There has been a lot of buzz about the Hungry Girl cookbook since it was published just two months ago. Author Lisa Lillien is well known for her blog at www.hungry-girl.com and has spent several years creating lower calorie versions of favorite foods. A published cookbook seemed only natural.
Lillien knows what it’s like to lose weight. She’s not a doctor, nutritionist, or a chef, but she lost almost 30 pounds by following her own diet when she eliminated flour, bread, pasta and starches from her diet. She maintains her weight by following the Weight Watchers points system.
It’s summer and no one wants to heat up the kitchen to cook dinner. Hungry Girl makes it easy by creating recipes that are quick and rely on a lot of prepared foods and mixes. She uses healthy ingredients like Fiber One cereal as breading for chicken and seafood. All of the foods can be found at any supermarket without waiting on the UPS man to deliver exotic ingredients. The recipes are so simple that your teenagers can cook for you! This is especially nice because most of the recipes only serve one so they can make their own lunch or after school snacks.
If you love dessert, then you’re in luck! Nearly half the book is devoted to sweet treats that are super quick to make so you don’t have to wait long to enjoy them. The recipes make the most of convenience products like sugar free instant pudding mix, Cool Whip Free, Splenda, sugar free chocolate syrup, and similar dieter favorites. If you like to incorporate these types of foods into your diet, then you’ll be happy to find a new supply of fresh ideas in this cookbook.
- Things we like:
- There are plenty of single serving recipes. No need to be tempted with seconds!
- Most of the recipes are fast, easy, and rely on convenience foods instead of complicated preparation.
- The recipes include plenty of nutrition information. Weight Watchers Points for each recipe are not in the book, but are available on her website.
- Things we don’t like:
- There’s a high reliance on chemical laden faux-foods such as fat free dairy products, sugar free mixes, and more.
- The recipes are not going to impress anyone who enjoys better quality and healthier foods. Most of the recipes are junk food clones such as burritos, nachos, fries, cheesecake and chocolate. We know this will appeal to a lot of people, but with the trend towards whole foods we know that a lot of people will cringe.
- It’s light on the veggies – With the exception of diced onions and canned tomatoes, it’s hard to find vegetables in this cookbook.
- One ingredient we have doubts about is shirataki noodles. Lillien relies on this tofu based noodle as a real pasta replacement. Some people do love them, but we’ve heard way too many complaints of slime and shivers to give them a try. There’s not a real noodle to be found in the book. We’d have loved to have found a good recipe for whole wheat or brown rice pasta.
There you have it, the good and the bad of this new cookbook as we see it. If you are a hungry girl, you can buy this cookbook at Amazon.com.
