china. but they were very desperate and they were facing the grim possibility that their family members would be in north korea facing hard labor for 12 years. >> fortunately that is not going to be the case. nbc's chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell, traveling with secretary of state hillary clinton, she is in nairobi, kenya, this morning where she spoke with secretary clinton. andrea, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning to you. the secretary very excited. she was deeply involved in these negotiations, as was her -- >> and we're back with more on this wednesday morning. all the people outside our studio windows are being treated to a gorgeous day here. third day in a row here in new york city. that's what summer's all about, finally feeling like summer. meanwhile, inside studio 1a i'm natalie morales. busy updating the first hour of our show. matt is off today and al is in los angeles. so who's on first? we're going to catch up with everybody in just a moment. still to come -- >> denuclearization.

today we had an exclusive interview with secretary clinton this morning, as you know, for the "today" show, and what she said in that interview was that north korea now has a choice. they can choose to become more engaged in the world. she doesn't know whether this will be a breakthrough, but it's up to them, she said. interestingly, as you know, ann and meredith, recently there has been a very rough exchange of undiplomatic language between north korea and secretary clinton. but despite that, along the back channels, in the secret talks they were working closely to having bill clinton go. and all along it was only bill clinton that the north koreans wanted. they clearly wanted someone with his prestige, a former president, to give the respect and the attention that they were demanding, and the trick now for the administration is to not to give them too much diplomatically, and frankly not to suffer criticism. but i think everyone is going to be so overwhelmed with the happiness over the return of these two young women, that that will make it very difficult for

political opponents and critics to make a big deal out of it. >> there has been criticism that this presents, and i'm glad you brought that up. because there has been criticism that this presents a dangerous precedent and plays into north korea's hands. >> right. well, and, in fact, there was also, as you know, a lot of discussion when secretary clinton became secretary. how would she divide her role from her very powerful and famous globally famous former president, her husband, and this is the first time he has been involved as an envoy. but it was precisely because pyongyang wanted him. i asked her today whether he would now go to iran where three americans, including journalists, are being held. she said not at all. that that is really way premature. in fact, they don't even know on this day when ahmadinejad is reinaugurated, they do not even know where and under what conditions those three are being held. in this case in pyongyang we know that the three women were,

although sentenced to 12 years of hard labor, an extraordinarily tough sentence, they were held at a guest house. they've stayed in that guest house. it is not punishment other than that you are kept away from your family. that is the real terror, and the fear that they must have been experiencing. but physically, they were all right. they were reassured of that. they had communication, some communication with their families. a doctor took this trip, and did check them out. and john pede epodesta was ther not only because he was the former chief of staff, but he is a lawyer. he went to the court hearing and did the procedures for getting that special pardon. there had to actually be a courtroom hearing and it was not something that the state department or the administration wanted the former president to do. that would not have been quite appropriate. they had podesta go off and do the legal things. it was a show trial, but to get

them out. >> thank you very much, andrea. we're still waiting for laura ling and euna lee and president bill clinton to emerge from that plane. a lot of other people coming off it as we speak. but they are still on board. >> and you know, it's probably important, i think, to remind everyone that north korea and the united states had really had some difficult relations in recent months with north korea test-firing a number of missiles, and causing a lot of concern, even some of those aiming in the direction, of course, not coming close to hawaii, but there's a lot of increased concerns about that, and also i think now the question is how will this, and i think this is still unanswered, how will this event, engineered in part by bill clinton, affect the future of north korea's relations with the united states. we've got nbc's savannah guthrie at the white house, where certainly people are paying very close attention to the events of this morning and yesterday. savannah, what more can you add? >> well, look, yesterday we heard the white house saying this is solely a private mission. but once the release of the

