Skinny Italian by Teresa Giudice {Review + Giveaway}

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I love, love, love Skinny Italian.  Part guilty pleasure, part guidebook, and a lot of fun.  The Real Housewives of New Jersey is one of my favorite shows and you gotta love Teresa!  In her new book, Skinny Italian, Teresa Giudice teaches you how to eat the real Italian way.  That’s right–pizza as we know it and the deep fried fatty foods served up in many American-Italian restaurants are not the real deal.

I learned this valuable lesson when I visited the country and tried to order Chicken Parmesan.  No matter what region I was in, and even when I named all of the ingredients in Italian, the waiters all looked at me like I had two heads.  I should have known better, I’m Italian.  My grandma was born in Palermo but immigrated when she was very young.  Her famous spaghetti and meatballs may be one of the American concepts that Teresa refers to in the book, but they sure were to-die-for.

Teresa Giudice is a first-generation Italian-American.  If you’re familiar with the show, you know she’s got a kickin’ figure, and that’s another thing I noticed when I was in Italy.  The country is populated by so many beautiful, slim, fabulous women.  As Teresa explains, it’s all due to eating high quality, all-natural and unrefined foods.

Throughout the book, Teresa shares important tips and ideas as well as some of her favorite family recipes.  There are many gorgeous food and intimate family photographs (Teresa’s daughter Gia is the spitting image of her mother as can be seen by the photo of T as a young girl).  For all of us RHONJ lovers, there are little quips and stories here and there relating to the show, which is really great, and helps make it into a “cookbook” you’ll want to read cover to cover. 

Skinny Italian: Eat It and Enjoy It Live La Bella Vita and Look Great, Too! You’ll learn about the importance of extra-virgin olive oil and how to grow, store, and cook with herbs and spices.  You’ll master the art of Italian pronunciation, for example Teresa’s last name is pronounced JU-dee-Chay.  And perhaps most importantly, you’ll learn how to be fabulicious.  The book is written in Teresa-speak.  It’s tangible.  There are no fancy cooking terms or a long list of ingredients because Teresa is not a professional chef, she’s a mom just like us, who wants to feed her family the best way possible.  You will be able to recreate these recipes for your family.

But being a fellow Jersey girl, I’ve gotta be straight with you and ask: What the heck is “juicy Joe” eating? ;-)

Seriously, I love this book.  It’s…FABULOUS!  I’ll be buying another copy for my Ma.

#Win Skinny Italian, the must-have book for living la bella vita by RHONJ star Teresa Guidice  @pennypinchingma http://tinyurl.com/27s4g6h