Lighten up your sauces - think salsa instead. No flour, no cream, just chopped veggies or fruit to top a grilled chicken breast or broiled fish fillet. If you must use your oven, make it do double duty. Roast your vegetables along with your meat.

Be adventurous and experiment with tropical fruit added to a conventional fruit salad. Add a yummy warm fruit muffin or biscuit (you don’t have to bake, let Very Vera do it for you) and an assortment of cheeses. Your family may be happy without a heavy meat entree for a change. The key here is a happy mama. If you serve it up with a smile, chances are it will be eaten with a smile!

Potato and Cherry Tomato Salad (4-6)

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 6 tablespoons white wine vinegar 1 1/2 tsp. salt Coarse black pepper to taste 2 pounds small white potatoes, scrubbed 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved 6 bail leaves, torn into small pieces

Combine oil, vinegar, salt and pepper in a salad bowl and set aside.

Put potatoes in a pot, cover with cold water and cook until knife is easily inserted. Drain, cool to room temperature and cut them into small wedges or slices. Toss them into salad bowl along with cherry tomatoes and basil. Allow to marinate at room temperature several hours before serving.

*To keep your cool, cook potatoes early in day and refrigerate until ready to use.

Bread-and-Butter Pickles: 6 lbs of 4- to 5-inch pickling cucumbers 8 cups thinly sliced onions (about 3 pounds) l/2 cup canning or pickling salt 4 cups vinegar (5 percent) 4-l/2 cups sugar 2 tbsp mustard seed l-l/2 tbsp celery seed l tbsp ground tumeric

Wash cucumbers. Cut l/l6-inch off blossom end and discard. Cut into 3/l6-inch slices. Combine cucumbers and onions in a large bowl. Add salt. Cover with 2 inches crushed or cubed ice. Refrigerate 3 to 4 hours, adding more ice as needed. Combine remaining ingredients in a large pot. Boil l0 minutes. Drain and add cucumbers and onions and slowly reheat to boiling. Fill jars with slices and cooking syrup, leaving l/2-inch headspace. Adjust lids and process pints or quarts l0 minutes in a boiling water canner. After processing and cooling, jars should be stored 4 to 5 weeks to develop ideal flavor. Quick Sweet Pickles 8 lbs of 3- to 4-inch pickling cucumbers (may be canned as strips or slices) l/3 cup canning or pickling salt 4-l/2 cups sugar 3-l/2 cups vinegar (5 percent) 2 tsp celery seed l tbsp whole allspice 2 tbsp mustard seed Yield: About 7 to 9 pints Wash cucumbers. Cut l/l6-inch off blossom end and discard, but leave l/4 inch of stem attached. Slice or cut in strips, if desired. Place in bowl and sprinkle with l/3 cup salt. Cover with 2 inches of crushed or cubed ice. Refrigerate 3 to 4 hours. Add more ice as needed. Drain well. Combine sugar, vinegar, celery seed, allspice, and mustard seed in 6-quart kettle. Heat to boiling. Hot Pack: Add cucumbers and heat slowly until vinegar solution returns to boil. Stir occasionally to make sure mixture heats evenly. Fill sterile jars, leaving l/2-inch headspace. Adjust lids. Process 5 minutes in a boiling water canner. Raw Pack: Fill jars, leaving l/2-inch headspace. Add hot pickling syrup, leaving l/2-inch headspace. Adjust lids and process pints l0 minutes and quarts l5 minutes in boiling water canner or use low temperature pasteurization treatment. After processing and cooling, jars should be stored 4 to 5 weeks to develop ideal flavor.