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Published: January 06, 2009 09:01 pm
Biggest Loser Cookbook
Chef shares recipes for eating well, losing weight
By Bev Davis
Register-Herald Senior Editor
You’ve watched them sweat, cry, laugh and tremble in fear before they step on the giant scales for a weekly weigh-in. You’ve rejoiced when they dropped even a couple of pounds in a week and felt sorry for them when the dreaded number stayed the same or rose a pound or two.
Just what do the Biggest Losers, featured on NBC, actually eat during those grueling contest weeks?
Chef Devin Alexander is the person who helps keep them on track when meal and snack times come.
“I can’t use sugar or white flour in any of the recipes, but the contestants will tell me what they like to eat, and it’s my job to come up with recipes that meet their individual requirements,” Alexander said in a telephone interview from her California home.
Alexander, who tackled and won her own weight loss challenge that took off 55 pounds, devotes her career to helping others find a way to enjoy food while reaching and maintaining a healthy weight.
“Diets don’t work. I preach that all the time. Making small changes and being consistent really does work over the long haul,” she said.
Alexander recently published her fourth book titled “The Biggest Loser Family Cookbook.” The book is packed with color photos of mouthwatering foods accompanied by their recipes and the nutritional and caloric information about each one.
The book also features some of the contestants, offers a variety of helpful hints for losing weight and staying motivated and some explanations about food preparation.
From her own experiences and in helping Biggest Loser contestants, Alexander knows the secret is to eat foods that taste good.
“If you don’t fix foods you enjoy and that the whole family can eat, you’ll wind up feeling resentful and deprived,” Alexander said. “It’s not realistic to think you can live on celery and carrot sticks.”
She remembers how fruitless becoming pre-occupied with calorie-counting can be.
“I would be out to lunch with my girl friends, and they would be talking and laughing, and I would miss out on what they said because I was counting calories on everything on the menu.”
She learned to trim recipes of fat, sugar, salt and to include fruits, vegetables and chocolate into her diet.
Yes, chocolate.
“I love chocolate. It’s one of my favorite foods,” Alexander said. “For me to do without it would be impossible. I’ve found ways to add it to my cereal or in drinks every day. I can satisfy that craving but not go overboard with it now.”
Losing and maintaining weight should be thought of as an “investment in life,” she said.
“Managing your weight doesn’t have to be a struggle. The idea behind this cookbook is that you can cook for yourself and your family, eat meals you enjoy but within limits that will allow you to lose weight or manage your weight,” Alexander said.
Here are a few of the recipes from “The Biggest Loser Cookbook,” which are published by permission.
Texas Caviar
One 15-ounce can 50-percent less sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
One 15-ounce can 50 percent less sodium whole kernel corn, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup fresh salsa or pico de gallo (refrigerated, not jarred)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1-1/2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon cumin
Salt, to taste
Ground pepper, to taste
Hot sauce, to taste
In a large glass or plastic mixing bowl or a large resealable plastic container, combine the beans, corn, salsa or pico de gallo, cilantro, vinegar and cumin. Season with salt, pepper and hot sauce. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight before serving. Makes six 1/2-cup servings.
Grilled chicken smothered nachos
1 ounce baked tortilla chips
1/4 cup drained canned 50-percent less sodium black beans, heated
4 ounces grilled extra-lean boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into small cubes, reheated if necessary
2 tablespoons salsa con queso, all natural if possible, heated
3 tablespoons finely chopped seeded tomato
2 tablespoons thinly sliced jalapeno chile pepper (wear plastic gloves when handling)
Lay chips on a dinner plate. Top them evenly with the beans, followed by the chicken. Drizzle the salsa con queso evenly over the top. Top with the tomato and jalapeno slices and serve. Makes 1 serving.
BBQ-bacon meatloaf
Olive-oil spray
1 cup chopped red onion
4 slices extra-lean turkey bacon, chopped
2/3 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup fat-free milk
1 pound extra-lean ground chicken breast
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
1 clove fresh garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup barbecue sauce made with 7 grams carbohydrates or less per 2 tablespoons.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly mist a 9-inch by 5-inch by 3-inch nonstick loaf pan with the olive oil spray.
Place a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly mist the pan and spray and add the onion and bacon. Cook, stirring, for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the onion is tender and just barely starting to brown and the bacon is crisp. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the mixture to cool.
Combine the oats and milk in a medium mixing bowl and stir to mix. Let the mixture stand for 3 minutes or until the oats begin to soften. Add the cooled onion and bacon mixture, the chicken, egg whites, garlic, Worcestershire sauce and salt. With a fork or clean hands, mix the ingredients until well combined.
Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and spread so the top is flat. Spread the barbecue sauce evenly over the top. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the chicken is completely cooked through and no longer pink. Let the loaf sit for 10 minutes before cutting into 8 slices to serve. Makes 4 servings.
Contemporary Caprese salad
4 medium tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices
Olive oil in a sprayer, not one of the commercial vegetable sprays
Salt, to taste
Ground black pepper, to taste
1 ounces (1 cup) finely shredded low-fat mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup finely slivered fresh basil
Place one tomato slice in the center of a large plate or round platter.
Arrange the remaining slices, overlapping slightly, to form rings around the first slice. Lightly mist the tomatoes with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Starting in the center, sprinkle the cheese evenly over the tomatoes, covering all but about half of the outer edge (as if you were sprinkling cheese on a pizza). Sprinkle the basil evenly over the cheese and serve. Makes 4 servings.
Szechuan beef and broccoli
One 1-pound top round steak, sliced against the grain into scant 1/4-inch-thick strips
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt, to taste
Ground black pepper, to taste
Olive oil spray
One 14-ounce bag frozen broccoli (about 5 cups)
1 tablespoon freshly minced garlic
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1/4 cup bottled Szechuan stir-fry sauce
In a large bowl, combine the steak, garlic powder, salt and pepper and toss until well combined.
Place a large nonstick skillet or nonstick wok over high heat. When hot, mist with the olive oil spray. Add the broccoli and garlic and cook, stirring for 4-6 minutes or until the garlic softens and the broccoli is heated through and crisp-tender, being careful not to burn the garlic. Transfer to a large bowl and cover to keep warm.
Return the pan to high heat and add 1 teaspoon of the sesame oil. When hot, add half of the steak in a single layer and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned on both sides, 1 to 2 minutes.
Transfer the steak to the bowl with the vegetables and re-cover. Repeat with the remaining 1 teaspoon sesame oil and steak. Return all the steak and vegetables to the pan and remove from the heat. Add the sauce and mix well to coat. Divide among 4 bowls and serve.
— E-mail: bdavis@register-herald.com
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