Did you know that you can make your own under 150 calorie milkshakes, under 200 calorie chocolate parfaits, and even an under 200 calorie strawberry shortcake? It might sound like a fantasy, but HungryGirl.com has been helping people make their favorite foods with the lowest possible calories (and highest possible nutrients) a reality.

Lisa, the founder of HungryGirl.com, admits that she is not a nutritionist. “I’m just an average female, struggling with the same food issues most females struggle with every day,” she says. To reconcile these struggles with the desire to be healthy, Lisa started a website where recipes for everything from desserts to cocktails to main courses and even restaurant  favorites can be found—at lower-calorie, higher-nutrient values.

The site itself is divided into five different categories. The “News” section is particularly helpful, as it covers everything from food recalls to new products on the market, restaurant nutrition information releases and more. “Ask Hungry Girl” covers reader questions about all kinds of diet issues as well as different foods or food rumors. “Weekly Weigh In” has interactive user polls as well as product reviews and other opinions.

“Chew the Right Thing” is perhaps one of my favorite parts of the site. You can find your favorite restaurant meals—quesadillas, blooming onions, Starbucks delights, the works—and HungryGirl’s substitution recipes. For example, you can make your own healthier version of an Arby’s sandwich for nearly half the calories, a third of the fat, less sugar, less carbs, less sodium, more protein, and more fiber. Having made many of these recipes, I can vouch that they taste as good or nearly as good as the real deal, and they’re often cheaper, too.

“Girls Bite Out” is my other favorite section of HungryGirl.com. There are tips for eating out, recipes for alternative cocktails and general advice for surviving the weekend while out and about.

I have been receiving the HungryGirl.com newsletter for over two years now, and base many family meals as well as snacks on things I learn from it. Subscribers get different tips every day of the week, with each day corresponding to one of the site sections, or themes, I’ve listed above. As a bonus, subscribers are often able to enter to win various giveaways or prizes. The HG team also includes links to free product samples when they run across them, too—such as packets of sweetener, free low-fat latte giveaways, etc.