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Pretty Delicious: Lean and Lovely Recipes for a Healthy, Happy New You: A Cookbook
When was the last time you indulged in a sumptuous eggs benedict, an herbaceous and aromatic pasta with pesto, or a soul-satisfying cup of creamy tomato soup with a grilled cheese on the side—without a moment of guilt? The too-good-to-be-true recipes in Pretty Delicious not only look and taste great, but they are as easy on the waistline as they are on the wallet and will keep you lean, sexy, and very, very happy.
The secret? Former model-turned-chef Candice Kumai skips "diet" food in favor of smart swaps and delicious real foods that keep fat and calories to a minimum while boosting flavor and plate appeal to the maximum. And by loading her dishes with FWBs (that's foods with benefits, of course!), she ensures that every enticing bite provides the key nutrients your body craves to stay healthy and look amazing.
From sliders and mac' and cheese to a lightened-up veggie lasagna and guilt-free BLTs, nothing is off-limits in the Pretty Delicious kitchen. Love Cali-fresh flavors? Try Candice's 470-calorie Fabulous Fish Tacos and a soul-soothing Albóndigas Soup. Making an intimate dinner for two? Almond Pesto Fettuccine with Pan-Seared Scallops or Grilled White Pizza with Mushrooms, Artichokes, and Parm are made to order. Hosting a crowd for brunch? A breakfast burrito bar or make-your-own-mimosas spread will start the weekend off right without weighing you down.
And proving that you don't need to be a millionaire to eat like royalty, Candice shares her tips for being fab and frugal, as well as ideas for making smart switches in the kitchen that will save you calories and fat grams without compromising on flavor.
For entertaining, for easy weeknight meals, and for simple snacks and everyday indulgences (to be enjoyed in moderation), Candice Kumai's collection of smart, sexy, and truly irresistible recipes is proof that even the most health-conscious cook can dish it up with style and flavor!
The secret? Former model-turned-chef Candice Kumai skips "diet" food in favor of smart swaps and delicious real foods that keep fat and calories to a minimum while boosting flavor and plate appeal to the maximum. And by loading her dishes with FWBs (that's foods with benefits, of course!), she ensures that every enticing bite provides the key nutrients your body craves to stay healthy and look amazing.
From sliders and mac' and cheese to a lightened-up veggie lasagna and guilt-free BLTs, nothing is off-limits in the Pretty Delicious kitchen. Love Cali-fresh flavors? Try Candice's 470-calorie Fabulous Fish Tacos and a soul-soothing Albóndigas Soup. Making an intimate dinner for two? Almond Pesto Fettuccine with Pan-Seared Scallops or Grilled White Pizza with Mushrooms, Artichokes, and Parm are made to order. Hosting a crowd for brunch? A breakfast burrito bar or make-your-own-mimosas spread will start the weekend off right without weighing you down.
And proving that you don't need to be a millionaire to eat like royalty, Candice shares her tips for being fab and frugal, as well as ideas for making smart switches in the kitchen that will save you calories and fat grams without compromising on flavor.
For entertaining, for easy weeknight meals, and for simple snacks and everyday indulgences (to be enjoyed in moderation), Candice Kumai's collection of smart, sexy, and truly irresistible recipes is proof that even the most health-conscious cook can dish it up with style and flavor!
288 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 2011
36 people are currently reading
151 people want to read
About the author
Candice Kumai
13 books64 followersCandice Kumai is an American author and chef. Kumai is based in New York City.
Candice was born in California to a Japanese mother and Polish-American father. Kumai worked as a model when she was a teenager. Later, she trained as a professional chef in Southern California, cooking on the line at several restaurants.
