"Hungry Girl: Recipes and Survival Strategies for Guilt-Free Eating in the Real World"

Rating NR Genre non fiction Author Lisa Lillien Publisher St. Martin's Griffin

Hungry Girl…what a fitting title for a cookbook, especially in today's health-conscious, food-crazed society. Fad diets are constantly come and go and changing as quickly as gas prices. Lisa Lillien, a self-proclaimed hungry girl has an easier, most tasty solution. Lillien is the founder of the hungry girl website, which has daily tips for guilt-free eating, recipes and advice. By popular demand she created a book of recipes with survival strategies for guilt-free eating in the real world. So what does that mean anyway? Is it all soy-veggie burgers and tofu milk shakes? No way! Lillien provides filling, tasty and nutritional recipes for people who like to eat.

The chapters include recipes for breakfast, salads, soups, lunches/mini-meals, fast food makeovers, "guy food," holiday food, chocolate, fruits and much much more! If you're an advanced cook looking to make gourmet dishes, this probably isn't for you. The recipes are very simple and very delicious, but that's only half the fun of this cookbook. You know how they say 'don't judge a book by its cover?' Well I disagree on this one because the colorful, fun cover is just a sneak peek into the vibrant pictures throughout the book.

I particularly like the random food and exercise facts and tips, such as workouts you can do at your office desk if you can't get to the gym, and the first soup dates back to 6000 B.C., with the main ingredient being hippopotamus bones…yummy. It's very easy to read because it's enjoyable and funny, with humorously clever recipe names like egg flower power soup, hacked 'n whacked blt salad, and eggs bene-chick. How can you resist?

I originally thought the recipes were just taking recipes and substituting in anything low-fat. However, once I tried some of the recipes I proved myself wrong. I enjoyed actually learning about the nutritional facts and having suggested brands to try, and I learned that having a nutritious recipe to follow will force me to purchase smarter and eat healthier. If you want to check out more before committing to the book, go to Hungry-Girl.com for a taste…corny, I know.