— Home of the slimmy chimmy-changa

I’m usually not a big fan of cutsie recipe titles, but I’m loving where Susan Irby, The Bikini Chef, is going with titles like No Pot Belly Here Chicken Potpie.

In “Substitute Yourself Skinny” she demonstrates simple substations aren’t scrimping in the flavor department. Ham it Down Breakfast Casserole uses extra egg whites, New You England Clam Chowder cuts fat with turkey bacon and Tune Up Tuna Salad pumps up flavor with curry powder and lemon juice.

Wait, one more: I’m Not Stuffed Tomato Salad uses high-flavor Parmesan and non-fat mayo. These pages offer 175 super-slimming recipes that the people of average households will enjoy. Some of the residents won’t even have to know they are more healthy than the previous versions.

“For my whole life I have strived to find a balance between staying slim and healthy and enjoying the fattening foods I love. People think that because I am The Bikini Chef being thin comes easy for me. It doesn’t,” the author says. “A few years ago I was stress eating and not exercising. I gained more weight than I ever have. So I made the commitment to get back on track. It wasn’t easy and it didn’t come quickly but I stayed with it and learned I could still eat my favorite foods but just make them ‘skinny.’”

Skinny Secret boxes include tips like pureeing potatoes for a less chunky, more creamy clam chowder. Here are her basic “skinny” pantry items to keep stock and replace high-calorie and high-fat options:

Canned diced tomatoes

Tomato paste

Dijon mustard

Fresh lemons and oranges

Lean turkey meat

Low-carb flour and whole-wheat tortillas

Salsa

Unsweetened applesauce

Sugar Substitutes

Nonfat milk products



Crispy Mango

What’s better than a 100-calorie pack? Crispy Green uses science, or magic, to freeze dry sweet crisps of real fruit. This time they’ve done mango, at 4 calories a convenient pack. They suggest sprinkling this on yogurt, but once you open that bag, those mangos won’t take long to disappear with their 8 grams of carbs and is a fun and delicious way to add more fruit to your family’s diet. You’ll love the sweet crunch.



How to hemp

Our Canadian neighbors at Manitoba Harvest know how to handle hemp foods, and I believe their newest product has helped me to perfect the quest as well. New organic Dark Chocolate and Vanilla Hemp Protein Powders are rich smoothie additions.

Cold-processed raw whole food powders feature organic palm sugar with caramel and butterscotch flavor notes. Coconut palm sugar is a low glycemic index, high nutrition content and eco-friendly choice high in potassium, magnesium, zinc and iron, and is also a good source vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6 and C.

The chocolate powder, a banana and ice blended a satisfying breakfast drink that fueled me through press releases and interviews. I like this taste better than any other hemp product I’ve tried, thought the company’s shelled hemp seeds are another favorite for their soft chewing sensation and delicate flavor. A coworker thinks these are the seeds that should top pretzels. “Best match ever,” he said when making a pretzel snack with hemp seed chaser.

Makers suggest tossing mint leaves in a chocolate blend and peaches in the vanilla mix. I’m there.



Like-a-Lot

Just say ‘no’ to empty calories. Vega’s new Shake & Go Smoothies are billed as Smoothies on the Move, offering a quick way to get a daily dose of essential protein, fiber and greens. I’m keeping Choc-a-Lot in the pantry, but I’ve yet to try Bodacious Berry, Vanilla Almondilla and Tropical Tango, offering low-calorie smoothies with two servings of veggies, 11 grams of complete protein, Omega 3-6-9 and a day’s worth of probiotics. These kinds of health drinks used to be pretty yucky. I don’t consider this an acquired taste. I took to it right away. Vega is a blast.

ddoiron@panews.com