SkinnyGirl

I am in LOVE with the SkinnyGirl books by Bethenny Frankel. So far I own two of her books, SkinnyGirl Dish and Naturally Thin. I'm not sure if she has any more, but these two I absolutely ADORE. They are EVERYthing I used to know internally about healthy food and healthy eating, and everything I promptly forgot during one semester of high stress full-time college courses and keeping together a marriage and family. Starbucks in the morning? Yes, please. Need to eat to keep up my brain power. Out to lunch with friends? Sure! Got to socialize, and what's another $8 bucks and a whole sandwich? Dinner? I looove dinner, it's my favorite meal. Can't skip that.

Yeah, so, my healthy eating habits went to shit that semester. Then, I totally forgot them! So I am SOOO excited that somebody else had internalized them and actually had the foresight to write them down in Naturally Thin. My favorite's so far:

*Your diet is a bank account: Make huge withdrawals if you want, just make sure to balance it with a deposit.

*You can have it all, just not at once: Pick your splurges. Instead of having the bread, cheese, pasta, desert, and wine, pick one or two. Or, just have a bite or two to satisfy your craving without making a huge withdrawal.

*Balance your meals: If you have carbs for breakfast, have protein and veggies for lunch. If you have eggs for breakfast, have some whole grain bread for lunch.

I love the general idea she presents that we are ALL naturally thin, we just need to to THINK thin, and stop beating ourselves up for our cravings and indulgences. We are, after all, human.

In Skinnygirl Dish, Frankel teaches you how to cook the way she cooks - by instinct. I used to know how to do that, too. When I stopped cooking four years ago, I had neglected to write down exactly how I did that. While the Fat Flush Plan got me started with what ingredients and simple recipes to use, Skinnygirl Dish has helped me continue with cooking techniques and essential kitchen utensils. My favorite's so far:

*Cook eggs on medium heat, not high heat. She actually does a different version than this, but it didn't work for me, so I modified it to medium heat. Makes delicious fried eggs for the boys, and perfect scrambled eggs for me.

*Buy a silicone baster. Works for EVERYthing. And so easy to clean.

*She gives proportions to create your own cookies. Haven't tried this yet, but am excited to.

*She has listed the spices to create different types of ethnic cuisines. What an excellent reference when I want to change things up!

*Most of all, she emphasizes adjusting to fit your needs and not being afraid to try something new and being okay if it doesn't work out.

That's all I can think of for now that I definitely don't want to forget.

Edit: Two new rules I've learned and love:

*Avoid food commercials. They can make you want food you don't need.

*Taste your food. Really taste your food.

*Don't eat while distracted i.e. watching tv, standing up, driving. Food isn't as satisfying this way and you end up feeling like you didn't eat.

*Take the few extra seconds to dress up your food. For example, tonight we had Bluebell ice cream. Instead of Hershey's syrup I took an extra few seconds to throw raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries (all frozen) with local honey into the blender and made an amazing raspberry dessert sauce that tasted like we were eating at a five star restaurant. So fun!