As a fan of the Hungry Girl website I couldn't wait to purchase Lisa Lillien's (aka Hungry Girl) new book.  Her website is a hit with thousands of Hungry Girl fans and now she has finally compiled her tips, tricks, swaps and recipes into a 326-page book. In Hungry Girl: Recipes & Survival Strategies for Guilt-Free Eating in the Real World you'll get over 150 recipes (including some great low-cal cocktail recipes), as well as her guilt-free junk food guide.  She also hands out some great ideas for surviving the diet-ruining temptations at restaurants, parties, the holidays and while traveling.

She doesn't claim that her recipes are "health food", rather she offers great, tasty lower-calorie swaps for higher-cal indulgent dishes.

I definitely recommend this book to anyone who is looking for fun, creative ways to cut out some of the fat from their diets.  I recently tried her peanut butter & chocolate bread pudding recipe and - OH My God!  It was amazing (it definitely lives up to Lisa's disclaimer "Warning: This stuff's so good, it may make your head explode").  Soooo, I'm going to share the wealth & let you in on my new favorite recipe:



3 slices light bread (40 - 45 calories each with about 2g fiber per slice), lightly toasted and cut into 1/2" squares
1 cup light vanilla soy milk
1/2 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute
2 tablespoons reduced-fat peanut butter
2 tablespoons semi-sweet mini chocolate chips
2 tablespoons brown sugar (not packed)
Optional: fat-free whipped topping (Lani's note... definitely opt for the topping!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Place toasted bread cubes into a 1 quart baking dish sprayed with nonstick spray and sprinkle chocolate chips on top.  In a blender combine soy milk, egg substitute, peanut butter, and brown sugar.  Process at medium speed until smooth.  Pour mixture over bread cubes, making sure all the bread cubes are covered.  Let stand for 5 minutes. 

Place dish in the oven and bake for 45 -60 minutes until pudding is firm. 

This is best when served warm.

Makes 4 servings.  162 calories, 5.5g fat, 208mg sodium, 22g carbs, 2.5g fiber, 12g sugars, 8g protein per serving.

Kudos to Lisa for developing such a fantastic brand - Hungry Girl is a site (and now a book) everyone at the Girlfriend Lounge loves!

Click here to buy the Hungry Girl book on Amazon.

- Lani