Summer Yumminess!

I'm studying for the bar exam this summer, and so far the most important thing I've learned is that eating good food regularly makes studying less painful. I've also learned some stuff about promissory estoppel, quantum meruit, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Those topics do not make for interesting blog posts or interesting court cases.

Good food, however, is ALWAYS a good topic of conversation. I recently got two new cookbooks to work on eating better food. They are:

The Original Hungry Girl Cookbook















Hungry Girl: 200 Under 200 (200 recipes under 200 calories)


















The beautiful thing about these cookbooks (aside from their uber-healthiness) is that the dishes are truly delicious and ridiculously easy! Many of the recipes are for single or small family servings (perfect for me!) and the longest any of them have required in prep work is less than half an hour. And they are SO DARN GOOD!!!

So far I've made the following recipes:

perfect pepperoni pizzas (HG, p. 108) [WW points: 3] I made some of these english muffin pizzas for a basketball game at a friend's house. They were a bigger hit than Dominoes! People loved the nostalgia aspect- apparently these are common for kids?- and they were super easy and tasty.

rockin' restaurant spinach dip (HG, p. 154) [WW points: 1] I can't praise this recipe enough! Hungry Girl added water chestnuts (genius!) and the dip is so delicious that my mouth is watering just thinking about it. Simple, simple recipe but oh so tasty! I served it with celery, which was a yummy AND healthy choice. Strongly recommended for parties- 4th of July, anyone?

chunky caramel-apple pumpkin dip (HG:200, p. 118) [WW points: 1] My girlfriends almost cried over how good this one is! I made a batch up for us to eat with apples last week while we watched the Bachelorette. Really simple (I did all the prep work during a single Hannah Montana episode) and the leftover are FANTASTIC frozen and eaten like ice cream. This would be perfect for any fall gathering.

lean bean 'n cheese enchiladas (HG:200, p. 168) [WW points: 3] These are great for a night when you don't want to cook a really complicated meal. Five minutes of prep work, 15 minutes in the oven, and voila: fiesta at your house! The recipe is for two servings, but it's easy to double for those of you with a bigger household than my tiny college apartment. I like my mexican spicy, so I tend to add hot sauce instead of taco sauce- No extra calories, LOTS of extra taste! Bonus: the hot sauce will encourage you to drink more water, which is ALSO healthy!

buffalo chicken chop salad wrap (HG:200, p. 175) [WW points: 4] This is one of my favorite lunch options when I'm home. If you grill or bake chicken ahead of time then all you have to do is throw this together. Two minutes of prep work. My favorite part of this recipe is her suggestion for hot sauce- Frank's RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce. My publix carries it, and I've started putting it on almost everything. Delish!

For those of you looking for a change in your routine, I strongly recommend getting one or both of these cookbooks. Other categories of recipes I haven't tried yet: Yo Cupcake! (cupcake recipes), Fun with Cool Whip (exactly what it sounds like), Chocolate 911, Happy Hour (Yes! Cocktail recipes!), and Souper Douper (I love soup).

Tonight I'm "fake frying" veggies with a friend before Bachelorette, so hopefully that recipe will turn out as well as the others have! What cookbooks do y'all enjoy using? I'm always on the lookout for new food ideas. :)

[And for those of you wondering, yes I'm back on Weight Watchers. So far, so good!]