{"id":48587,"date":"2016-03-22T11:15:00","date_gmt":"2016-03-22T15:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=48587"},"modified":"2016-08-05T13:30:49","modified_gmt":"2016-08-05T17:30:49","slug":"skinny-mom-cookbook-30-minute-meals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/health\/skinny-mom-cookbook-30-minute-meals\/","title":{"rendered":"The Skinny Mom Cookbook: 30-Minute Meals You’ll Crave"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Skinny
Photos by Sarah Hone<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Health has always been important to Brooke Griffin, but she defines it much differently today than she did before her life turned upside down.<\/p>\n

Since her teen years, Griffin has been enthusiastic about health and fitness. She taught her first aerobics class at the age of 15, paid her way through college by working as a personal trainer<\/a>, and performed as an NFL cheerleader. Throughout this time in her life, fitness was at the forefront of almost everything she did.<\/p>\n

But in 2011, Griffin says, \u201cI found myself in a different place. I was a brand-new mom. During pregnancy, I had gained almost 70 pounds. I was going through an unexpected divorce right after having my son. I was anxious, depressed, and felt completely different from my former self \u2014 like I had gone from the top of my fitness game to the bottom.\u201d<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> 17 Tips from Fit Moms for Finding Time to Exercise<\/a><\/p>\n

So Griffin did what any self-proclaimed fitness nut going through a series of massive life transitions would do: She moved into her parents\u2019 basement and started a blog.<\/p>\n

A Cookbook for Everyone<\/strong><\/h3>\n

At first, SkinnyMom.com<\/a> was a place for Griffin to share workouts and pictures of the recipes she tried as part of her efforts to reclaim her health. Her audience originally consisted of friends and family, then grew to a few thousand. Today, the website draws more than six million readers a month.<\/p>\n

Skinny Mom\u2019s readers return to the site again and again largely because of its simple, lightened up recipes. So when a publisher approached Griffin to ask if she\u2019d be interested in putting together a cookbook, it seemed like a perfect fit.<\/p>\n

Griffin had just one condition: She wanted the book to speak to anyone looking to build healthy home cooking into a jam-packed schedule. Case in point: The book\u2019s recipes can all be cooked in approximately 30 minutes or less.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> 30-Minute Meals for Quick, Healthy Dinner Ideas<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI was really intentional about making a book that\u2019s for everyone <\/em>\u2014 for every home cook, and maybe even folks who don\u2019t like to cook,\u201d she says. Most of all, Griffin hopes her cookbook Skinny Suppers: 125 Lightened-Up, Healthier Meals for Your Family<\/em><\/a> (which goes on sale March 22) will empower anyone who has fallen off the \u201chealthy\u201d wagon to climb back on.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why the recipes in Skinny Suppers<\/em> don\u2019t conform to any particular diet or health plan. Instead, Griffin encourages a balanced approach in which consistently eating tasty, lightened up meals adds up to feeling healthier over time.<\/p>\n

Redefining \u201cHealthy\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cAll of the recipes [in the book] are true to how I cook and how I live my life now,\u201d says Griffin. \u201cI don\u2019t follow any strict diets or food rules, and I don\u2019t deprive myself of the things I love. My style of cooking is to think about how to take the recipes and foods I love and modify them via \u201cskinny swaps\u201d so that the recipes still taste good but are lower in carbs, calories, and fat<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some of Griffin\u2019s favorite recipes? Blackened Chicken with Avocado Cream Sauce (a fan favorite) is at the top of her list, followed by Southern Shrimp and Grits and a Tex-Mex casserole she created using pantry staples. \u201cI like to take things that I love \u2014 such as southern food, comfort food, or family recipes \u2014 and use swaps to make them lighter,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> 5 Ways to Eat Healthy When Your Family Doesn’t<\/a><\/p>\n

Equally important to eating healthy meals is enjoying social companionship while doing so. Griffin grew up eating her grandma\u2019s home cooking and sharing classic Southern food at big family gatherings in her home state of Kentucky \u2014 so family and food have always been connected in her mind. \u201cThrough this cookbook, I want to encourage family members to put technology down [during dinner] and share 20 or 30 minutes of real conversation,\u201d says Griffin.<\/p>\n

