Slim People in Progress

Cooking Tips and Recipes

Wow! I can't believe how long it's been since I last posted. Been a busy summer with a lot of business travel. It's all I can do to stay on top of my business blogs.

Travel of course brings it's own challenges  around eating and fitness. I've never done too well when it comes to eating on the road and when I'm socializing with colleagues and clients. My latest attempt is to bring protein bars and shakes to have in my room for breakfast and for snacks so I don't feel too guilty about having lunches and dinners in restaurants. Seems to be working OK. I'm down about 7 pounds from a couple of months ago.

Anyway, the reason I'm posting is to let you know about a site I found with a lot of recipes and cooking tips and tools. Maintaining one's weight means cooking more and that's not my real interest but when I find good, healthy recipes that are easy, it helps. I can't guarantee all the recipes are low fat or diet friendly but there's some good stuff.

How's your summer weight loss/maintenance program going?

By the way, I am still running 2-3 times per week. Didn't get much in during the 3 weeks in a row I was traveling but did manage a treadmill workout.

Hungry Girl in Los Angeles and San Diego

If you're a fan of Hungry Girl, like I am, and you live in Los Angeles or San Diego, she'll be in town this week signing her new book: Hungry Girl: Recipes and Survival Strategies for Guilt-Free Eating in the Real World.

Lisa Lillien, the Hungry Girl, will be at the Barnes and Noble at The Grove in L.A. on Friday, May 30 at 7:00 p.m. 

On Thursday, June 5, Lisa Lillien will be at the Barnes and Noble store at Mira Mesa Market Center in San Diego at 7:00 p.m.

I'll be at The Grove on Friday evening. Let me know if you'll be there so we can connect and say "hi"!

Kale Chips -- A Delicious, Low-Cal Snack

I'm mad about kale. In fact, it's my all-time favorite vegetable. Full of Vitamins A, C, E and K, in addition to copious amounts of calcium and fiber, kale is a nutritional powerhouse...and it's delicious too! And you know what else? It's super low in calories so you can eat bunches of it without feeling guilty.

Often relegated to a garnish at a restaurant, the beauty of kale is that it not only tastes good but there are a myriad of ways you can prepare it. I'm a big fan of quick boiling and then sauteing it, or even just sauteing it after chopping finely. Add some garlic and olive oil and it's simply scrumptious. But my favorite -- kale chips! If you like crunchy/salty things, you'll love these chips.

You can literally take a bunch of kale, tear into bite size pieces, spray with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Check out this demonstration of making kale chips that I did recently on a program called Better Connecticut. In this case, we've used kale that's already pre-bagged and olive oil spray so it's even quicker.

Enjoy the recipe below and let me know your take on kale. Do you like it? Ever had chips before? You can even make the chips from collard greens - lots of options.

Kale Chips

Ingredients:

• Bag of ready-to-cook kale
• Spritz of extra virgin olive oil cooking spray
• Sprinkle of sea salt or kosher salt to taste

Directions:

Put kale on cookie sheet, spritz with extra virgin olive oil spray, sprinkle with salt. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes at 425 degrees until lightly browned and crisped.

Enjoy,

Wendy

Hungry Girl's Book is Near the Top of the Charts

Hungry Girl Lisa Lillien has just published her first book: Hungry Girl: Recipes and Survival Strategies for Guilt-Free Eating in the Real World. I just looked it up on Amazon.com and it's at #4 overall! That is amazing when you think there are MILLIONS of books for sale on Amazon. I also see it's for sale at a 45% discount right now so it's only $9.87.

I love Hungry Girl's daily newsletter and often learn new tips and new foods that I can eat (almost) guilt-free. I can't wait to get her book now.

Any one out there bought a copy yet? Any reviews and feedback?

Hungry Girl is currently on tour signing her books. Friday and Saturday in Boston. May 30 in Los Angeles.  See you there?

Vitalicious Recipe Contest

Vitalicious muffin tops are an essential staple in my freezer. They help me satisfy my sweet tooth without creating havoc on my points. I also have on hand a couple of packages of VitaMix, just in case I run out of my favorite tops.

I'm not a baker so I simply follow the directions on the package. But, Roni, who writea Green Lite Bites, is a baker and is having a VitaMix recipe contest. The best thing is that if you submit the winner recipe, you get $500 worth of Vitalicious products!

Check out the contest, pick up some VitaMix and create. Let us know here, what your favorite VitaMix recipe is and we'll try it out too.