The Substitute Yourself Skinny Cookbook: Cut the Calories, Keep the Flavor with Hundreds of Simple Substitutions! [Paperback]

Chef Susan Irby (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 18, 2010

Diet cookbooks should be about dropping weight, not depriving yourself. By swapping this for that, you can turn your favorite foods into low-calorie creations--proving once and for all that you can have your chocolate molten cake, and eat it too!

In this calorie-slashing collection, Bikini Chef-to-the-stars Susan Irby offers 175 inventive recipes for switching up ingredients that keep calories to a minimum. Here, you'll get expertly crafted recipes that include offerings for every meal of the day, such as:

• Flat-Belly Eggs Benedict (with turkey bacon or lean prosciutto instead of bacon or ham)--save 465 calories!
• Smoked Gouda Burger (with turkey bacon and a whole-wheat bun)--save 716 calories!
• Monterey Chicken Pasta (with sugar-free BBQ sauce and reduced fat cheese)--save 345 calories!
• Molten Chocolate Cake (with less cream and more strawberries)--save 262 calories!

Complete with "Thin Tip" shortcuts to trim calories in little ways throughout the day and serving size suggestions, you get all the flavor--minus the muffin top!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Chef Susan Irby has worked with multiple Master Chefs including George McNeill, Todd English, and Ming Tsai. Known as the Bikini Chef, specializing in "figure-flattering flavors," Chef Susan is host of What's Cookin' with the Bikini Chef on KFWB News Talk 980 in Los Angeles and author of The $7 a Meal Quick & Easy Cookbook, The $7 a Meal Healthy Cookbook, and Cooking with Susan. She has cooked for several celebrities including Patrick Swayze, David Spade, Kate Sagal, and Bill Handel, and appeared on The Patti Gribow Show and KLAC Los Angeles and numerous other media outlets. Visit www.susanirby.com

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Adams Media; 1 edition (May 18, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1440503974
• ISBN-13: 978-1440503979
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,074,499 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars New Ways to Enjoy the Food you Love without the Calories, May 15, 2010

By 

Esme - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Substitute Yourself Skinny Cookbook: Cut the Calories, Keep the Flavor with Hundreds of Simple Substitutions! (Paperback)

calloped potatoes, clam chowder, fudge brownies; these are probably all foods that you like but would not eat on a daily basis. What about Molten Chocolate Cake and a Bloomin Onion? Chef Susan Irby has 175 super slimming recipes in her latest cookbook, Substitute Yourself Skinny to help you enjoy the food want with just a little less calories. Her approach to cooking makes sense to me.

Realistically there is only one way to lose weight, healthy eating and exercise. There are probably very few people who enjoy eating carrots and spinach day in and day out. While I have never had to consider a diet program where you are purchasing a certain companies food, I do not believe in their programs. This approach may be good for a couple of months but when it is all said and done what happens next.

Chef Irby demonstrates to readers that by changing a few ingredients in a recipe you can reduce calories and turn it into a healthier meal. In the mood for saucy spaghetti with sausage, just throw in low fat turkey sausage and whole wheat pasta, lobster bisque, leave out the heavy cream and use low fat sour creme instead. How about a deep fried onion, do not deep fry it-that is obvious-she has you baking it in the oven. What about Sunday brunch with some French toast-instead of using milk and eggs-try egg whites and low-fat yogurt. -whole wheat bread also helps. Almost every recipe can have the calories cut so you are enjoying foods that you find appetizing and not overloading your body with unhealthy and useless calories.

The book is divided into jump start breakfasts, energizing lunches, thinner dinners, slimming sides, snacks and appetizers and skinny desserts. Will I cook out of this book? Without a doubt. Each recipe gives you the calories, servings and nutritional breakdown. In addition to this it lets you know how many calories you are saving.

The one part of the book I do not agree with is the dessert section. Irby makes most of the desserts with artificial sweeteners. For me I consider this to be substituting one evil for another. Some of her healthier suggestions are using apple sauce or adding more fruit to naturally sweeten the dessert.

Overall I think this is a great cookbook with plenty of recipes that will appeal to everyone. I do not view this book as a diet book at all, as much as it is a healthy lifestyle book for food you eat everyday.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT WAYS TO CUT THE CALORIES, May 24, 2010

By 

Melissa (Long Island NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Substitute Yourself Skinny Cookbook: Cut the Calories, Keep the Flavor with Hundreds of Simple Substitutions! (Paperback)

My family is always looking for recipes to help us stay fit and healthy. The layout of the book was great. Each recipe is easy to follow and includes tips,nutritional breakdown, portion size and of course the calories saved when substituting healther ingredients. We made the fudgy chocolate brownies and they were quite tasty. There are some recipes that she uses a sugar substitute but does not recommend a brand to use. My family uses apple sauce and Stevia as a substitute for sugar when needed. This is a great book for everyone who wants to live a little healthier.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Diet is a KEY component of weight loss and a lot easier now, May 24, 2010

By 

Emily Canibano "skyyogastudio" (Naperville, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Substitute Yourself Skinny Cookbook: Cut the Calories, Keep the Flavor with Hundreds of Simple Substitutions! (Paperback)

I received a copy of this fantastically useful cookbook Substitute Yourself Skinny by Chef Susan Irby to review. I love the layout, each page gives you a calorie savings breakdown, tips that are useful and executable, servings sizes and easy to follow instructions. These recipes are new takes on some old classics - and real eye openers.

For me the Holy Tamole Guacamole was the biggest eye opening recipe. Susan subs in other veggies to reduce the calories per serving down 305 calories. If you were to use 6 avocados instead you get an extra 1,769 calories and - hold on for it - 162 grams of fat!

Sections are color coded for breakfasts, lunches, dinners, sides/appetizers, snacks and desserts. You will be amazed by the amount of calories you can save. Each recipe has a savings listed in the upper right corner, the footer has your overall savings and nutritional data. All recipes fit on one page with easy to follow instructions.

The book is not for vegetarians and vegans but a few recipes can be made vegan and will probably save additional calories with the use of egg replacer, etc.

Remember that your "diet" or way of eating is a key essential of losing weight and maintaining a healthy weight. This book could make your weight loss success a reality, especially if you are like me and you enjoy eating delicious foods. Pick this one up today!