journalists was secured, we heard the back story. and we've been talking about it this morning. that, in fact, the white house and the state department, the u.s. government, was intimately involved in this mission. that they were in regular contact with the families. and that, in fact, once the north koreans indicated that bill clinton would be an acceptable envoy, the white house, the state department, did exhaustive vetting to make sure this was a legitimate offer. what they didn't want to do is send clinton over there, only to have it in some way rebuffed. you've been talking about some of these key issues. what this means going forward for relations with the north. the white house has really made efforts to decouple these two issues. mostly because obviously combining the issues would be dangerous for the jounchists who were still in custody. but also they wanted the north to know, as much as you may want to use this for propaganda re separate. just as recently as last night a senior administration official saying the north has never been more isolated with regard to the nuclear issue. this may be a way for the north

to save some face, to find of reduce some tension, and of course, these are nexts that the north itself has created but a way for it to kind of restart relations. and that really remains to be seen. whether or not this is something that will expand beyond what happened with the journalists and will chart a new way to go forward with these six-party talks. that's the real issue. whether or not this will have some lasting effect beyond the plight of these journalists. >> can we assumeetween presiden clinton and kim jong-il went beyond these twowo journalists? to things like resetting diplomacy? >> look, these guys met for more than an hour. then they had this dinner that lasted a couple of hours. it would be highly unusual for that issue not to come up. and the administration officials would expect president clinton to convey his own views about denuclearization. however, they want to make clur and have been very clur about it, that in no way did clinton carry a message, some kind of diplomatic message from the obama administration.

so, it seems almost certain that this issue was discussed and you can imagine that president clinton will certainly get a hearing here at the white house, a debriefing about what exactly he said to kim jong-il, what was said to him, and just some of those intangibles, how kim jong-il looked. there's a lot of talk about his own health. it's a great intelligence gathering opportunity. it's been many, many years since such a high-ranking u.s. official -- >> i want to interrupt you for a moment because lisa ling, laura ling's sister is now going on board the plane. there are two gentlemen behind her and i'm not able to identify them. are you, ann? >> no but i think the second man looked a lot like laura ling's husband. so the first man could well be. but we don't know who they are. we can, as meredith just said, identify positively lisa ling, the sister who spoke so outspokenly on behalf of -- >> really the key spokesperson for both families during all of this. >> exactly right. so you can only imagine what may be happening right at this very moment inside that plane. a reunion after four months of

waiting. after a great fear that she  would not see her sister for 12 years. you can imagine just now. >> and chris jansing is back on the ground right there in california. chris, can you add anything to this at this point? do you know if that was, indeed, laura's husband? >> i can certainly -- we haven't able to see in here, unfortunately, meredith. but we were told that the husbands would be able to see the two released women, so we can assume, i think, fairly easily that those are the people who are going on board that plane. we didn't see a lot of movement this morning, frankly, at the houses. so we're not sure what time they came over here. but clearly this is something that has been very well orchestrated behind the scenes. planning for this little ceremony, and then giving them time with their families, both before and after this happened. i can also tell you a little bit about some of the local diplomacy here in california, as we've mentioned. current tv is based in san francisco. and both of the california

senators barbara boxer and dianne feinstein have been working to try to get an envoy over to north carolina. we're thrilled to hear that bill clinton had agreed to go. i talked for awhile with dianne feinstein last night, who really took umbrage at some of the critics who have said that this is really giving sort of leeway for north korea to simply take hostages. she said these are american citizens, what would you have us do? she praised everything that had been going on behind the scenes, described it as very intense diplomacy. and said that she had been in contact with at least one of the mothers who obviously was extremely relieved, but like any mother would, said she was really waiting to see her daughter, to see that plane touch down as it did just a few moments ago, so that she could truly breathe a sigh of relief. the intensity of emotion of the last 4 1/2 months for this family, these families have been

really something you can't understand probably unless you are right in the middle of it. waiting for those very occasional phone calls to come from laura and euna. not knowing how this would play out. we also had an opportunity to talk to one of the dads who said that definitely one of the happiest days of his life, yesterday. he got on a plane, and got in to burbank last night. so, it is obviously just what they have been waiting for for such a very long time. and what is going on on board that plane. we can guess a lot of hugs, a lot of tears, because as lisa said last night, meredith and ann, she said we just cannot wait to hold them in our arms. >> thank you very much, chris. yeah we just saw the stairway being pulled back into the plane. i don't know if they're going to move it somewhere else or for those just joining, just a reminder that laura and euna are still on board along with president clinton. >> right. you can see the doors of the hangar are now opening so it

