The brassy, svelte, food-loving star of The Real Housewives of New Jersey offers healthful advice, mouthwatering recipes, and a dash of behind-the-scenes gossip.

To many women, diet is a four-letter word. No matter how cute the name or how tasty the branded dinners, a diet is a tortuous stopgap that trades in deprivation. Add a pinch of depression and a wallop of social anxiety, and you’ve got the makings of a miserable experience. What’s a girl with skinny jean dreams supposed to do?

Teresa Giudice has the answer. In fact, she was born with it. Conceived in Italy, this first-generation American mom of four and slender star of The Real Housewives of New Jersey credits her fabulous figure to her Old World upbringing. In Skinny Italian, Giudice gives readers the centuries-old formula for a healthy lifestyle and a happy outlook through pages of feisty advice and dozens of hearty, delicious recipes.

Teresa shares the “cornerstones” of Italian cuisine, a roll-call of herbs and spices to liven any dish, and even offers six different homemade tomato sauces. An “eat it and enjoy it” book in the spirit of French Women Don’t Get Fat, Skinny Italian encourages everyone to live la bella vita and look great too.