Long anticipated and quickly over

                       Skinny Bitch
                         by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin


I was going to give this book to the library as soon as I finished it, but on second look, I might keep it around on account of the lists of recommended food.  Some good ideas here


The book is okay, I guess.  I don't disagree with much of anything they say. 
 My favorite chapter is, "Have No Faith: Government Agencies Don't Give A Shit About Your Health."  The title is a little harsh but the basic meaning is truer than true.  The individual people may be kindly and concerned, but the heavy hand of American agribusiness is present in any decision they make.  Anywhere you look, it's the fox determining construction standards for the chicken coop.

 Their four-week menu is a joke, just like all the menus they print in the women's magazines.  If I followed it carefully, I'd be cooking two hours a day and throwing away a lot of food.

Example. Monday.  Breakfast: mango, banana, kiwi and soy yogurt.  (Side note: since I hate yogurt, what would be the point of soy yogurt?  The only reason I would ever force myself to eat yogurt is for the probiotics and I doubt if they're present in soy yogurt...oh.  It has live cultures too.  Okay, then.)

So here goes my grocery list: mango-1, banana-1, kiwi-2, soy yogurt-1
Lunch: spinach salad with shredded carrots, chopped almonds, red onion, fresh garlic, cubed tofu and sesame oil.   Sounds good but it would take a half-hour just to prepare.
Add to grocery list: bag spinach, bag carrots, bag almonds, onion-1, garlic-1, tofu-1 12oz box.
Add to leftovers in fridge: 1/2 bag spinach, 7/8 bag carrots, 3/4 bag almonds, 7/8 onion, 10-oz tofu.
Supper: pasta with zucchini, tomatoes, garlic, fresh parsley, pine nuts and olive oil.
Add to grocery list:  all except the garlic and olive oil.
Add to leftovers: 1/2 box pasta, 3/4 bunch parsley, 7/8 box pine nuts.

Are you getting the idea?  the only things that every seem to get used up are staples, like garlic, nuts, and yogurt.  On almost every meal, I have to buy something that only comes in a certain size, and then use very little of it--tofu, alfalfa sprouts, 3-bean salad?   Can you even make a single serving of 3-bean salad?  Say, 1/3 can each of three different canned beans; a stalk of celery; a scoop of mayonnaise.

The only way I could follow this would be to spend an hour each week in Whole Foods Market and package up little one-serving portions of everything.  And it would cost a fortune.

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