just appears they're going to rather than break up this really has got to be such an emotional reunion happening inside the plane that they're just going to simply drive the plane into the hangar. and we understand either in that hangar or near it will there be a news conference with the families presumably. we don't know if euna and laura will be speaking but presumably bill clinton will be speaking and we understand that al gore will be speaking. there are a lot of winners here, among them the family. the families are big winners here, getting their family members back. bill clinton is a big winner here because he's now seen a heroic -- in heroic way after really sort of falling out of the limelight for some time. but the question i think which we're continuing to bring up is will the united states, in its relationship with north korea, be a winner? is there a possibility that there is an improvement here that may actually increase the dialogue and decrease the possibility of a nuclear armed north korea? >> does this open the door? now we know there are two

families that are greatly relieved to have their loved ones back on american soil. we're going to back to andrea mitchell in nairobi for more on this. andrea? >> you know, hillary clinton kept trying to say today in our interview is that this is a private, humanitarian mission by her husband, that bill was really emotional, she said perhaps as a mother, perhaps because we have a daughter, chelsea, who is a similar age to these two young women, who is adventurous, that we relate to this fact. she tried to keep it on the personal side. when i asked her if this was a moment of breakthrough diplomatically she said that's up to north korea. it could be such a moment. it's very hard. savannah and you were discussing keeping it on separate track, but nothing really can be separated as the white house surely knows and as the state department knows. so this is a moment that gets north korea back from this brink, where they have been threatening the rest of the world with their missiles, and testing nuclear weapons.

perhaps this could end up being a good thing. although it's such for these two families. whether bill clinton will have other roles like this remains to be seen. there's a little awkwardness here. his wife is launching this seven-nation african summit trip and bill clinton is off negotiating this high-profile way. but she seemed to enjoy it thoroughly. she said she talked to him and very briefly, she didn't have a lot of details because his cell phone went out. i know from being over there how bad the connections are. so he tried to tell her how exciting it was to have the moment with these two young women. he did not give her details about kim jong-il personally. and what his physical condition was. but you could imagine that they were certainly checking him out, and there was a doctor on that trip and a full report is going to be filed on exactly what is going on with this aging, ailing dictator, and the succession, the battle for succession in pyongyang. >> i was going to say, bill

clinton, definitely america's eyes and ears on the ground in north korea and i'm sure he will be debriefed on that, as well, ann, the condition of jim congre kim jong-il, as well. president obama is going to address the nation with some comments in about six to eight minutes on the south lawn. we look forward to hearing what he had to say. to say there are a lot of winners here, the administration also are winners in this, as well. so many negotiations we now understand going on behind the scenes for the past four-plus months to try to get these women out of north korea. >> i think andrea brings up a very excellent point. why is it that the secretary of state is still calling this a private humanitarian mission when we are now hearing from a report from savannah guthrie and also others that there was a very deep, involvement by this obama administration that, in fact, it really was not a separate mission at all. so why is it that the administration is trying to keep

this separate when, in fact, it looks like it was not? >> ann i think what they're saying is something different. what they're saying is we were deeply involved. we know this from the state department, i've been talking to the state department, diplomats who've been working on this and national security council as savannah has been reporting has been working on this. they've been working tirelessly, they acknowledge that, to try to get these women out. they didn't want to talk about that before they were out. offend the north koreans, do anything that would jeopardize their safety. there's no question that this was arranged at the highest upon level and that it was organized and negotiated with the north koreans. hillary clinton confirmed that to me. they have channels. at the same time -- at the same time they were negotiating this, they were calling it a private diplomatic mission, a private humanitarian mission, because they don't want to acknowledge that they were in any way -- >> andrea, we are going to

