DON’T DEPRIVE YOURSELF!

Eating healthy doesn’t mean completely depriving yourself. Devin Alexander was 15-years-old and 175 pounds. She started cooking at an early age and started recreating some of the foods she wasn’t supposed to be eating.

“I was able to make great, healthy food that made me feel like I wasn’t deprived,” Devin said.

She lost 55 pounds. Not much time went by before her people began to notice.

“They were worried about me until I started delivering healthy treats that were so good no one believed they were low-fat,” Devin said.

She ventured off to cooking school and planned on working as a celebrity private chef. Before Devin finished school, she started her own catering business, Café Renee, which specializes in cooking lower-fat, high flavor, scrumptious foods that tantalize even the pickiest taste buds.

Word got out in Hollywood that she was throwing parties with hip, healthy food and started teaching celebrities how to prepare their favorite foods without gaining weight. Soon she was asked to write for numerous magazines, like Prevention and Men’s Health. Then producers from Good Morning America and others started calling for her secrets.

“Now I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to be sharing my recipes with The Biggest Loser cast and fans,” Devin said. She’s gotten thousands of letters from people who have tried her recipes and has been called “America’s Cool Food Chef,” and the “Kitchen Magician.”

The Biggest Loser airs on NBC and is the first reality show in which everybody loses. The show challenges and encourages overweight participants to undergo physical makeovers, without any kind of surgery, in a safe, recommended manner through comprehensive diet and exercise as they compete for a $250,000 prize. The series has become a worldwide hit, airing in over 65 territories and 20 countries.

HIT SHOW RECIPES

Meal - Spinach Salad with Feta Cheese and Mandarin Oranges (p. 74), "Stuffed Cabbage" Strata (p. 134) and Creamy Cherry Sorbet (p. 202): Recipes provided below:

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Spinach Salad with Feta Cheese and Mandarin Oranges: I’m generally not a fan of Mandarin oranges in salads (I worry they’ll make the salad soggy), but somehow this combo has recently become one of my favorites. The sweetness of the oranges and the saltiness of the feta coupled with lean protein and fresh spinach keep my cravings satisfied—and will do the same for you! Just be sure, here, as always, to dry your raw veggies well. It’s the only way you’ll achieve restaurant-quality salads.

14 cups loosely packed spinach leaves, stems removed

1 (10 1/2-ounce) can unsweetened mandarin oranges in juice, drained (about 1 cup)

1 1/2 ounces finely crumbled reduced-fat feta cheese

1/2 cup red onion slivers

6 tablespoons light balsamic vinaigrette

Simple Grilled Chicken (page 126) or 1 pound other lean grilled chicken breast, cut into strips.

In a large salad bowl, combine the spinach, oranges, feta, and onion. Pour the vinaigrette over the mixture and toss. Divide the salad among 4 dinner plates or large salad bowls. Top each with one-fourth of the chicken (about 4 ounces) and serve.

Makes 4 servings

Per serving: 240 calories, 31 g protein, 17 g carbohydrates, 6 g fat, (2 g saturated), 68 mg cholesterol, 5 g fiber, 469 g sodium

Budget Tips from The Biggest Loser:

Opt for whole produce instead of prebagged salad mixes,lettuce, cabbage, and carrots. You’ll get much more quantity for your money.

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“Stuffed Cabbage” Strata: I grew up eating a version of this dish that my mom called Cabbage Casserole. I really wanted to include my version in this book because it is one of those surprisingly tasty dishes that is perfect for people who, like me, love to eat large portions but want to stay healthy. One serving is a huge amount of food, particularly for the amount of fat and calories. Please don’t substitute ground turkey here. It won’t complement the dish. Though I actually prefer chicken in this dish, you can also use 96% lean ground beef.

Olive oil spray

8 slices center-cut bacon, cut into 2" pieces

1 1/4 cups minced yellow onions

1 cup uncooked instant brown rice (or instant white rice in a pinch)

6 cups shredded green cabbage

1 1/2 pounds extra-lean ground chicken breast

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 (8-ounce) cans no-salt added tomato sauce

3/4 cup water

Hot sauce, to taste (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly spray an 8" x 8" (at least 2 1/4" deep) ovenproof glass or ceramic casserole or baking dish with the olive oil spray. Line a dinner plate with a paper towel.

Place a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook for 4 to 6 minutes per side, or until the bacon is cooked and starting to crisp on the edges. Transfer the bacon to the lined plate. Discard all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat from the skillet. Add the onions and rice to the skillet and place over medium heat. Cook in the bacon fat, stirring, until the onions are tender and the rice is just starting to brown, 3 to 5 minutes.

Spread 3 cups of the cabbage in an even layer on the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Top with the rice mixture, forming an even layer.

Add the chicken, salt, and pepper to the skillet and place over medium high heat. Cook the chicken, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, but leaving some large chunks, until no longer pink, 3 to 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken to the casserole dish to form another even layer. Spread the remaining 3 cups cabbage over the chicken.

Discard any liquid from the skillet and add the tomato sauce and water. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. With a ladle or large spoon, carefully spoon the sauce evenly over the casserole, being sure that the dish doesn’t overflow. Lay the bacon pieces evenly on top of the cabbage.

Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 minutes longer, or until the cabbage and rice are tender and the strata is heated through. Let stand 5 minutes to set. Cut into 6 equal pieces and serve with hot sauce on the side, if desired.

Makes 6 servings

Per serving: 271 calories, 32 g protein, 25 g carbohydrates, 5 g fat, (2 g saturated), 75 mg cholesterol, 5 g fiber, 462 mg sodium

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Creamy Cherry Sorbet: It’s not hard to find fat-free sorbet at the grocery store, but it will probably contain a ton of sugar. This creamy, delicious sorbet is chock-full of cherries but not full of sugar. If the cherries were picked at the peak of season, they’ll be sweet enough without any sweetener. If they aren’t peak-season and are at all bitter, a couple packets of sugar substitute will do the trick.

3 cups frozen cherries

2/3 cup fat-free, sugar-free vanilla yogurt

2 teaspoons lime juice, preferably freshly squeezed

2 to 4 (.035-ounce) packets sugar substitute (such as Splenda), to taste (optional)

Place the cherries in a food processor fitted with a chopping blade and process until just finely chopped. Quickly add the yogurt and lime juice and process just until well combined. Stir in the sugar substitute, if using. Divide among 4 martini glasses or bowls and serve.

Makes 4 (about 2/3-cup) servings

Per serving: 88 calories, 3 g protein, 20 g carbohydrates, trace fat, (0 g saturated), less than 1 g cholesterol, 2 g fiber, 22 mg sodium