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THINK SMART Helpful tips for your everyday life

A gift for your taste buds

Eat this super-rich dessert in small portions to satisfy your chocolate cravings. You'll also receive health-enhancing antioxidants from the dark chocolate.

Rich, Easy, Old-Fashioned Chocolate Pudding

2 cups fat-free half-and-half
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 11.5-ounce bag Ghirardelli 60% cocoa bittersweet chocolate chips
3 ounces amaretto or rum

In a medium saucepan, stir together 1 cup half-and-half and cornstarch until smooth. Add remaining half-and-half. Over low heat, bring to a simmer, stirring constantly to prevent sticking. Remove from heat.

Put chocolate and amaretto (or rum) in a small bowl; microwave on high 20 seconds. Stir until chocolate chips are mostly melted.

Return milk to low heat. Add chocolate and stir continuously, scraping pan, until thick.

Cool. Serve pudding chilled or at room temperature.

Serves 12
Per 1/4 cup serving: 256 calories, 4g protein, 30g carbohydrates, 12g fat (7g saturated), 8mg cholesterol, 3g fiber, 43mg sodium

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Rev your metabolism

During winter, we spend more time indoors and generally move around less. As a result, pounds can creep on. One way to keep extra weight at bay is to focus on strength training. That's because enhancing your lean muscle mass will increase your resting metabolic rate (RMR), which is your body's ability to burn calories even when you're doing nothing at all.

"RMR is one aspect of your metabolism you have a bit of control over," says Miriam Nelson, director of the Center for Physical Activity and Nutrition at Tufts University.

Strength training is ideal for beginners and can be done at home. It's "a great entree into exercise for those who haven't had a pleasant experience with aerobic activities," Nelson says. "You can work out inside during bad weather and then work your way up to walking or running outside."

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Pick from 4 backstage tours at Disney World

Are you truly curious about how Walt Disney World works its magic? If so, you can take backstage tours and get a peek at how it all happens.

Foremost among the tours (for those 16 and older) is Backstage Magic, a look at the technical operations behind Epcot, Disney-MGM Studios and Magic Kingdom Park. The $199 cost for the seven-hour tour includes lunch.

Or, wander through the Magic Kingdom before it opens and learn how Tinkerbell really flies, thanks to Keys to the Kingdom, a four-plus-hour stroll where secrets are spilled for $60.

Those with green thumbs will like Behind the Seeds at Epcot, a backstage tour in The Land pavilion, where you can release ladybugs in greenhouses and see vast hydroponic gardens. The one-hour tour is $10 for ages 3 to 9; $12, ages 10 and up.

Finally, if you're 8 or older, you can don a wet suit and a mini air tank and float along the surface of the Living Seas Aquarium. This is the Seas Aqua Tour, where you get a Nemo's-eye view of more than 65 species of marine life in a coral reef environment. The 2 1/2-hour "behind-the-seas" tour is $100.

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Happy holidays for stepfamilies

For millions of blended families living in America -- almost a third of children in the United States live in stepfamilies -- the holidays can be particularly tough. They have to cope with significant differences, when sameness and predictability are the hallmarks of the perfect holiday fantasy. That's why it's critical to think ahead about the details that define your family's holiday celebrations, says Patricia Papernow, psychologist and the author of Becoming a Stepfamily: Patterns of Development in Remarried Families.

Don't expect your new husband to stop opening gifts on Christmas Eve, as his family has done for several generations, just because you and your children think that it's a weird tradition. And why should your kids forgo trimming the Christmas tree in hot-pink tinsel just because it doesn't fit your new husband's holiday ideal?

Try these 5 togetherness tips
Talk openly about holiday plans so everyone will know what's going on.
Let each family member keep a favorite tradition.
Add one ritual that's new to everyone.
Schedule one-on-one time between stepparent and stepchild. The goal is to develop shared rituals.
Lower your expectations. Remember, no matter how carefully you plan, someone is bound to end up disappointed.

Ann Pleshette Murphy is ABC's "Good Morning America" parenting expert and author of "The 7 Stages of Motherhood," new in paperback.

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Rash under your ring? Think allergy.

Have a patch of red, flaking skin? The condition some call eczema really may be allergic contact dermatitis brought on by exposure to a trigger substance. Women often notice symptoms when redness or a rash is caused by inexpensive jewelry. (The No. 1 trigger is nickel, which often is used in low-cost jewelry and buttons.)

When to seek help. "It depends on the extent of the rash," says Mayo Clinic dermatologist Rokea el-Azhary. If you have a localized redness and flaking under your ring, for instance, it's fine to try to figure it out on your own. Remove the suspected trigger and use an over-the-counter topical treatment such as hydrocortisone 1% to relieve discomfort, and let the skin heal completely. If jewelry did trigger the problem, she says, replace it with jewelry that's labeled "allergy free" or "non-allergenic," or choose gold (18 karat or higher, to be on the safe side). If the rash is persistent, a dermatologist may do patch testing to pinpoint the allergy triggers.

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Deduct your home equity credit line

I know a home equity loan's interest is tax-deductible, but how about a home equity line of credit?
Jeanne Blackwood, Coral Springs, Fla.

If you've taken out a home equity line of credit (HELOC), you could be in for a nice tax break from Uncle Sam. Interest paid on a HELOC secured by your primary or second home is deductible as home mortgage interest and reported on Schedule A of your federal income tax return.

If you took out a HELOC as a second or "piggyback" mortgage to pay for major home improvements or a vacation home, the interest is deductible as mortgage interest as long as the debt doesn't exceed $1 million.

If you used the HELOC to buy a new car, pay off credit card debt or for some other purpose, you still can deduct interest on up to $100,000 of the debt. If you used it to buy tax-free municipal bonds, or other securities or certificates that produce tax-free income, then the interest is not deductible.

Overall, HELOCs offer a good tax deduction, but if you fall into the alternative minimum tax zone, the interest is deductible only if proceeds were used for home improvements or to buy or construct a second home.

Big downside: These loans are tied to the prime rate, which increases as the Federal Reserve raises interest rates. Also, these loans must be secured by your home; if you can't repay, then the lender could take your home.