter. Riesling adds a refreshing crispness.

Tip: Replace the cream (but keep the flavor) with 2 percent milk.

We recommend using a good-quality California or Spanish sparkling wine for this punch. Both are widely available and less expensive than Champagne.

Scott Uehlein, executive chef at the renowned Canyon Ranch Health Resort in Tucson, Arizona, says this broth is delicious over seared tuna or noodles.

Chef: Patrick O'Connell, The Inn at Little Washington, Washington, Virginia. Claim to fame: Named best chef in the Mid-Atlantic region by the James Beard Foundation. How he defines natural: "Natural means meat and poultry raised without antibiotics and hormones, and locally grown vegetables."

No time to make a healthy dinner? "I love to cook for myself," says Jennifer Garner, the costar of Fox's Time of Your Life television series. "It's my stay-healthy secret. Making a simple dinner actually calms me down after a harried day. Often I'll spend Sunday nights cooking and then use the leftovers for lunch that week. Right now, I'm really into cooking with orzo. It's a light, rice-shaped pasta that fills me up. I especially love this recipe because the orzo goes well with the shrimp and veggies and it's quick and easy to make."

This fennel-and-scallion-enriched version of tyropita (Greek cheese pie) uses feta and cottage cheese to create a filling that's mildly tangy yet mellow.

Editor's note: The recipe below is part of a healthy and delicious spa menu developed exclusively for Epicurious by Lake Austin Spa Resort. Back in the 1800s, trail driving cowboys — some of the world's foremost experts at putting whatever was at hand to good use — made the first red-eye gravy by swirling some coffee, mixed with a little flour, in a skillet full of juices from pan-fried steaks. This concoction, along with pinto beans and Dutch oven biscuits, filled many a belly between Texas and the stockyards in Kansas City. Today, most of us are punching clocks instead of cattle, but a sizzling steak with red-eye gravy can still be mighty tasty. The dry rub for the steaks, made with ground coffee beans, doesn't taste anything like it sounds. Give it a try, lest folks take you for a complete greenhorn, podnah.

Editor's note: The recipe below is part of a healthy and delicious spa menu developed exclusively for Epicurious by Lake Austin Spa Resort. This is arguably Mexico's most famous special occasion cake. Tres leches means three milks — typically heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk, and whole milk. Our version opts for a lighter more tropical soaking — reduced-fat coconut milk, fat-free sweetened condensed milk, and skim milk. You would think that all of this fluid infusion would turn the cake to sodden disintegration. But, in fact, it absorbs the liquids beautifully, much as does the equatorial earth absorb a sudden downpour. Accompanied by rum-caramelized bananas and topped with toasted coconut, this cake has become our most popular new dessert.

The all-American soda fountain classic gets a fabulous tropical makeover.

This variation on the classic Piña Colada is served at the Caribe Hilton in San Juan, Puerto Rico; it's finished with a dark rum float for extra flavor.

Enid P. Saldana of San Juan, Puerto Rico, writes: "I would love to get the recipe for the lychee Martini they serve at Kittichai, in New York City." This summer, enjoy a vodka Martini with a real twist — lychee. The exotic sweetness of the fruit brightens the citrus flavors in this truly refreshing drink.

Elegant but easy, this fast fish dinner is simple enough to prepare on a weeknight and special enough to serve to company.

Lime cordial is a mixture of sweet limeade syrup and beer, club soda, or seltzer, in a ratio of about 3 parts syrup to 1 part beer or soda (the syrup by itself can also be properly called lime cordial). The wonderfully refreshing drink both complements and tames intense spices.

Babi Chin
This tender braised pork is wonderfully easy to make. The aromatic spices — cinnamon, clove, and coriander (which is toasted before grinding to deepen its taste) — add so much flavor that there's no need to brown the meat before braising it.