The Skinny - How to fit into your little black dress forever and a healthy breakfast to start your day

The Skinny – How to fit into your little black dress forever by Melissa Clark & Robin Aronson. I just finished reading this fabulous little bright fuchsia book with the sexy LBD (little black dress) on the cover and it will change the way you eat forever, at least it has for me. It’s filled with practical, no nonsense advice on how to eat so you can lose weight, keep it off and still enjoy all of the foods that you love.

They say very simply “don’t eat what you don’t want.” I know you’re saying to yourself - I don’t eat anything I don’t want. Well, think about it. I know I do. Sometimes I find myself mindlessly eating the cheeseburger, or whatever, even though it’s too well done, dry and tasteless. Thanks to this book I’ve begun to take a good look at what’s on my plate and only eat the things I truly find tasty and enjoyable.

Portion control is stressed. When it comes to your waistline and that little black dress, you can eat what you want, but you can’t always eat all of what you want. Slow down, stop eating when you’ve had enough, and leave at least a little bit on your plate. Incorporate more fruits and vegetables in your diet and learn to recognize when you’re full.

This delightful book brought back wonderful memories of our Haitian gardener Fifi that worked for us when we lived in the Bahamas. Fifi’s morning snack was a small bag of peanuts. He would sit down and carefully eat a peanut, one at a time. When he completely finished chewing the first peanut, he would carefully pick up the next one and eat it very slowly, savoring each bite. I’m learning to do the same thing. Now instead of standing in the kitchen and eating what I want straight out of the jar, I carefully measure out a portion, put it in a bowl, sit down in a quiet spot, and slowly eat each nut, one by one, savoring each bite - “Fifi style.”

Rebecca Subbiah of Chow and Chatter shared the Friendship Award with me. Rebecca is a dietitian, writer and personal trainer who lives in North Carolina, where I also live. She’s a Brit who enjoys food and travel and has a wonderful blog devoted to her passions of healthy living. I wanted to thank Rebecca for this award and I thought it would be fun to honor her with this book review and a healthy breakfast to start the day. Here’s to you Rebecca.

I’ve adapted this recipe for Yogurt with Apples and Nuts from Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food magazine, which I dearly love. The original recipe called for the apple to be grated, which I found made it watery and diluted the yogurt. I diced the apple and substituted toasted walnuts for the almonds and added strawberries and blueberries on top. We’ve used a variety of different apples with good success and, although the almonds were good, it’s fun to substitute different nuts, such as Georgia pecans, for a change of pace.

Yogurt with Apples & Nuts

Adapted from Everyday Food – Serves 2

One Granny Smith apple, cut into dice

1 ½ cups plain yogurt, preferably Greek

1/4 cup raisins

2 tablespoons honey

1/4 cup walnuts, lightly toasted

Fresh blueberries and sliced fresh strawberries

Combine the diced apple, yogurt, raisins, and honey in a small bowl and stir to blend. Divide equally among two bowls. Top with nuts and fruit. Serves 2.

What's your favorite healthy breakfast?