INTRODUCTION: WELCOME TO SKINNY EATING
 
Have you ever read about some celebrity’s dramatic weight loss and thought how much easier dropping pounds would be if you had the support of a personal chef like so many famous people do? Ever imagined the ease of having someone tell you exactly what to put in your mouth, and when (not to mention shopping and preparing all your food each day)?
 
Well, unless you go hire yourself a live-in chef (cha-ching) or buy a subscription to a frozen-meal delivery service (bland, yuck), this book is as close as you can get to that experience. I’ll be your kitchen wizard and motivator, giving you one hundred amazing options for meals that are easy to cook and deliciously satisfying—and that will promote fast weight loss. I’ve made recommendations so you can easily put meals together for a month’s worth of menus, and I’ve even given you week-by-week shopping lists—order from one of those popular grocery delivery services and you won’t even have to do the shopping yourself! Don’t you feel like a celebrity already?
 
More good news: every Skinny Meals recipe adheres to the nonnegotiable rules for getting to thin that I set out in my book The Skinny Rules. This means that each is rules-abiding in terms of what should go into every meal, and what amounts and kinds of ingredients (protein, carbs, fiber, sodium, etc.), and when. When you eat exclusively from the recipes in this book (or combine them with recipes from The Skinny Rules to give yourself the most possible options), you will be living by my rules for overall daily calories (no recipe in this book has more than 330 calories!), protein, carbs, fiber, sodium, fruits, vegetables, and water.
 
What does all this mean to you in the short term? No more standing in front of the fridge wondering what on earth you should make (and finally saying “the hell with it” and ordering a massive pizza for delivery). No more calorie counting and worrying about macronutrient combinations (carbs and protein and fat, oh my!). No more confusion! Whether you create your own daily menu combinations or follow the ones I’ve supplied, I’ll make grabbing breakfast on the fly, packing lunch for the office, snacking, and assembling dinner in a rush much, much easier. Automated, even. And automation is your friend when you are trying to get rid of bad eating habits and adopt better ones.
 
Automated, however, doesn’t mean joyless. It doesn’t mean nasty, cardboard-y food. It doesn’t mean denying yourself the flavors of the world. My Skinny Meals draw inspiration from Thailand to Louisiana, Hawaii to France, and the Mediterranean to Mexico. Because although having fewer decisions to make around meal prep will help you meet your weight-loss goals, having diverse flavors—all “skinnified” for your eating pleasure—will make life so much more colorful. Some of the food in these pages is so scrumptious that you could entertain guests in style without breaking your skinny stride (though obviously you’ll want to multiply the amount of ingredients by the number of people you’ll be serving!).
 
With twenty breakfast options, thirty-five lunches, thirty-five dinners, and ten snack recipes, you could mix and match for months and never get bored using my Skinny Meals. I hope you’ll try any and all that seem even remotely appetizing to you—the more go-to recipes you can develop, the better. Each Skinny Meal recipe you love is one more powerful weapon in your battle against the bulge.
 
Here’s to your successful weight loss!
 
 
Avocado Toast
 
Replace the fatty butter and sugary jam you used to pile on your toast with this abundance of natural flavors, good fats, and protein and you will have a well-balanced meal to kick-start your day! It’s low calorie, high protein, and oh so good!
 
¼ avocado
Pinch of paprika
½ teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 slice whole-wheat or Ezekiel bread, toasted
4 hard-boiled large egg whites, chopped
1½ teaspoons finely diced shallots
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon capers, rinsed and coarsely chopped
Dash of freshly ground black pepper
 
In a small bowl, mash and mix the avocado, paprika, and lemon juice. Spread on the toast.
 
In the same small bowl, mix together the egg whites, shallots, mustard, capers, and pepper.
 
Pile the egg white mixture on top of the avocado-smeared toast and enjoy!
 
Nutrition information: 221 calories, 20g protein, 20g carbs, 8g fat, 6g fiber
 
 
Apple Pie Shake
 
Have your pie and drink it, too! With this breakfast, you can enjoy the flavors of a classic dessert in a way that still meets my approval—you’ll experience the comfort of apple pie without the outrageous calories. The almond butter gives you hunger-satisfying protein, and with just the right amount of carbs and fat, you’ll get a jump on the day without hurting your waistline.
 
Meatless day option!
 
½ small banana, frozen
½ apple, sliced
1 scoop of vanilla protein powder
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
½ cup crushed ice
1 tablespoon almond butter
 
Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
 
Nutrition information: 271 calories, 18g protein, 32g carbs, 10g fat, 8g fiber
 
 
Spicy Green Shake
 
The heat from the peppers and spices in this recipe will boost your metabolism (and your morning) into high gear, and the added spinach and kale will give you the iron and energy of Popeye. Since you’re blending this, leave on the kiwi skin—it has a ton of fiber, and you know you need your fiber!
 
1 kiwi, unpeeled and cut into quarters
1 Persian cucumber, diced
1 cup chopped fresh spinach
1 cup chopped kale
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ pear, unpeeled and diced
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
 
Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
Serve with a side of My Skinny Scramble.
 
MY SKINNY SCRAMBLE
When eating the Skinny Rules way, I want women to get 1,200 calories a day, so you’re going to prepare My Skinny Scramble using a 3+1 ratio (3 egg whites plus 1 whole egg). Men, you can go with the 5+1 ratio (5 egg whites, plus 1 whole egg) because you need 1,500 calories a day. Either way, it’s protein power your’re getting in this quick-prep side. Simply beat the whites and the one egg together and quickly scramble in a nonstick frying pan (or add just a spritz of olive oil or canola oil spray to a standard pan). Any recipe that calls for the addition of My Skiny Scramble (or that calls for a 3+1 or 5+1 egg ratio as part of the ingredients list) gives you the nutritional information for the 3+1 ratio. Just so you know, here is the full info on both ratios.
 
Nutrition Information: 5 + 1 = 146 calories, 25g protein, 0g carbs, 4.4g fat
3 + 1 = 112 calories, 17.5g protein, 0g carbs, 4.4g fat