Why We're So "Hungry" For Hungry Girl

Lisa Lillien, also known as "Hungry Girl," has succeeded in taking her dieting and low-calorie cooking skills from her own kitchen to the Web to the printed word. It's intriguing to analyze how she cooked up her unique brand of food. Take her latest best-selling book, for example, Hungry Girl 300 Under 300: 300 Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner Dishes Under 300 Calories, in which she provides a heaping serving of 300-calories or less meals. Lisa is big on convenience foods that pack a lot of volume for a minimal number of calories. If you shudder at the notion of canned foods, think fat-free diets are an unhealthy fad, and hate artificial sweeteners, you won't want to even nibble at one of these concoctions. If you love fast, easy meals that are flavorful yet diet-friendly, dig in!

The catch-22 to her style of cooking: she's not always the healthiest cook on the planet. Take another one of her popular books, Hungry Girl 1-2-3: The Easiest, Most Guilt-Free Recipes on the Planet. Now I admit: I bought this book and use it for potlucks. Most of my friends love these treats - and are usually delighted when I tell them that the tasty dessert is low-calorie. However, if you're like my buddy Sheila who wrinkles her nose at the notion of Splenda, you won't be so pleased. Lisa loves foods such as fat-free Cool Whip, Splenda, fat-free cream cheese, and similar substitutes for high-calorie, high fat products. For those of us who contend that counting calories is a key way to keep your weight in check, her recipes can help with those days when you're craving something sweet but want to skip the serving of guilt.

I recommend saving her recipes, in general, for special occasions. The best way to stay trim (or get to your target weight) and healthy is to focus on eating real foods, such as fresh fruits, vegetables, and plain oatmeal, rather than overly processed foods. In some cases, Lisa's tips can offer ideas for different products to try, though, and for that she is to be commended. For example: I had never noticed fat-free ricotta cheese in the grocery store until I saw it listed in one of her dessert concoctions. Since that discovery, I use this low-calorie, high protein food for a topping for fresh fruit or spread on a slice of whole wheat toast for breakfast. Sprinkle it with cinnamon for extra flavor. And about that fat-free Cool Whip? Save it for those days when you're craving something sweet and rich.