Some of my cookbooks are ones that will be cherished and unopened on a coffee table in the house. Others look like the have waged kitchen warfare. In addition to the iconic Betty Crocker books that line my bookshelf, this is one book that deserves to also be a "Betty." A funny story about this one:

One Christmas, I asked my then boyfriend for a series of cookbooks as a gift suggestion. One of which included Gina Homolka's The Skinnytaste Cookbook. Upon opening the gift it was difficult for my then boyfriend (now husband) to not see the joy in my face. With a big "Thank you" he promptly replied, "I'm glad your happy, just don't make me any of that crap."

Challenge accepted.

One would need to be stealth in making recipes from this particular book. For so many of us diet food is synonymous with words like: tasteless, boring, ick, yuck, gross, and waste of good food. Being that New Year's and the resolution making were right around the corner a great amount of stealth would need to pass in order to him to both forget giving the gift and being open minded enough to eat said food.

That being said, it's become my most referenced books that I own. I even managed to get my husband to knowingly eat the recipes. I guess that means he gets to eat his word. There are very few misses in the entire book. She keeps the ingredient list simple, so many readers are not turned off by long lists.

There here are some of the recipes, some modifications and comments of the recipes contained in the book with modified directions and observations on making the recipes. Most importantly each recipe is photographed and not styled (Think McDonald's Big Mac. Have you seen the photos? Have you seen the slop they actually throw in a box? It never looks like the pictures.)

Here is the alphabetized list and the links to the recipes I've made so far. Within each post is a little bit of a "Betty Twist." Things that can be added to make it more interesting. Try it the original way and then feel free to get creative.

Do I recommend it? Absolutely! Please visit Skinnytaste available on Amazon to purchase the book if you like what you see here. Still not convinced to purchase this book? Then please visit Skinnytaste to see more recipes and ideas.