Customer Reviews

Naturally Skinny: 100 Organic Recipes Under 350 Calories

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The book delivered what it promised...organic, healthy recipes that were easy to follow! If there was one challenge I had with the book is that it included a lot of whole grains (barley, oats, quinoa) in the recipes, which is generally good except for those who are allergic to wheat/gluten products. I don't waste time counting calories so the low-calorie part wasn't essential for me, but ensuring that I eat clean, organic, raw or natural is what drew me to this book. The book was straightforward and easy to follow.

JJ Smith

Okay, anyone can publish an "organic" cookbook by putting the word "organic" in front of every ingredient. However, I'm giving this a 5-star rating simply because the recipes are so great!

I first made the Whole Grain Pancakes. I used all of the ingredients listed (minus the "organic) and then entered the recipe in MyFitnessPal so I could accurately measure the calories. The book...182 calories. MFP...183 calories. I tried this with several recipes and the calories were pretty much on target.

The ingredients she used for the dishes can be found in any supermarket, and that's always a big plus. I've purchased several other "low-cal" cookbooks that ended up collecting dust simply because I couldn't find the ingredient and if I did, it was usually way expensive.

The dishes are delicious. I love the way everything is broken up by category. She includes a "sides" category, with the caloric value pretty low. I can create an entire meal simply by choosing something from each category, and I love that I can compensate in one area (say, the main course) and then be able to choose a higher-calorie desert (although we usually have deserts listed as an after-dinner snack).

Yes, it was a little irritating to constantly read "organic" in front of every ingredient but for the price I paid ($4.99 Kindle edition), this really was well-worth it. My husband likes the fact that he's not regulated to the same breakfasts each day just to keep the calorie count down. At $4.99, this was a steal!

I bought this book after looking at reviews for some of the Hungry Girl books. There were several complaints about her use of artificial sweeteners, and one review recommended this book instead. OK, I thought, I'll try that one instead, since I don't like using loads of artificial ingredients. I wish I hadn't, however. Half of the recipes in this book are common sense things that anyone could come up with (see the other review with the example of the spinach omelet recipe). The other half have loads of ingredients and are things I am not likely to make (am I really going to stick a pint of cherry tomatoes in a blender to MAKE tomato soup?). Also, as mentioned in the other review, there are numerous typos, at least in the Kindle version. You can tell what's intended by reading the recipe, but it's annoying to have to take the extra step. Some of the recipes are a bit time-intensive, and some call for ingredients that I don't believe actually exist. Is there such a thing as "organic tuna"? Those guys swim free in the ocean, right? How does anyone know what they've been eating? And what exactly is a "can" of tuna? There is no size given, and there is quite a variety of can sizes for tuna in most grocery stores. It would also be helpful if there were hints about brands, since some of the ingredients are unusual. "Organic frozen mixed berries" is one. Could I have a hint of what I'm looking for when I go to the store?

The author seems to have used her word processor to do a search and replace on a regular recipe book to insert the word "organic" in front of every noun. Why is organic important? What ingredients are most important to have organic versions of, and which ones can you use the conventional type instead? There's no info on this at all. Furthermore, the recipes do not provide a complete nutritional breakdown. How much fiber? How much cholesterol? You'll need to fill in those blanks on your own, since fat and calorie information is all that's provided. I am also bothered by the way the calorie count is doctored by simply increasing the number of servings in a few recipes. A 200-calorie muffin is not that difficult to create, but a single muffin does not a breakfast make (not for me, anyhow). And a pancake recipe that serves EIGHT is stretching the "under 350" calorie definition, in my opinion. Especially when there are only 2 cups of grain product in the whole recipe (oats and wheat flour). The instructions say to use 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake, meaning everyone gets a total of 1/2 cup of food for breakfast, since it makes 16 pancakes and serves 8. Hmm. I do believe I would still be hungry.

I ended up buying one of the Hungry Girl books, too, and I like it quite a bit better than this one. It's pretty easy to simply substitute other ingredients for anything artificial in the HG book. And I can add the word "organic," too, if I decide I want to use organic ingredients.

I love Naturally Skinny! I have a bent towards organic and extremely healthy foods (we have a garden, we eat only grass-fed beef, etc). So many of the titles out there ignore the healthier ingredients and focus only on the diet themselves. You should STACK YOUR EATING ADVANTAGES! If you're going to lose weight and eat specific foods, why not get the very BEST of those foods while you lose weight? You therefore get the healthy vitamins and minerals, and you don't get all the junk, such as the pesticides (and whatever else the food we get from across the border sends our way). This isn't a little fluff pamphlet, this is a big volume, over 100 pages, jam-packed with eating ideas that are healthy to get your body slimmed down but in a manner that is good for you.