Candice was born in California to a Japanese mother and Polish-American father. Kumai worked as a model when she was a teenager. Later, she trained as a professional chef in Southern California, cooking on the line at several restaurants.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
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January 11, 2021Loved this book for years. The binding is total crap. Bought a replacement a few years ago and the next one fell apart again. We eat the Platinum Skinny Mac n' Cheese, SoCali Guacamole (sub REAL chips), Heartwarming Chicken Soup, Baked Falafel Plate with Dill Yogurt Dip & Cuke Salad, Dill-Lite-Full Cucumber Tea 'Wiches and the Miso Gorgeous Glazed Salmon frequently - they're delicious. Other favorites include the copycat CPK BBQ chicken salad (BBQ-Ranch Chicken Chop Salad), Maple Chicken & Waffles, Toasted-Almond Sticky Buns, Herbed Tofu Marinara with Whole Wheat Spaghetti, and the Summer Squash and Mushroom Lasagna.
I'd skip the Country Girl Waffle Stacks, Chicken-Apple Salad Skinnywich, Grilled White Pizza with Mushrooms, Artichokes and Parm, the Mushroom and Potato Pierogis and the Skinny Cue Sauce.
I'd skip the Country Girl Waffle Stacks, Chicken-Apple Salad Skinnywich, Grilled White Pizza with Mushrooms, Artichokes and Parm, the Mushroom and Potato Pierogis and the Skinny Cue Sauce.
October 14, 2019
Love this cook book! Candice Kumai cooks with real food and keeps calories and fat to a minimum. I love lasagna, and with her recipe, I can eat it guilt free. Also love the artistic aspect of this book, very artistic for a book with recipes.
November 3, 2012
Although I didn't watch, Candice Kumai was on the first season of Top Chef. I was intrigued with this book for it's low fat, healthy aspect, since I'm trying to loose weight and get healthier. Candice is also the host of Lifetimes Cook Yourself Thin and has a couple of other cookbooks out.
This book is a bit busy with lots going on the pages. Usually that bothers me but for some reason it seems to work in this book. It also has a girly feel which begins right on the dust jacket with part of an arm covered with pearls and a pink bracelet. The hand is reaching for some pancakes which are sitting on a pink cake stand. There are lots of gorgeous photos through out the book. All the pages have a border of what looks like flowers and sometimes lace. The book has hints and tips on almost every page along with a recipe and some background for the recipe. Most recipes include an ingredient she calls Foods with Benefits and is noted in the background section before each recipe as FWB. Nutritional info is also included with each recipe.
At the beginning of the book she has information on slimming ways to stretch food and save calories and cash, her Foods With Benefits Philosophy, Rules to cook by, Tips for staying slim and rich, and steps to shinny success. In addition to great sounding healthy recipes she devotes a chapter to Skinny Sweets and Splurges, which she notes is just for once in a while, and a chapter to The Pampered Pantry, with recipes for healthy hair, skin and nails.
So far I've tried four recipes, Chinese Chicken Salad Chop Cups, Asian Almonds, Pumpkin Pancakes with Apple Butter and Spicy Salmon Burgers with Creamy Chili Sauce. All were delicious. The Asian Almonds are especially addictive. I'm looking forward to many more healthy delicious meals from this book.
Candice Kumai cooks with real food and keeps calories and fat to a minimum. She's found a delicious way to feed your food cravings while eating healthy. If you're on the look out for recipes that fit that bill then this is a book you should check into.
This book is a bit busy with lots going on the pages. Usually that bothers me but for some reason it seems to work in this book. It also has a girly feel which begins right on the dust jacket with part of an arm covered with pearls and a pink bracelet. The hand is reaching for some pancakes which are sitting on a pink cake stand. There are lots of gorgeous photos through out the book. All the pages have a border of what looks like flowers and sometimes lace. The book has hints and tips on almost every page along with a recipe and some background for the recipe. Most recipes include an ingredient she calls Foods with Benefits and is noted in the background section before each recipe as FWB. Nutritional info is also included with each recipe.
