Book Review: Skinny Chicks Eat Real Food

Skinny Chicks Eat Real Food: Kick Your Fake Food Habit, Kickstart Your Weight Loss
by Christine Avanti, CN

Photo from Goodreads.com

I came across an ad for this book in a magazine and the words "real food" caught my eye. I've been on the lookout for more books about eating real food so I wrote down the title and requested it at the library. This book, as it states in the subtitle, is about weight loss, but there is so much good information for anyone interested in eating real food whether they are doing it to lose weight or not.

The book is 289 pages including recipes and appendices at the end. I found the reading quick and enjoyable (Christine Avanti's personality definitely comes through) all while being very informative. I'd say this would be a good book for people that are new to the real food idea and people like me, who have read and learned a good deal about eating real food already. I still learned some new information and partway through reading decided it was a good enough resource to actually shell out the money to buy it.

The book is divided into 3 sections:

Part I: Addicted to Factory Food explains what type of food most Americans are buying and the processes they go through in the factory. It also touches on why people have certain cravings and are addicted to food. There is also a chapter dedicated to sugar and another to fats. Very informative section, especially for people new to the real food idea.

Part II: Real-Food Recovery talks about making the switch from factory food to real food. There are also some tips on how to fend off the cravings and people that offer you factory foods that you are trying to avoid.

Part III: Real Food in the Real World gives some great tips about shopping for real food in the grocery store and at farmer's markets. It also talks more about the weight loss plan and gives some sample menus. There are also enough recipes for every meal of the day for several days.

One part of the book that I really liked were the profiles on several different real foodies that have blogs and other resources to check out. Being a blogger myself I was excited to see Lisa Leake from 100 Days of Real Food in there as well as several other people that I want to go check out. I think reading blogs from regular people that are trying to do the same thing you are trying to do is so helpful and inspiring. It makes it all seem doable.

I will be passing this book on to someone else (and then asking for it back so I can use it as a reference). I hope you find this book helpful too. 

What Am I Reading?

This is currently what my stack of books looks like on my night stand. I just can't read fast enough. I've just finished Clean by Alejandro Junger, in the middle of Skinny Chicks Eat Real Food by Christine Avanti, and will be starting Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson and In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. Food Rules by Michael Pollan is missing from the stack because I read the whole thing last night and during breakfast this morning and gave it to someone else to read already. Of course there is one non-food related book in my stack for a little break for my brain.

What are you reading?

My Love Affair with Fresh & Easy

It wasn’t love at first sight with Fresh & Easy: Neighborhood Market. We flirted for a bit several years ago, but there was no chemistry and the relationship didn’t go anywhere. Over the past year we reconnected, I discovered some very attractive qualities and fell in love. I’ve found that Fresh & Easy has a wide variety of healthy choices, several ways to save money, and it is convenient. Since my family began eating more real food, Fresh & Easy is where I spend the most of my grocery budget.

Note: Fresh & Easy is currently only in California, Nevada and Arizona. If you live elsewhere and know of a similar type of store let me know. I think Trader Joe's is similar. We have them in Las Vegas, but it's not close enough to where I live to shop there.

Here is my rundown of why I love Fresh & Easy:

The Fresh & Easy brand – Fresh & Easy brand products do not include high fructose corn syrup, added trans-fats, or artificial coloring or flavors. This really attracted me to the store once I knew about it. Their products are clearly labeled so you don’t forget. Of course these items are all processed, packaged items, but they are a better choice than much of what is out there from other companies. Still read their labels because there may be other ingredients you are trying to avoid that are included. I really like that they are listening to what consumers want or don’t want and make better choices available at their store.

Meat – Fresh & Easy has a wide variety of meat, which I just recently discovered. I used to buy regular ground beef (no pink slime!!) and chicken because the prices were reasonable. When we decided that we wanted to go to organic chicken and grass-fed beef we found that they carried those as well. They have a few different types of seafood, pork and turkey too.  So no matter what my meat choices have been, I have found they have what I need. I have also recently discovered they have some nitrate free options for bacon, lunch meats, salami, and pepperoni. That makes me J.