I couldn't wait to get my hands on the Naturally Skinny 100 organic recipes under 350 calories book. I have been trying to change my eating habits and now my family is ready to join me and I can finally stop eating microwave meals! My problem has always been that I do not have a good understanding of portion control or healthy cooking and how to substitute bad foods with healthier ones... I have to have a recipe to follow. So, I was pretty excited to get this book since it seemed to have a good mix of recipes: breakfast, lunch, dinner, deserts and appetizers. I also ordered the Betty Crocker 300 Calorie cook book at the same time. So, anytime I get a new cookbook the first thing I do is sit down with my post-it notes and start marking the recipes that I want to fix. I was very disappointed and became more disappointed the further I read in the book. I am not sure what I was expecting based on the title as far as 'organic' goes... it just has the word 'organic' in front of each ingredient. Example: shredded organic cheese, organic eggs, organic salsa, organic pumpkin (from a can). I guess I was expecting to have the recipes tell me why I was looking for organic cheese vs. regular store bought cheese - what is the difference between the two and what is the health advantages or how to bake pumpkin vs. buying store bought. Also, the recipes have several mistakes in them, the recipe for Whole Wheat Chicken and Black Bean Burritos calls for 'Juice of one organic', ok... juice of one organic WHAT? The Spinach Omelet calls for '2 Organic milk' once again I am not sure what that is....
Here is example of one of the recipes:
Spinach & Egg Skillet Breakfast.
Ingredients:
2 c organic baby spinach
2 organic eggs
1 tbls organic olive oil

Directions:
In a cast iron skillet heat the olive oil. Crack the eggs in the skillet, season with salt and pepper and fry to your liking. When eggs are almost done, add the spinach and stir until wilted. Serve immediately.
Serves 1; Calories per serving 259.

The other problem I have with this cookbook is the calorie counts, in the recipe above it doesn't tell you what size egg to use. The calories between med and jumbo can be quite a bit, I am trying to monitor all my calories and small things like this can add up over the day or week and slow down weight loss.

So, to wrap this review up. I wish I had not bought this book. I could take ANY low calorie book and read through it and put the word 'organic' in front of all the ingredients and have the same content in this book. I found the recipes in the dinner section to be lacking.... meat that is, 99% of them were meatless. Several mistakes in the ingredints and directions and very missleading, some ingredients do not list quantities needed. I didn't see many things in here that I thought made this a good buy.

I have enjoyed the low-cal books, the "chick-diet" books (such as Hungry Girl) but it's nice to find a complete dieting book that focuses on healthy eating. Losing weight should be good for you but if you just eat junk (stale rice cakes, Ugh!) you won't feel like continuing. Naturally Skinny is nice due to the huge number of organic recipes it provides, as well as the way it presents the food. Finally, a dieting book is broken down into breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, sides, and yes even desserts so when you're ready for a specific meal of the day you don't have to hunt through everything. also, Each recipe begins with a friendly, upbeat bit of background on the food and why it is good for you and why the recipe will help you lose weight. Each recipe is well-detailed and simple. Thanks!

While most of the recipes sound delicious, for those who are hurting in the pocket area this book us not for you. By the standards of other cookbooks I've read on kindle, this one seems to be bogged down with expensive ingredients.

It would be wonderful if we could all eat organic food exclusively, but that is not possible for many of us. However, if you follow these recipe ideas and eat these foods, organic or not, you will be healthy! They are simple, whole foods, not refined carbs enhanced by stablizers, preservatives, or various chemical additives. They are a huge improvement over the typical American diet. Your taste buds will learn what real food tastes like and you will not regret making the switch. You will feel younger, look better, and live longer.

If it seems too overwhelming, it might help to see this as a process. I see at least four steps a person needs to take before they are ready to embrace switching to all organic foods. Eliminating processed foods. Committing to cooking from scratch. And switching to only whole, natural foods. Once you've done that, you can just try to avoid "the dirty dozen" (See EWG's Shopper's Guide to Pesticides). Meanwhile, follow the recipes as best you can. They are well-rounded and delicious!

Typos and unclear directions made it a little confusing. For instance Grilled Caesar Sandwiches said to toss ingredients. Why toss the bread before placing stuff on it? Did they mean toss everything except bread? Saying grilled sandwich means the sandwich was made and grilled, but only lettuce was grilled. I think this book would have been better if they had proofread before publishing. There were a few good ideas, but this is not a book I'd use over and over, recommend, or use on a weekly basis.

This is an ideal book for those who want to lose weight by eating natural, organic food. These are so many fad diets around that it's truly refreshing to find a book that focuses on healthy eating. Learn to eat healthily and you will lose weight naturally. And with the delicious recipes in this book it won't even feel like you are on diet. The calories for each meal are laid out nicely, so you are able to add up your total calories for the day.

Another plus is that the book uses everyday ingredients that are easy to find. I also like that she focuses on organic food, as I feel that eating non-organic food has a negative effect on the body. This can lead to weight being harder to lose.