At the beginning of the book she has information on slimming ways to stretch food and save calories and cash, her Foods With Benefits Philosophy, Rules to cook by, Tips for staying slim and rich, and steps to shinny success. In addition to great sounding healthy recipes she devotes a chapter to Skinny Sweets and Splurges, which she notes is just for once in a while, and a chapter to The Pampered Pantry, with recipes for healthy hair, skin and nails.
So far I've tried four recipes, Chinese Chicken Salad Chop Cups, Asian Almonds, Pumpkin Pancakes with Apple Butter and Spicy Salmon Burgers with Creamy Chili Sauce. All were delicious. The Asian Almonds are especially addictive. I'm looking forward to many more healthy delicious meals from this book.
Candice Kumai cooks with real food and keeps calories and fat to a minimum. She's found a delicious way to feed your food cravings while eating healthy. If you're on the look out for recipes that fit that bill then this is a book you should check into.
March 16, 2013
I absolutely adore the Candice Kumai recipe books. Similar to Cook Yourself Sexy: Easy Delicious Recipes for the Hottest, Most Confident You, the recipes are very easy to follow and most of the ingredients can be found at your local supermarket.
I've got a lot of food books at home but I've found that with most of them, there are only a few recipes that I actually would use. With Pretty Delicious, there are many recipes that I've tried which have turned out delicious and I wouldn't hesitate to try again.
The reason I'm not giving this book 5 stars is because I find the desserts not really appealing to my taste (but then again, I'm so fussy and don't usually eat much desserts at home!).
If you're looking for a healthy eating recipe book try this one! I promise you won't regret it!
I've got a lot of food books at home but I've found that with most of them, there are only a few recipes that I actually would use. With Pretty Delicious, there are many recipes that I've tried which have turned out delicious and I wouldn't hesitate to try again.
The reason I'm not giving this book 5 stars is because I find the desserts not really appealing to my taste (but then again, I'm so fussy and don't usually eat much desserts at home!).
If you're looking for a healthy eating recipe book try this one! I promise you won't regret it!
March 11, 2014
I've made a few recipes from this book. I enjoyed the muffin recipe I tried. I really liked the quinoa salad recipe too. Recently I made the Orange Glazed Chicken Stir Fry and it completely turned me off on this cook book. The recipe serves 4 and she calls for a FULL TEASPOON OF CAYENNE! My husband LOVES spicy food...ridiculously spicy food and I only added 1/2 a tsp and he thought it was insane! You couldn't even taste the meal because the cayenne over powered everything.
June 5, 2012
This cookbook is awesome! I just picked it up from work the other day and sat down and went through all the recipes to plan out for this next week of cooking and I was only about twenty pages in before I had my whole week planned out. It's got some really great recipes and doesn't sacrifice taste to make it healthy. I'm waiting to get her next one that comes out in October!
June 22, 2011
This book is gorgeous, first of all - it's laid out really well. And I made a whole-grain spaghetti thing with chicken, bell peppers and peanut sauce that was rather fabulous. Everything in there is healthy and I like her stance on food/dieting. Recommended!
November 16, 2012
This is a fantastic cookbook that I might not have grabbed but for the fact that it was on the new shelf at the library. Title hides the seriously great ideas... I like the idea of "FWBs"- foods with benefits. Family loved the Teri-Glazed turkey meatball yakatori on pg 173!
June 14, 2011
This is hands down the prettiest cook book I've ever seen! The recipes are healthy, simple and look great. Definitely worth every penny.
July 16, 2011
Good information regarding health benefits accompanies the recipes. Tasty, healthy, beautiful dishes make me want to get into the kitchen and cook! Nice cookbook for any level of cooking skills.
August 20, 2012
Looks yummy, but nothing in particular stood out to me. I love the photography, but the recipes were just too basic for me.
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May 30, 2013Excellent book. Great for folks who want to watch their waist but not go on some crazy diet.
October 18, 2012
An amazing cookbook- be sure to try the scones!
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May 31, 2013great read. A nice spin on some old favs with lower fat content. Lovely book!!
June 22, 2016
Great ideas and lots of super tips.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews