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| Hungry Girl: Recipes and Survival Strategies for Guilt-Free Eating in the Real World | 
 enlarge | Author: Lisa Lillien
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Category: Book
List Price: $17.95
Buy New: $9.94
You Save: $8.01 (45%)
New (52) Used (14) from $9.74
Avg. Customer Rating:  258 reviews
Sales Rank: 189
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.6
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 7.4 x 1
ISBN: 0312377428
Dewey Decimal Number: 641.5635
EAN: 9780312377427
ASIN: 0312377428
Publication Date: April 29, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 You have to understand the Hungry Girl philosophy May 28, 2008
36 out of 39 found this review helpful
In my years of subscribing to the HG Web site and now using this book, it has occurred to me that there are many different philosophies of dieting and weight loss/maintenance. There are WAY more than two, but for the purposes of this review I am going to boil it down:
1. Eat super healthy, nonprocessed, preferably organic foods. Make whole grains, fruits and veggies the mainstays of your diet. Severely curtail fats, oils and sugar. When you want to indulge, enjoy one small portion of something "real" -- i.e. one sliver of chocolate cake, one square of dark chocolate, one cookie, or the like. [And exercise.] People who follow this approach are probably more likely to never snack between meals (or eat only fruits and veggies as snacks), avoid "100-calorie-packs," eschew artificial sweeteners and diet sodas, etc.
2. Follow the above philosophy to the extent that your time and lifestyle allow, but lean on processed low-cal foods to (a) save cooking/prep time and (b) enjoy modified versions of the "junky" foods you feel deprived of when you are dieting or have to eat low-cal in order to maintain your weight. [And exercise.] People who take this approach are probably the lion's share of 100-calorie-pack purchasers, more likely to use artificial sweeteners, drink diet sodas, and so on.
What you have to understand about HG author Lillen is that her Web site and book are tools for those who adopt approach #2. She states repeatedly that she isn't a nutritionist or a dietitian, and she makes no claim for the "healthfulness" of her recipes. They do lean on processed ingredients and tend to contain a lot of sodium, artificial sweetener and chemical ingredients. What they offer is a similar flavor experience to the very high-cal foods lots of people like, with much lower calorie and fat counts (and often more fiber as well).
But for those who would knock this approach (while you certainly retain the moral high ground as organic eating becomes something akin to spiritual cleanliness in more and more people's minds), please bear in mind that for some of us, our eating is always going to be a trade-off in terms of risk. I speak from experience as someone who has maintained a 100-lb. weight loss for over 10 years. For whatever reason, my body processes food in such a way that I gain weight exceptionally easily. I have to be CONSTANTLY vigilant about what I am putting in my mouth and how I am counterbalancing it with exercise. If I relax my vigilance for even a couple of days, it shows up on my body. As a (reformed) compulsive overeater I struggle with eating just one cookie, tiny sliver of cake, etc., every couple of weeks. (Yes, it is true, I would often rather have a larger portion of something that actually isn't AS good as the real thing.) And if you think that this behavior is not incredibly challenging to sustain for a lifetime, you just don't know whereof you speak.
So personally, while I certainly do my best to eat truly healthy, skip sugar, keep fat and meat intake to a minimum, and eat lots of whole grains and fruits/veggies, I salute HG for giving me recipes that allow me to "let my hair down" and enjoy some fun foods along with the rest of the world, without having to lie awake at night and worry about what I ate for lunch.
For the record, among my favorite HG recipes are the butternut squash fries, the turkey reuben and the fettucine "girl-fredo."
 Fantastic cook book for real gals! May 28, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
She's done it again! A great website and a great, fun book! Way to go sister!
Didn't live up to my expectations... May 28, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I've been a Hungry Girl email subscriber for quite a while. I always enjoy the cute emails and find Lisa's tips and tricks for "guilt free" eating helpful. I eagerly rushed out to buy the book (and about $80 worth of the groceries I'd need to get started) as soon as it came out. Over the past few weeks I've tried a lot... and I mean a LOT... of the recipes and have been sorely disappointed. Don't get me wrong, it's as cute and witty as can be. Great writing and fun to read. But a lot of the recipes can barely pass as edible (I can still taste the pumpkin crunchers on p. 269... two weeks after hubby and I each took one bite and threw them all out). A couple of the "coffee shop swaps" are ok, but definitely don't satisfy my Starbucks cravings. There are a couple things in the book that I've tried and then adapted to my and my family's tastes. Oh, speaking of families, keep in mind that most of the recipes serve 1 or 2, so they need to be doubled or quadrupled to serve the spouse and kids too (though my kids haven't been crazy about anything I've fixed so far anyway...). If you have a thing for Shirataki noodles, then you'll love the section dedicated to recipes using them (unfortuately I don't... it's a texture thing, and I just can't "pretend" it's pasta. Really, I've tried).
On a positive note, the chopped salads ROCK! The book is really user-friendly, with photos and WW Points values easily found on the book's website. And like I said, some of the recipes are really good starting points that you can take and run with. I still love Hungry Girl, and will continue to look forward to the email newsletters as my book gathers dust on shelf...
 Book for Us Hungry Girls May 27, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I pre-ordered this book after seeing the Hungry Girl website. The book is fabulous! I would highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for low calorie alternative recipes.
Hungry girl May 27, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Fantastic easy to make very healthy alternative recipes A must have for anyone in a recipe rut
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