just me, or is anyone else bored of hungry-girl?

I remember when I first discovered HG.. it was like dieter's heaven! Jumbo burgers for 300 cals.. faux-Frappuccinos for half the cals as the original.. but when I came to really know the difference between low-calorie and healthy, I simultaneously discovered the difference between HG and healthy! I mean, a lot of the recipes on there are really clever, and, admittedly, delicious [like the blueberry pancakes], and even a few months ago I found myself browsing the site for a few new ideas. But it seems like all her recipes are amalgams of the same ingredients: Fiber One, Sugar-free pudding, Unsweeted Almonds Breeze, Cool Whip Free, Better'N Peanut Butter.. all her recipes just started seeming so monotonous to me! lol.. sorry, I just had to express my annoyance. Soo.. Am I the only one who's jumped off the HG bandwagon?

Admittedly, I haven't ventured into the land of hungry-girl...but I think I have an idea of what you are talking about.

I enjoy foods that are sugar-substitute free....so, I would grow weary of recipes like that, too.

I have a feeling you will have a few supporters in this thread :)

I've never thought the Hungry Girl idea was particularly appealing.  It's obviously sponsored by certain food manufacturers.  My opinion is that there are thousands of genuinely healthy foods and cuisines in the world and that you could spend a lifetime trying each one before you'd have to resort to anything as artifical-sounding as 'Cool Whip Free'... whatever that is.

hahaha, my thoughts exactly. I try to avoid sugar substitutes too, and almost all of her recipes require some kind of artificial sugar.. and yeah, healthy, real food is much more enjoyable!

I don't actually believe that it is sponsered by food manufacturers.  I suspect that much like calorie count it's funded by the ads to the side of the website.

I do like FiberOne, and crystal light.  Most of the rest of the sugar substitutes I'd just as soon do without.  I think that at least one version of black bean brownies came from there which is terrific.  I do like the idea that you can use prepacked foods to prepare meals, but I think that making most of them from scratch really isn't too much more work and would be better.

So yes, I'm a bit bored with hungry girl lately.

Well if you are bored, definitely do not sign up for the newsletter!  They inundate my mailbox at least 2x a day!  I have gotten to the point that I just delete them.

I was thinking the same thing.

Besides the same ingredients, I find that she uses a lot of "fake" food. If someone is trying to get healthy and eat clean, you wouldnt sub real food with fake stuff. LOL. If that makes sense.

More often than not I feel like hungry-girl.com e-mail newsletters are just advertisements.  I know she swears that she's not sponsored by these people and they don't even pay her (they just help with publicity for the book) but I can't help but think that's total BS.

 

Granted, there are probably a ton of women out there who have lost weight thanks to HG's substitution recipes, and it's probably especially useful for those on Weight Watchers. 

 

re: kristine -- I think the point is more to point out how horribly unhealthy some foods offered to the public are and that there are ways to get around eating all that crap.  It's not about real food vs. "fake" food or whatever -- it's more about avoiding 30g of fat in a Frappucino and just making your own.

Some of the email tips are pointless, but I still like HG.  I don't go there for the majority of my cooking ideas (I get those from CC!), but when I want an idea for a snack alternative, or a tips on making some one time party food that won't put on as much of a guilt trip, I think it's a good resource.

There's also some helpful product reviews in there as well.  A lot of them may be processed stuff, but I like the information on sizes, taste, cost, etc. that she puts out there.  It helps me separate out the worthwhile items from the so so stuff - and the majority of the time I actually agree with her recommendations.

I do agree that she tends to use the same ingredients (she's a real big fan of Fiber One and Almond Breeze) - but then, those ingredients she uses so much of are actually that versatile (especially canned pumpkin).  I like getting the ideas on how to use them.  I don't have a problem with artificial sweetener, so that's not an issue with me.

Ugh, me too.  I don't even open the emails anymore.  First of all, something about her way of writing just GRATES on my last nerve.  I mean, seriously, it's possible that your thing made up primarily of splenda, fat-free chemicals and morningstar crumbles is really just as delicious as the original, but, um, somehow I doubt it.  And the fake over-the-top enthusiasm is just irritating like crazy.

I have made a couple of her recipes in the past, and one was ok, but it was about as simple as it comes.  But most of them are just tedious and fake. Plus, I find that I can eat lots of "regular" recipes so long as I'm careful about portion control, or just cut back a bit on the amount of oil or butter.  There's no need for all of that fake stuff.  It's not that I never eat artificial sweeteners.  I do sometimes, but I recognize that i'm certainly better off eating less of it and so I try to minimize that sort of stuff in my diet.

I got FiberOne bars from hungry girl...I love those!