Real Food Recipes for Weight Loss

If you’ve been reading here for very long you have probably figured out that like I keep my recipes super simple and frugal and I like to use real food to feed my family – although I’m not above using a package when needed. There are many reasons for this but the main reason is that I get overwhelmed very easily. It’s a survival technique for this crazy busy life we have. But it’s not just the busyness, it’s also the amount of information that is available – often conflicting information – that can cause me to completely shut down. And that, my friends, is not good for my family.

So, I’ve pretty much stayed away from most nutrition advice that labels certain real foods bad or claims that you can’t be healthy if you don’t prepare certain foods “the” traditional way. My goal for feeding my family is to eat a variety of real food, limit sweets (you know, because dessert every night is a little excessive) and practice moderation. I just don’t really have the time or energy for anything more complicated than that. Because good food shouldn’t be complicated.

I’m so glad that Jami from An Oregon Cottage has a similar philosophy when it comes to food. I’ve been a reader of Jami’s blog for several years and I get so much inspiration from her – our name signs and my take on meatloaf muffins, just to name two. Jami publishes amazing recipes and even a monthly menu each month.

She’s also mentioned her weigh loss on her blog a few times. Now, if you look at her menus it’s hard to believe that she lost weight eating what’s published on her blog. But she has. And she’s taken the very brave step to write an ebook about her struggle with weight over the years and 18 entree recipes. It’s called, Real Food Recipes for Weight Loss by Jami Boys. I was so excited when she told me about it, I knew I wanted to read it and share it with you guys.

{This post contains affiliate links. You can read more about this on our disclosure page.}

Here are some things I really liked about Real Food Recipes for Weight Loss…

~ Jami shares her story – to me, this is very brave, as the thought process that goes along with being overweight is very personal. I could relate to a lot of what Jami shared.

~ All the recipes are real food that you can easily find in any grocery store. Which is good since all I have is a regular ‘ole grocery store in our town.

~ There is no counting calories or carbs or fats or anything else. This kind of stuff drives me crazy.

~ There isn’t a meal plan to follow – and to feel guilty about when you don’t follow it.

~ Recipes that include chicken, turkey, beef, pork and seafood. There’s even a slow cooker section.

~ The recipes are simple to prepare, another plus for me.

~”…it was so hard for me to gage my portions based on what others were eating,…” This quote is true for so many of us. We live in a culture of excess and we’ve lost our ability to properly gage portions. It’s not just portion size though, it’s also that things that used to be considered a treat are now daily fare. I love what Jami decided she needed to do in light of this realization.

Even though this book is titled Real Food Recipes for Weight Loss, the recipes are not “diet” recipes. Even if you don’t need to lose weight, I think you’ll love the recipes in this book.

What is your favorite real food recipe? Feel free to share in the comments?