When I found Hungry Girl last year, I thought I was in heaven. With recipes for everything from “fried” zucchini to chocolate lava cake (and a cute website to boot!), Hungry Girl stole my heart with her charming style and tasty treats.

I particularly love Hungry Girl’s pumpkin brownie cupcake recipe, which combines just two ingredients—one box of devil’s food cake mix and a can of pumpkin. Heaven!

I have made more than my fair share of her recipes, and yet, as I became more interested in food and nutrition, some of Hungry Girl’s other recipes started to concern me. The prevalence of ingredients like Splenda, powdered creamer and egg and meat substitutes on the Hungry Girl website raise interesting questions about whether it’s better to cut calories with a diet that has quite a bit of processed food in it, or if it’s more beneficial overall to switch to fresh, whole foods (even if ground beef has more calories than meat-like soy crumbles).

In either case, Hungry Girl offers a variety of recipes to suit any type of home chef, and is worth taking a look. But what do you think about her methods? While trying to prep for your big day, are you sticking to any particular diet? Would you pick low-cal processed food over whole foods?  Does Hungry Girl make you want to rant or rave?

For some reason, a bug seems to hit every woman who gets engaged–the diet bug.  Workouts get longer, meals get smaller and your favorite indulgences suddenly become temptations from the dark side.  I think my wedding day will always be the day I was in the best shape of my life.  Regardless, I like to maintain a healthy lifestyle, but with a raging sweet tooth, that’s hard to do.  Thankfully, I’ve found some amazing treats that fit in to my life–I only wish I’d found them sooner!

• Vita-Muffins:  These amazing 100 calorie muffins are now my breakfast staple-I have one a day and I’m still not sick of them.  Not only that, each muffin contains 4-7 grams of fiber, 4 grams of protein and 15 vitamins and mineral.  Sold as both muffins and muffin tops (yum!), they come in a variety of flavors and are available for ordering both online and in many local grocery stores (I get mine at Safeway in the frozen foods section!)  My favorite flavor is Deep Chocolate, with gooey chocolate chips, they taste like they’re fresh out of the oven!

• Holey Donuts:   Having just heard about these fat-defying donuts, I have yet to try them, but I’m eager to do so. With only 4 grams of fat and anywhere from 148 to 350 calories, these donuts will curb your cravings without the guilt.  They aren’t fried (the process to make them is a well-kept secret) and they are only available online, but after reading this review from The Daily Balance (and checking out all of the delectable photos), I’m whipping out my credit card.  The Daily Balance post also has a discount for its’ readers, so be sure to give it a look.

• Sugar Free Fudgesicle Pops: Although these pops don’t have a ton of added nutritional value, they don’t destroy a diet either.  In fact, they were well-known a while back as being Oprah’s treat of choice.  They’re great on a hot summer day when you are just dying for ice cream.  Two pops are only 88 calories, 1 gram of fat and even offer 3 grams of protien (score!).  Indulge without the guilt!

Remember, anything is okay in moderation, and no diet will work without one cheat day a week.  You don’t want to drive yourself crazy!  Happy health to all!

Tired of trying to please picky guests with your wedding planning? Instead of cakes and crumpets, try serving cardboard instead!

All of these desserts were created by artist Pattie Stevenson for her The Cardboard Kitchen collection. A self-professed foodie, Stevenson has a vast array of food-based art on her website, Art on the Menu. She even has a blog that features real recipes and cooking tips! It’s the perfect combination of modern art and culinary fun to help distract you from the stress of wedding planning.