interrupt you -- >> negotiating on nuclear power. >> there you are. >> because there are the young women. euna reuniting now with her husband and daughter who she missed her 4-year-old daughter. you can just see. and that little girl, she's been gone for four months. there they are. >> see al gore in the other box there. who helped greatly with these negotiations behind the scenes. and then to the right that is laura ling with her family, her sister lisa, her dad and her mom and her husband. they can finally celebrate that fifth wedding anniversary that she missed while she was a hostage there. other family members greeting euna lee. >> laura ling is behind? >> yes. >> and euna lee is in front holding her daughter hannah? >> yes.

>> al gore, who runs current tv, both the young women worked for current tv or work for current tv as journalists. they were there on assignment in china for current tv when they crossed over the border into north korea some 4 1/2 months ago. leading to their arrest and subsequent trial. >> the woman who is now embracing euna lee, i believe that is laura ling's mother. you can see lisa ling there on the end, holding euna lee now. >> i think it is -- really it's already settling in. you can see the emotion on their faces to have their family finally here. although they remained optimistic, we talked to lisa quite often during this past 4 1/2 months and she always tried to be optimistic. but somewhere in the back of your head you worry, obviously, all the time. will we get our loved ones back? so for them, what an incredible moment. >> interesting.

they've really created it so that people all over america can really experience this reunion. the flashing of the camera. >> chris jansing is in the hangar for us. chris, can you describe the emotion that you are seeing? >> you could not help but be moved, meredith, when you saw the two women come off the plane. you saw laura ling throw her hands up into the air, but what struck me immediately was you saw euna lee made eye contact with her little girl hannah and tears welled up. you can only imagine what it's like for a mother to be separated from a young girl like that. she missed her preschool graduation while she was being held in north korea. as laura ling missed her fifth wedding anniversary. it has just been a round of

smiles, a few tears welling up. and here comes former president bill clinton, who, of course, was the person who went over, had that three-hour meeting with kim jong-il, the north korean dictator, and secured the release. but as we have been saying, there were assurances before he went there, that these women would be released. and he was the first one who actually met with the women in north korea. they were being held at a home there, sort of a state house and we are told it was a highly emotional meeting when he first went in, said that he was there, and that he was going to be bringing them home. and then the calls went out from the state department to the families, president obama, also called the families, to let them know that laura and euna were safe, that they were healthy, and they were going to be coming

home. this was as fast a flight as you could possibly get. there was no long layover. no time for decompression. they understandably just wanted to be with their families, as their families wanted to welcome them. we do understand that there will be some brief comments. the only confirmation that i have gotten is that we will hear from former vice president al gore, who he had said is a owner and their boss of current tv, san francisco-based media company. we might hear from the former president, as well. and then there is a family gathering. the extended families on both sides have been together over the last day, waiting to hear the good word that they were coming home. and they're going to have a little bit of a party there, a time for everybody to celebrate this homecoming. and then just a little down time as lisa ling put it. we didn't want to plan anything too elaborate. we just want to spend time together as family.

but, really, an emotional scene. it brought tears to your eyes to see them come off that plane and particularly to see when they made eye contact with their families, and little hannah with her mom. meredith? >> absolutely. and you know, we've got new mexico governor bill richardson, a former united nations ambassador, has negotiated prisoner releases from north korea and he joins us now by phone. governor richardson, good morning to you, sir. you know, this is such an emotional moment. and you feel like things have gone so smoothly. that there was a lot of negotiating behind the scenes for months. your thoughts? >> -- several envoys were prepared. the north koreans wouldn't talk to us. finally a breakthrough with president clinton being the clincher. but this is a very emotional moment. i've brought hostages back and when they're on the airplane heading back home after being in a very isolated situation, the way the two women journalists

