I’ve always struggled with trying to lose weight while still eating the delicious (and often fattening) foods that I love.  It got a little easier when I discovered the Hungry Girl cookbooks, written by “Hungry Girl” Lisa Lillien.  Her books Hungry Girl:  Recipes and Survival Strategies for Guilt-Free Eating in the Real World and Hungry Girl 200 Under 200:  200 Recipes Under 200 Calories contain recipes for the foods we already love, but made in a more healthy way.  They’re also pretty easy to make; Hungry Girl’s recipes don’t contain a ton of ingredients or steps, so they’re not too difficult for someone like me whose preferred cooking steps are 1) Preheat oven 2) Insert frozen pizza.  I’ve tried out a few of her recipes so far, including the Krispymallow Treats and the Cheesy Chicken Quesadilla, and they were great!  I even made her recipe for a cupcake baked inside an ice cream cone for my family and they didn’t realize it was a “diet recipe”.

The Hungry Girl books contain more than just recipes.  Lilien has also made lists of products to use to make your cooking lighter and a series of “Survival Guides” for how to eat out at restaurants without gaining 10 pounds per meal.  Now that I’ve tried a few recipes and trust Hungry Girl’s directions, I might even try some of her more ambitious recipes, like the Kickin’ Chicken Tortilla Soup and Fiber-ific Fried Chicken Strips.  If you want to lose weight but don’t want to give up your favorite foods, I suggest checking out the Hungry Girl books to see if she has a solution.  I’ll bet she does!