Quick Lose Weight Fast

Her self-effacing stories are at times painful (such as babysitting the night she should have been going to the prom), but the road that led her to healthy cuisine and weight loss is almost comical (though she certainly didn't believe it to be too funny at the time). After the excitement of moving to Hawaii to launch an Italian bistro at a seaside resort, the author, then a robust 205 pounds, was deflated when she arrived to find she had been replaced and put in charge of the establishment's spa cuisine.

The 200 recipes, as expected, are a mixture of healthy ways to prepare beef, chicken, fish, and vegetables. She has even included some full-fat recipes, such as a rich Lemon and Pecan Loaf. These are accompanied with reminders that it is OK to indulge occasionally, but a trip to the gym or eating "light" during the other parts of the day are the necessary balances to achieve weight loss. Even if it is not weight loss, just a healthier approach to eating you seek, Daelemans's book will inspire and entertain. --Teresa Simanton

Some key takeaways: always include lots of veggie sides in your meals (lots of good calories to take up space on the plate), try a light meal once a week (soup or salad), keep dinner simple so you don't feel overwhelmed and order take-out. Pretty easy ideas that have really delivered results (about 20 pounds in 4 months - not fast but really painless) and that I can apply when cooking from other books too.

The recipes I have tried are, for the most part, pretty tasty, though maybe not mind blowing. Good, easy to prepare fare for a weeknight. A couple things have been great, a couple not so successful. She does have a couple "special occasion" recipes, but even these are greatly reduced in calories from the original versions. I think she makes these comments so the reader will understand that you can't lose weight eating chocolate frosting all the time, even if it is the low-fat kind, and if you just need to have it, then here is a healthier version. But for those folks who gripe about the inclusion of "special occasion" recipes, the vast majority of recipes are for everyday foods. Try them, especially the veggie sides chapter, and you will be healthier for it.

After my first read-through I was disappointed by the lack of nutritional information with the recipes but I realized that this book is not intended to do the work for me - but to motivate me do take the steps necessary to gaining control over my nutrition and part of doing this is READING LABELS on the foods I buy. It is easy to blame a book or diet program for a lack of or slow progress if that cookbook/program is laying out every detail of your diet - from ingredients to caloric counts. But,you have only yourself to blame if you don't take the few minutes it takes to read the labels at the grocery store. As I said before, this book is about taking control and that does take some work.

I have been completely inspired not only by the book, but by Kathleen herself, and I hope other readers will get the same from this great book!

The recipes are really great. They are easy enough for even a beginning cook, and they taste wonderful. The fat and calories are reduced in most of the recipes, but you won't miss them because all the food is still packed with flavor. This is spa food without spa prices or impossible-to-find spa ingredients. There are lots of practical asides on how to use the leftovers from one dish to create another meal the next night. Best of all, this book will inspire you to expand your horizons and try new things, making cooking and shopping fun again.