we were, there's intense emotional changes because when you're in north korea, you're in another time zone. a warped seem zone. you're in like the 1950s with intensive, intensive regularity for everything you do. so the good news is, the best news is the pictures that we're seeing now. the two women are back. but i think what also has happened with president clinton's visit is an easing of tensions at a time when our relationship with north korea is at rock bottom. when north korea is testing missiles. they're building the nuclear arsenal. at a time when north korea's trying to find ways to -- the president of north korea, who's gotten a coup out of this visit by clinton, is trying to shore up his domestic base, leave the north korean power that he has to his son. there may be some turmoil, some dissent. so everybody wins, but the

biggest win is the pictures we're seeing of the women coming home, and their families. they're wonderful families. i've dealt with them, with lisa ling. they approached this diplomatically. they sensitized the american people. they were respectful. so, it's a great moment right now. >> as somebody who has negotiated in the past, put yourself in bill clinton's shoes for a moment and give us a sense of what he must be feeling. >> well, he's -- he's ecstatic, because i know that the north koreans wanted him to come while he was president -- >> governor we're going to have to interrupt you. euna lee is about to speak. i'm sorry that is laura thing. >> 30 hours ago, euna lee and i were prisoners in north korea. we feared that at any moment we could be sent to a hard labor camp.

and then, suddenly, we were told that we were going to a meeting. we were taken to a location, and when we walked in through the door, we saw standing before us president bill clinton. we were shocked. but we knew instantly in our hearts that the nightmare of our lives was finally coming to an end. and now we stand here, home and fr free. euna and i would just like to

express our deepest gratitude to president clinton, and his wonderful, amazing, not to mention super cool, team, including john podesta, doug band, justin cooper, dr. roger bann, david stroub, min ji kwan and the united states secret service who traveled halfway around the world and then some to secure our release. we'd also like to thank president obama, secretary clinton, vice president gore, who we also call al, the swedish ambassador matt foyer, kurt tong, linda mcfadden and the people at the u.s. state department who worked so hard to win the release of their fellow americans. steve bing and his crew, and

andrew liverous and the dow company. and i know that i am forgetting a bunch of instrumental people right now. but, forgive me if i'm a little incoherent. to our loved ones, friends, colleagues and to the complete strangers with the kindness of hearts who showed us so much love and sent us so many positive thoughts and energy, we thank you. we could feel your love all the way in north korea. it is what kept us going in the darkest of hours. it is what sustained our faith that we would come home. the past 140 days have been the most difficult, heart-wrenching time of our lives.

we are very grateful that we were granted amnesty by the government of north korea and we are so happy to be home. and we are just so anxious right now to be able to spend some quiet, private time getting reacquainted with our families. thank you so much. >> ladies and gentlemen, the families asked me to say a few words, and on their behalf, all of us at and on behalf of the staff and families of current tv, and my co-founder joel hyatt, we want to welcome laura and euna home. we want to thank president bill clinton for undertaking this

mission, and performing it so skillfully. and all the members of his team who played key roles in this. also, to president obama, laura mentioned this, but president obama and countless members of his administration have been deeply involved in this humanitarian effort, to secretary clinton and the members of the state department, several of whom are leave, they have really put their hearts in this. it speaks well of our country that when two american citizens are in harm's way, that so many people would just put things aside and just go to work to make sure that this has had a happy ending. and we are so grateful to all of them. to the thousands upon thousands of people who have held laura and euna in their prayers, who have written letters and called

and sent e-mails, we are very, very grateful. to steve bing and all the folks who have made the flight possible, we say a word of thanks. deep thanks, as well. this has been an ordeal for them. but i want you all to know, your families have been unbelievable. unbelievable. passionate, involved, committed, innovative. you'll hear a lot of stories, and they're looking forward to hearing a lot of stories from you. but, euna, hannah has been a great girl while you were gone. and laura, your mom's been making your special soup for two days now. and to everybody who's played a part in this, and again a special thanks to president bill clinton, my partner and friend, so grateful. and ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming out. we're going to let these

