Better Homes - Better Homes and Gardens Skinny Dinners: 200 Calorie-Smart Recipes that Your Family Will Love

Each dish in this book is within a reasonable range of fat, calories, and fiber.

Calories: 425 or less

Fat: 15 grams or less

Protein: more than 10 grams

Fiber: 3 grams or more

Calories: 175 or less

Fat: 5 grams or less

Fiber: 1 gram or more

Calories: 200 or less

Fat: 8 grams or less

Fiber: 1 gram or more

Look for icons indicating a recipe meets the following criteria:

high fiber 5 or more grams per serving

vegetarian No ingredients contain meat or meat products

Gluten Free No ingredients contain gluten*

*Gluten free: These recipes can successfully be prepared with all gluten-free ingredients and may be suitable for people with celiac disease or other gluten sensitivities. Check the ingredient lists on all foods you use in these recipes to ensure they do not contain gluten.

contents

the skinny

on skinny

Whether youre looking to lose weight, get fit, or simply want to eat more healthfully, changing your diet in a way that is achievable without deprivation is the key to long-term success. Skinny Dinners provides the information you need and the recipes you want to feel great, lose weight, and keep it off for good.

lose weight for the right reasons

Before you embark on a weight-loss plan, take inventory of your ability to carry out your goals. Are you stressed out? Are you changing jobs, relationships, or relocating? Being in the right frame of mind can affect whether you are successful in losing weight or not. Additionally, it is best to lose weight for yourself and your healthnot for your spouse, your mother, or your friends. It is also not wise to starve yourself to lose weight at lightning speed for an event. Not only is this unhealthy, the weight loss most likely wont last. When you do decide the time is right, did you know:

Preventing weight gain or reversing recent weight gain can improve your health?

Health can improve with a relatively minor weight reduction (5 to 10 percent of body weight)?

Adopting a healthy lifestyle by eating better and moving more has positive health implications even when you dont lose any weight at all?

common sense dieting

Many trendy fad diets encourage you to avoid whole categories of foods. By doing so, you run the risk of missing necessary nutrients needed to stay healthy. For a healthy eating plan, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggest:

1. Consume less sodium, saturated and trans fats, added sugars, and refined grains.
2. Enjoy your food, but eat less.
3. Avoid oversized portions.
4. Make half your plate fruits and vegetables.
5. Switch to fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk.
6. Compare sodium in foods like soup, bread, and frozen mealsand choose the foods with lower numbers.
7. Drink water instead of sugary drinks. For additional information, see www.choosemyplate.gov.

Rather than thinking about eating good food or bad food, focus on eating a variety of nutrient rich foods. That means focusing on fresh foods rather than packaged or fast foods. The least amount of processing the food has undergone, the better. What is better for you: A powdered soup from a package or a homemade soup with fresh veggies and lean meat? The choice is obvious.