Produce – They don’t have a huge selection and I don’t buy the bulk of my produce here, but when I do need something to supplement what I get from Bountiful Baskets this is a good option. They have some organic items and many conventional choices. It’s reasonably priced too. If you are looking for something unusual you might have to look elsewhere, but if you just want your usual produce choices you’ll have no problem getting what you need.

Saving Money

The Clearance Section – I found this section early on and check it every time I go. There is a refrigerated section and a non-refrigerated section.  Check here for some great deals. Just keep in mind that the items need to be used quickly. Sometimes we find our favorite pizza dough super cheap and just freeze it until we need it.

Coupons – Fresh & Easy does not accept manufacturer coupons, but who care when you can save a lot more money with their store coupons. This is my most recent discovery. I always used one of their coupons and got $3 or $5 off. However, you can use more than one of their store coupons in one transaction. For example, if I spend $100 I can use 4-$5 off $25 coupons, which takes my total from $100 to $80. Even in my short-lived couponing days I never did that well. Most manufactures coupons are for highly processed food I wouldn’t buy anyway. Win-win for me.

The Friends Card – This is a new program that I am so glad I signed up for a few months ago. For every 500 points you get $5 to use on a transaction. You don’t have to spend $500 either because they often have double and triple point items so you can accrue points very quickly. I’ve probably gotten $30 dollars back already since I got my card. You can use your $5 off from the card and coupons in the same transaction too.

Convenience – Fresh & Easy is a small store so even at their busiest times in the early evening and on weekends it’s never as busy as other grocery stores. I don’t hate grocery shopping when I go to Fresh & Easy.

I feel like Fresh & Easy has a lot to offer to anyone who is trying to make better food choices. You still need to do your homework and read labels because not everything sold in the store is a healthy option. They carry a number of the big name brand products for anyone who just wants the small store convenience. The selection on natural and organic products is not as extensive as a store like Whole Foods, but it does the job for the regular week to week shopping trips.

So if you have a Fresh & Easy in your area check it out. If you’ve already been to Fresh & Easy see if there is something about the store that you haven’t taken full advantage of in the past. You might fall in love too.

The Best Chicken Salad

I have a tendency to pull recipes out of magazines and save them for way too long before trying them. While organizing my recipes I came across a chicken salad recipe I saved out of Food Network Magazine in April 2011. Yikes! I need to be more on top of trying recipes I save. But boy I'm glad I held onto it this long. When I came home today and thought my husband finished off the leftovers I was bummed. Until he showed me a little container just for me left in the fridge for lunch tomorrow.

You've got to try Aarti Sequeira's Lady Marmalade Chicken Salad. It is so delicious and easy to make. Aarti has an Indian background so her recipes always feature some delicious spices. We ate ours with organic blue corn tortilla chips. Yum, yum!

Sorry no picture of our salad. I totally forgot so you'll have to settle for clicking on the link for a picture this time. Ours turned out a darker yellow than in the picture. I'll try to be better about getting pictures next time.

Does it qualify as real food? I say yes with the exception of the orange marmalade.

My only issue was having trouble finding orange marmalade that I was totally happy with so I settled. The brand I bought had corn syrup in it, which I try to avoid when I can. I'll have to check Whole Foods for a better option. Of course maybe I can work with my husband on a non-processed substitute that would still give that orange flavor. Not sure if just orange juice would do.

A few changes we made:

• I made a whole chicken in the crockpot the night before using this Chicken Recipe from Lisa Leake's 100 Days of Real Food (my new foodie hero). I used most of this chicken for the chicken salad.
• I swapped out the canola or peanut oil for coconut oil.
• We added some diced celery because we had some on hand. I love the extra crunch.

We will be making this again very soon. This would definitely be a hit at your next summertime potluck.

Note: I have to give my husband credit for putting this chicken salad together. All I did was make the chicken the day before and make sure we had the ingredients. He likes cooking much more than I do, and he's better at it so many of the things we try will be cooked by my wonderful husband with me as the sous chef. However the food gets cooked at your house, make it as real as possible.