families have a full and proper reunion now. but thank you for coming out. >> and that was vice president al gore, former vice president al gore. give these two families a chance to breathe. listening to lawyer ra link, what a frightening experience by them to be told by the government we're going to take you to the labor camp and then they lead them somewhere else, open the door, and there is president bill clinton. or at that moment she realized that things were going to be much better. >> it was very interesting just now not to hear former president clinton speak. he came back, there was obviously a lot of imagery we saw of the president, former president being greeted and welcomed and cheered as he came down the steps of the plane but he chose not to speak. >> he'll be debriefed, i think, clearly about a lot of things. >> and i love what the vice president said about hannah's been a good girl while you've

been gone. what an emotional experience for these families. we're going to have complete coverage throughout the day on msnbc and msnbc.com. and coming up for most of you, there is more of "today." for those of you on the west coast, we'll have more when we see you at the top of the hour. i'm meredith vieira along with ann curry in new york. this has been an nbc special report. we're going to show you some great products picked by parents that can follow your baby through toddler time and some even beyond. plus, a noted chef brings a three-course meal that will total, getthis, only 500 calories. also on a programming note, tha looks really good, and a surprise twist, america's got talent added eight wild card acts to the top 40. the first 12 to perform last night including ack row dunk who

impressed the judges a second time. the city of angels. plains, sun 147b in new england with thunderstorms. in the midwest.

tomorrow, strong storms stretching back from the plains on into the pacific northwest. plenty of sunshine along the eastern seaboard. >> there is a cold front that will be pushing to the south today. it will generate some showers and thunderstorms. keep the umbrella handy. scattered that's your latest weather. now back to the nat show. >> i'm lonely here, al. you coming back tomorrow? >> no, one more day out here. then i'll see you friday. with jason mraz. i want to get one of those jason mraz hats. >> that song makes me so happy. i'm yours. it's great. >> i'm glad you finally

admitted. >> yes, i am. al, always, in your mind. all right, coming up next, paula abdul voted herself off "american idol. we'll tell you why. more after this.

now to an american idol stunner, last night in a post on her twitter page, judge paula abdul declared she is now leaving the show. here's meredith vieira with more. >> you've moved me from the beginning. >> we watched her cry. dance. sometimes behave oddly. >> oh, my god it's like you sang twice. >> and often battle simon. >> i just want to squeeze your neck. >> and now paula abdul is saying good-bye to "american idol." last night on her twitter page paula posted a message to her fans saying with sadness in my heart i've decided not to return to idol. i'll miss nurturing all the new talent, but most of all being a

part of the show that i helped from day one become an international phenomenon. i do without any doubt have the best fans in the entire world and i love you all. >> we love her, paula abdul. >> tuesday night fox confirmed what many fans didn't want to hear. but the followers of "american idol" the news may come as no surprise. not after idol producers added a second female judge last season and gave host ryan seacrest a huge raise, reportedly leaving paula abdul angry and hurt. simon, randy and cara dioguardi will remain as judges, leaving the show without a pop star as it enters its ninth season. and leaving critics to question if, without paula, the show's sliding ratings will continue to suffer. >> i can't believe it and i'm devastated. paula, rethink it. come back. coming up next we're going to show you some low calorie meals with big taste.

but first these messages.

"today's kitchen" is brought to you by pillsbury toastle strudel. the one kids want to eat. ♪ everybody eats when they come to my house ♪ >> in "today's kitchen," hot chef jason graham. a three course dinner for less than 500 calories may sound like a dieter's dream, but at the spa in vista, california, it's all

part of finding a balanced lifestyle. jason graham is the executive chef behind the resort's healthy dining. good morning. >> good morning. >> my kind of a healthy lifestyle with a 500 calorie meal that includes steak, tender loin, right? >> yeah. >> so you can eat a steak. >> most people serve chicken or steak all the time. but if you keep the portion size down. >> that is the key. >> portion control and the ingredients. a leaner piece of meat fillets a lot leaner than rib eye. >> a week at your resort is about $7,000. but you can do this kind of cooking at home? >> real easy. >> something you can teach yourself how to do. >> it's traditional simple. >> you've got a tender loin going here. >> tenderloin needs a little bit of oil. use a good pan like a stainless steel. >> really hot? >> real hot. real important, salt and pepper just like any other type of dish you'd see in any restaurant. >> tenderloin is a very lean cut of beef, too? >> very loin.

