The Mid-South is hungry for Hungry Girl.
Take Susie Smith. A grocery store clerk from Cullman, AL, she woke up at 5:30 a.m. and drove for five hours to see Hungry Girl’s Lisa Lillien speak in Memphis on Sunday.
The reason? She had a question about shirataki noodles.
“They’ve got the regular ones at the Walmart,” said Coleman, “but I can’t find anybody who carries the tofu ones. Do you know how I could get some?”
“Well,” answered Lillien, “you could have them shipped directly, but that would cost a little bit more, because they have to be shipped cold. I could also talk to somebody at the company and find out if anybody has them near you.”
Coleman was one of about 300 women—and maybe seven men—in the audience at Temple Israel on Sunday. Hosted by the WRJ Sisterhood, the event began with hors d’oeuvres prepared using Hungry Girl recipes, followed by a conversation between Lillien and WREG’s April Thompson.
During the Q&A that followed, the audience of well-dressed women treated Lillien as a close friend, warmly addressing her by her first name (“Hi, Lisa!”). For her part, Lillien spoke on a variety of topics, everything from faux-fried recipes using Fiber One, to fat-free pretzels, to birthday cake.
“It’s bad luck,” she noted, “not to have a bite of birthday cake.”
Afterward, the audience were treated to goodie bags stuffed with some of Lillien’s favorite foods: Vitalicious VitaTop muffins, Starkist tuna pouches, and Flatout Foldit flatbreads, to name a few. While opening her goodie bag, Phyllis Gregory said she’s been following Hungry Girl for nine years.
“What got me was the easy recipes,” said Gregory. “They’re doable, and you don’t miss the flavor. You can’t tell you’re eating diet food.”
“If Lisa [Lillien] can lose 30 pounds,” added Bari Eiseman, “and keep it off, eating the way she eats, then I’d say she’s pretty successful.”
[slideshow-1]
