Ellie's Real Good Food — Season 1

Ellie takes Beth - a mom, a full-time labor and delivery nurse, and a grad student - under her wing. Ellie helps Beth rein in her takeout habit with three easy make-ahead recipes that stock her fridge with a week of tasty meals.

The key to having chocolate in your life in a manageable way is to go for quality over quantity. In this episode, we visit the Chocolate Expo and Ellie demonstrates how to incorporate the joys of chocolate into everyday menus, clarifying how to take advantage of its health benefits.

Inez's extreme approach to carbs has left her not only feeling tired, but stressed from making separate meals for herself and her family. Ellie helps Inez bring balance to her home, by dispelling misinformation about carbs and sharing healthy recipes she can enjoy with her family.

We all love cheese - who doesn't? But there can be too much of a good thing. Ellie answers an SOS from a home where cheese has completely taken over the menu. Ellie, a cheese lover herself, shows how to keep from going overboard with cheese and instead utilize its best assets - its great flavor and health benefits.

Ellie tackles the challenge we all face every day - what's for breakfast, especially in a busy household when everyone is out the door like a pool ball break. She helps out Mary, a mom and an elite athlete and coach, who literally hits the ground running each morning.

Ellie visits a busy office where stress has led to junk food snacking and fast-food lunching. Armed with photos of sugary office treats submitted by one office employee to solicit her help, Ellie shares tasty alternatives to fight back.

There's a gluten-free explosion days, but how much of it is real and how much of it is hype? Ellie demystifies the gluten issue once and for all with the help of her stepbrother and yoga instructor David Wilder, who has celiac disease. In this episode, Ellie also underscores just how many foods are naturally gluten-free, with recipes that will satisfy everyone.

Does sugar have you in its thrall? Ellie helps one family tackle their sugar quandary so they can continue to do the baking they love in a healthier way without sacrificing flavor.

It can be a challenge to put dinner together in a working household. And then what happens when you're working opposite shifts? Ellie helps a frazzled couple trying to get healthy weeknight dinners on the table when conflicting schedules and priorities intervene.

He's a meat eater. She's a vegetarian. Their kitchen has become a battleground. Can this marriage be saved? It's Ellie to the rescue with flexible recipes that will bring them together.

Ellie helps out a couple contending with the challenges of cooking in a tiny apartment kitchen. Ellie proves that with just a few key pans and gadgets, and some smart recipes, anyone can produce fantastic meals in even the most cramped quarters.

Ellie prepares an ensemble of make-ahead dishes that are designed so that both party-giver and partygoers can equally enjoy the festivities. All these dishes can be cooked and frozen ahead of time and then simply reheated at party time. Go ahead: enjoy your own party.

Ellie shows us how to transform a vacation from an unhealthy free-for-all into an opportunity to find new flavors you can use to bring your good times home.