you don't see all the marbling going on there like a lot of the heavier steaks. of course a little bit of salt. >> we've got steam in here. >> okay. so sear the tenderloin. this is going to lock all the water and moisture inside the beef. there you go sous chef. >> this is getting a little crispy. >> see that nice crust? that's going to create flavor and keep all the moisture in. >> of course we're not eating this. this is not one portion. >> that's my portion. >> this is for the crew. >> that's for the crew. >> so each side is going to be seared just like that. we'll turn it over until it's golden brown. then after it's done on all sides we'll put it in the oven. >> and pop it in for how long? >> 400 degrees for 20, 25 minutes. >> cook it on the inside? >> about 130 degrees internal temperature. >> you're going to make this heirloom tomato salad. >> heirloom tomato salad. what we're going to do with that, these are beautiful red tomatoes. >> amazing. look at the colors in that. we're going to put a little bit

of seasoning. again a little bit of salt. a little bit of fresh pepper. >> these are all seasonal now. i mean the heirloom tomatoes are just so perfect. >> they're perfect, right. tomatoes, peaches, all the things we're doing are in season. totally seasonal. cost effective. everything tastes better. >> you get the most flavor out of your food this time of year. >> absolutely. these are actually, i believe from right where i'm at. >> you just use balsamic. >> extra virgin so you can really taste it. let that marinate for a little while. >> you can eat as many tomatoes as you want on the 500 calorie diet? >> great little small ones right there. >> bring those over here. and you can actually do some roasted potatoes, right? >> these are some extra things that i've put together to accompany the dish, if you came here and ate on saturday night we'd have real nice heirloom green beans and some roasted potatoes. so we have the beef tied so it would stay together a little bit. keep all together. >> yep. >> remove the string.

>> so how big a piece are we really talking? >> three ounces if you're on the 500 calorie meal. >> yeah. >> so three ounces, again, we find most people think that's pretty satisfying. >> yeah. >> have you get done -- >> if you're eating a lot of the extras. >> a little potato. a little green beans. so the three ounces. beautifully cooked. all the flavors still in there. now to construct the plate. what we like to do is take a little bit of the tomato. i like to do one slice a piece. and we get that good little color going there. a little red up here. >> we should say as we're running out of time, you can actually here you had a nice appetizer, too, a gazpacho soup. >> a little tomato peach gazpacho. >> and also you can have dessert? >> yes, peach cobbler. we took a regular peach cobbler, deconstructed, put all healthy ingredients in there. we don't use any sugar or butter or oil or anything like that.

so this would be the dish. beautiful microgreens to garnish it. >> that looks amazing. >> so all of this, your soup and your dessert? that right there. >> 120, and 75 calories. altogether under 500. >> you're going to leave the table full. which is great. >> just go to bed real quick. >> i like that you're a realist. jason graham, thank you so much. >> thank you. >> i wish i could visit. still to come up next, kid products that they're going to hold onto through the years.

this morning on "today's family," kids gear that you will use for years, guaranteed. whether it's your first or your third child, if you want to buy smart and be sure to stretch your dollar out more, check out parenting magazine's selection of great kid products that actually grow with your kids.

senior editor christina versaletto joins us now with the scoop. good morning, christine. >> good morning. >> i'm going through this right now. spent a lot of money on the baby stuff, now he's 11 months old so i'm trying to find new uses for all that stuff. it gets expensive. >> it sure does. especially nowadays. moms are looking for a way to save a little money. >> how did you go about choosing? >> we have our mom-tested crew. we have moms all across the country who help us test out these products with their own kids and they report back to us, the good, the bad, the ugly. so we got the lowdown on everything. >> and of course, everything meets safety standards? >> oh, absolutely. before we even test it we make sure of that. these are all from our early years edition of the magazine. so they're perfect for babies up to older kids. >> let's start with the really early kids here. this is a toy infants love because i think my son has one of these. >> right. >> as they grow it goes from this when they're babies to when they're sitting up, standing. >> right. that's right. the height actually adjusts.