To that end, the book features conversation starters in addition to light and easy recipes, suggestions for how to stock the pantry (and which brands taste best), definitions for common cooking terminology, and recommendations for which kinds of kitchen equipment to invest in<\/a>. You\u2019ll also find time-saving resources (such as slow-cooker recipes<\/a> and ones\u00a0that taste great as leftovers), plus\u00a0detailed tips for meal planning<\/a>. The book\u2019s instructions are clear, and the recipes \u2014 which range from beef suppers to casseroles, salads, side dishes, and vegetarian meals \u2014 are accessible to both amateur and experienced home cooks alike.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> 7 Free Tutorials on How to Cook Practically Anything<\/a><\/p>\n

Balanced Diet, Balanced Life <\/strong><\/h3>\n

In the process of designing this personal eating philosophy \u2014 and sharing it with the world via her blog and forthcoming cookbook \u2014 Griffin has redefined her own attitude toward health.<\/p>\n

Today, Griffin says, her approach to health and fitness has softened. She inhabits so many roles \u2014 business owner, mother, writer, and so on \u2014 that a hard-and-fast approach to wellness no longer suits her life.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing healthy is definitely different to me than it was 10 years ago,\u201d says Griffin. \u201cFor me, I always go back<\/a> to the idea of having balance in my life. It\u2019s not about a size; it\u2019s not about a look. It\u2019s about making decisions that affect the way you feel and help you feel balanced.\u201d<\/p>\n

Skinny Mom Recipe: Healthy Asparagus Fries<\/h3>\n

Wait \u2014 so a\u00a0balanced diet can include fries? You’d better believe it! Enter:\u00a0These fries made from asparagus spears.\u00a0They’ve got a flaxseed-based crunchy coating that’s immensely satisfying.<\/p>\n

\"Skinnymom
Photo: Sarah Hone \/ Skinny Suppers by Brooke Griffin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Asparagus Fries with Garlic Lemon Aioli<\/h3>\n

Serves 4<\/em><\/p>\n

Prep time: 10 min
\nCook time: 10 min<\/p>\n

[skinnybox]<\/p>\n

Ingredients<\/h3>\n

28 asparagus spears
\n1\/4 cup white whole wheat flour
\n1\/2 teaspoon salt
\n1\/2 teaspoon black pepper
\n2 egg whites
\n3\/4 cup panko bread crumbs
\n1 tablespoon flaxseed meal
\n1\/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (Griffin likes Sargento)<\/p>\n

For dipping sauce:
\n<\/em>3 tablespoons light mayonnaise
\n1\/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
\n1 tablespoon lemon juice
\n1\/2 teaspoon garlic powder
\n1\/8 \u00a0teaspoon salt
\n1\/8 teaspoon black pepper<\/p>\n

Preparation<\/h3>\n
    \n
  1. Preheat the oven to 425\u02daF. Line a baking sheet with foil and coat with cooking spray.<\/li>\n
  2. Wash the asparagus and trim off the bottoms.<\/li>\n
  3. In a shallow baking dish, mix together the flour, salt and pepper. In a separate shallow baking dish, whisk the egg whites. In a third shallow baking dish, or on a plate, mix the panko, flaxseed meal and Parmesan.<\/li>\n
  4. To bread the asparagus, roll the spears through the flour mixture and shake off the excess. Next, roll the asparagus through the egg whites and allow the excess to drip off. Third, roll through the panko mixture, and press gently to adhere to the spears.<\/li>\n
  5. Lay out the asparagus on the prepared baking sheet in a single layer. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden.<\/li>\n
  6. Meanwhile, prepare the lemon aioli dipping sauce. In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic powder, salt and pepper.<\/li>\n
  7. Serve the asparagus fries with the dipping sauce.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    To check out all the Skinny Suppers<\/a> recipes, get your copy here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Can you really make a healthy dinner in half an hour? Skinny Mom blogger Brooke Griffin shows you how with her new cookbook, Skinny Suppers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,425,7,9,18],"tags":[204,155,47,51,347,366],"class_list":["post-48587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-diet-nutrition","category-dinner","category-health","category-recipes","category-weight-loss","tag-cooking","tag-dinner","tag-family","tag-food-choices","tag-tax1family","tag-tax2family-fitness"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/68"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48587"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48587\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}