Q: My boyfriend follows a pretty strict no-carb (or low-carb) diet, and he has a HUGE appetite. Without pasta or rice, it's proven difficult to stretch a dollar when I have to leave these "filler" ingredients behind. Any no- (or low-) carb recipes made with inexpensive ingredients that I can add to my repertoire? 

Q: Everyone loves creamy mac and cheese, but I'm the opposite — I love boxed mac and cheese because I can have a "dry" mac and cheese that still tastes cheesy. Is there anyway to replicate that "dry but cheesy" pasta with real foods?

Sent by Celeste

Q: I am planning my wedding for October and would love to have some homemade desserts. We live four hours from our wedding venue and would need dishes that can travel well and still be good up to 48 hours later. Any ideas for small desserts other than cookies that would work?

Sent by Michelle

Q: I love making homemade salsa, but when I buy cilantro, half the bunch always goes to waste. I use quite a bit in the salsa, but I just don't know what to do with the rest. Are there any good ways to use the rest up?

Sent by Whitney

Q: I'm having a graduation party and would like to serve cupcakes for dessert. Unfortunately, I will not be able to make them the day of the party and will be out of town the day before. Do you have any tips for preparing them ahead of time?

Sent by Mitch

Q: I have a pregnant friend who is expecting within a few weeks and I'd like to make her some freezer meals as a gift. She has gestational diabetes, so my "go to" stuffed shells and baked ziti are out. What meals do you recommend for expecting parents that aren't full of carbs?

Sent by Rochelle

Q: I love to cook dinner after work, but my boyfriend gets home a couple hours before me and is usually starving. So he ends up eating something filling, like a sandwich or a burrito, and by the time I'm done cooking dinner, he's too full to eat it. 

Q: I was just gifted the Paderno vegetable slicer. So far I've just made zucchini pasta (great for texture without the carbs). Does anyone have any other suggestions  or recipes for using this tool?

Sent by Gina

Q: I got a pound of frozen trout in my CSA this week. I'm a single lady on a tight budget, so I don't really want to share my one pound of meat for the week! The trout is pretty frozen so I can't separate the fillets. Any ideas or recipes that will use the whole pound? Ideally something that can be frozen afterwards?

Q: A coworker recently complained that it takes him a long time to prepare his lunches and dinners for the week. It's the same thing every day: a hash of onions, garlic, cilantro and ground chicken, served over rice. He currently chops everything by hand and cooks it in batches using a frying pan, but wants to find a quicker method. Any ideas?