this is from baby einstein. when you have a newborn they can lie underneath here. when they're sitting up, trying to stand, you can adjust the height so they can reach more toys and have more fun with it. >> this lasts at least a couple of months until they're about -- >> probably more than that. probably six months, at least. >> okay. that's great. >> now moving on over here to this baby seat, this isn't just for babies anymore? >> no, this is from fisher-price. it's a bouncy seat it starts with, which is indispensable. >> they don't last long in this stage. >> no. so that's why it grows, if you want to press on that button, natalie. >> there we go. >> and it actually turns into a big kid's rocker. >> oh, that's brilliant. >> the feet fold in. >> what a cool thing. >> if you do the front two. you could remove the toy bar and you've got a little rocking chair for a toddler. >> that's fantastic. >> our moms loved this. they said it's definitely something that would save them money. >> that's great. because mine liked the baby

bouncer i had for all of the first two months. over here the infant carrier. now these it seems like after they're past 20 pounds they break your back. so how do you get this to last a little bit longer? >> sis is from infantina. a triple comfort rider. you can wear it the way it's shown or on the hip when the baby es get a little holder. >> and then you've got the safety of having them strapped to you. over here this is a feeding high chair. >> that's right. actually a reclining feeding safety from safety first. if you have a tiny apartment this is perfect. you can use this as a high chair. but then as they get a little older you can simply remove the tray. take it to restaurants, take it to grandmas. the back moves up and down so you have a booster seat. >> oh, good. that's great. okay. >> just leave that one here. now let's move over here to this. this is a push toy. starts off as a push toy -- as a riding toy. >> it starts out actually on the

base so the baby can't get anywhere. as they grow a little older you can take it off the base and moms can push the child along without killing her back. without having to bend over. eventually the handle comes off. >> that's so cool. >> this is a great three in one. >> all kinds of good things. >> that actually comes off. you could take it in the car. >> now what do we have here? >> this is our mom-tested favres. this goes from infants all the way up to teenagers, adults. >> al has one of these and says his son still uses it. >> up to 250 pounds. just adjusts by moving the different pieces into live slots to adjust the 450i9. goes from a high school to an art station chair to a computer chair. >> later on you could use it as a ladder. over here the booster seat that every child, this is going to be kind of quickly. >> this is a great seat for the child who says i don't want to be in a baby seat anymore. i want a big kid booster seat. this back actually comes out.

>> great. >> and you have a big kid booster. >> christina, thanks. all of this at parenting magazine and more on our website, todayshow.com. still to come, should you date your friend's ex? plus marlon wayans is back. >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore.

>> good morning. i am mindy basara. a freak accident in west baltimore has claimed the life of a cyclist. police said the 67-year-old man was riding a bike in lafayette and he got caught up in the back wheels of an air-conditioned truck that turned into his path. he was pronounced dead at the scene. city officials of the governor are calling it a vital part of the economic stability in baltimore, but not everyone is on board with the plan of the east-west arm of light rail known as the red line. governor o'malley road of the rail yesterday and said that expansion is good for the economy and future generations, but some groups are worried that it will divide the corridor. it cites delays and possible

>> now let's take a look at the forecast with sandra shaw. >> basically what conditions early on it today. a good chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms this afternoon thanks to a cold front that is on the move across the mid-atlantic today. tonight, mostly cloudy. and while the temperature range. 6774 downtown. some good news, with the passage of the front, it will be a little cooler at the end of the week. by saturday, back to the typical august conditions. sunday, we surpass what is

normal for this time of year. we will stay in the mid nineties with a hazy, hot, and humid conditions. >> we will see you back here for 11 news at noon.