New healthy lifestyle!

So I've never really done a blog before but I absolutely LOVE to cook and thought what better way to start my diet than to document all the healthy meals I make.  So here goes...I'm relatively new at cooking and love to try out new recipes all the time.  Generally I try to cook pretty healthy but all my favorite foods are horribly fattening!  So since I'm just starting my diet this week to kickstart serious preparation for my summer beach bod I thought about taking all my favorite recipes and making them my own by substituting healthy ingredients for the fattening calorie-loaded ones.  I'm not gonna lie....they might turn out awful!  But my goal is to find some really good meals that are guilt-free and actually enjoyable to eat!

With that said, I HATE dieting!  I hate counting calories, depriving myself of really great food and watching all my skinny-mini friends eat whatever they want while I nibble on a carrot stick...sigh.  But I do it anyway because, well lets face it, some of us just aren't naturally thin!  I got my inspiration from all the Hungry Girl books.  I love that they take the most fattening appetizers and meals such as fried onion rings or loaded nachos and make them healthy while using their own ingredients.  It's not dieting but a whole new way of living that allows you to use olive oil instead of butter, crunched up Special K flakes instead of bread crumbs or whole wheat pasta instead of regular pasta.  I know, I know...sounds disgusting to some of you, but you never know until you try it.  I can't promise all my recipes are going to be super healthy, sometimes a girl just has to indulge!  But I plan on doing my best by staying on the right track and eating foods that are healthy and low fat while still enjoying myself.  Hey ya never know, maybe I'll lose a pound or two in the process!!