- Cook Yourself Thin Book
Are you listening to the buzz around the book Cook Yourself Thin: Skinny Meals You Can Make in Minutes
Forget drab diets – they don’t work because ‘healthy’ food tastes pretty grim. If you want to drop a dress size and still eat gorgeous grub then the Cook Yourself Thin team are about to come to your rescue. The average woman spends 30 years of her life dieting but 60% are still overweight. Clearly diets don’t work! Most of us are not obese, we don’t want to overhaul our diets, we just want to lose weight.
Join three cool cooks who regularly have their cake, eat it and still look gorgeous. Armed with their skinny secrets and a ballistic bomb calorie-counter, they prove that you can drop a dress size in six weeks and still stuff your face. The fabulous four are serious foodies who won't make any compromises when it comes to flavor - their dishes first and foremost must taste great. They show you their tricks - how to double the taste while halving the calories. These girls don't do denial. Burgers, curries, and chocolate cake are all on the menu and won't pile on the pounds if you cook it their way. So if you want to streamline those curves, get yourself back into the kitchen and Cook Yourself Thin.
- Allison Fishman of Cook Yourself Thin
Interview with Allison Fishman: I had the pleasure of speaking with Allison Fishman, one of the co-stars of Lifetime’s new show Cook Yourself Thin, which made its American debut just this past week. Allison is a passionate chef who owns The Wooden Spoon, a Brooklyn-based culinary school, who sharpened her own culinary skills while working for Martha Stewart, the Food Network and TLC’s Home Made Simple. She shared with us how she got her start cooking healthy (it’s a story, all working women can relate to) and some of her favorite slimming secrets in the kitchen.
Read the highlights from my interview with Allison Fishman.
Where did the idea come from for the show Cook Yourself Thin?
Cook Yourself Thin got its start in England where the show and the accompanying cookbook have proved to be a huge hit with British women. The producers of the show thought that the premise of Cook Yourself Thin would be a great hit with the American audience to learn how to cook healthy.
Have you always cooked healthy or is this a new way of cooking for you?
My story is similar to many working women out there. I had an executive level job in the dot.com industry and after a few years in it, noticed the weight creeping on after too many business dinners. I also noticed that even though I was a very successful business woman, I couldn’t poach an egg to save my life. I was a complete nincompoop in the kitchen. So I decided that I need to go to culinary school and that is just what I did.
I wanted to be able to indulge in delicious foods without perceiving food as the enemy. I had my kitchen stocked with truffle oil, fresh Parmesan cheese, I was able to master cooking and eating vegetables and whole grains. And to my surprise, I lost weight eating this way.
What are three of the most important steps anyone can do in their own kitchen to stay trim?
Number One is to avoid drinking your calories. Right now, I have three huge bottles of unsweetened sun tea sitting on the windowsill of my kitchen. I also always keep seltzer water on hand and drink plenty of brewed tea during the winter. Second, stock your refrigerator with fruits and vegetables and clean out your pantry of snack foods. Right now is the season where fresh produce is in abundance. Stock up on blueberries, pineapples, peaches and whatever is fresh and in season. Third, don’t be afraid of following recipes. The dishes that we prepare on Cook Yourself Thin are healthy and simple.
- Candice Kumai of Cook Yourself Thin
An Interview with Candice Kumai:
Looking to lose those last ten pounds, but not give up your favorite foods? Lifetime may have your solution with its new show Cook Yourself Thin. Taking real women who are looking to drop baby weight, get ready for an impending reunion, or perhaps have just let themselves go, each episode features a guest as she learns how to transform favorite (but fattening) recipes into healthy (and still tasty) fare. The viewers get to see how after six weeks the participant has progressed, and if she has kept up the healthier lifestyle. TVGuide.com spoke with one of the hosts, and former Top Chef Season 1 contestant, Candice Kumai about what sets her show apart, how you can enjoy foods you love, and why she's defending Kim Kardashian.
TVGuide: How is Cook Yourself Thin different from other weight-loss shows?
Candice Kumai: It's really fun, cute and creative because we take really great food and make it even better because we're making it healthy. You don't think of eating lettuce or rice cakes or depriving yourself, you think of an actual burger or fries or milkshake that you can have and actually love. It's mainly the lifestyle change and it's genuinely built for women.
TVGuide: There are three hosts, so do you each have a different expertise you bring to the table?
Kumai: The three of us are so different yet we make the perfect puzzle pieces for each other. Harry [Eastwood] is our original girl from the series in London. She's our blonde, British baker; she really specializes in trying to find the perfect substitute for fat in her baking. Allison [Fishman] is our classic American beauty, girl-next-door, from New York, and she is amazing at cooking instruction— she's very technical. I'm total SoCal, surfer girl, born and raised with a Japanese mother and an American father. So I grew up with all different kinds of cuisines, very cultured, well-traveled and I bring more of the ethnic edge. We are so different but when we come together we make this amazing team and we just feed off of each other.
TVGuide: What's your favorite recipe you've made on the show?
Kumai: The roasted chicken was so good— it's a classic everybody should know how to make. Also one of the alternative recipes I loved was the tequila lime sautéed shrimp tacos. It was always too fattening so I try to find the really healthy, California way to jazz it up.
TVGuide: There's been some controversy about Kim Kardashian being labeled as plus-size. Being on TV, do you feel pressure to stay slim?
Kumai: Kim Kardashian is one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen. For people to say things like that just blow my mind because it's not all about your waistline. I defend someone like her because she's beautiful and even Allison, Harry and I all have to work really hard to maintain our weight. We're all in the same boat together. Nobody's perfect and everyone can be beautiful in their own way. Dieting has become part of the culture [and] has taken over the world of food. We just want to be able to teach women that food isn't your enemy. It's going to be here for the rest of your life, you may as well make amends with it.
Cook Yourself Thin Mondays at 5 pm/ET on Lifetime.
Reviews:
Really loving the new Lifetime series Cook Yourself Thin. The trio of recipe rescuers -- Candice Kumai, Harry Eastwood and Allison Fishman -- swoop into a woman's life and teach her sneaky little tricks to lighten up her favorite meals and slim down.
The companion cookbook is just as fun and mouth-watering. Filled with full-page color photos of many of the dishes, the book offers a step-by-step way to replicate the trimmer and tasty recipes seen on the show, which airs weekdays at 5 p.m. with back-to-back 30-minute episodes.
In addition to the recipes, which include calories, the book includes:
* Bios of the hosts
* A quiz to find your Eater ID, with solutions
* The trio's weight-loss philosophy
* A brief calorie guide
* Food and equipment basics to stock in your kitchen
* Smart calorie swaps
* Skinny alternatives to your favorite unhealthy foods and risky situations
* A calorie-burning chart on exercise
I love this softcover cookbook -- lots of great ideas, smart swaps without going all "science project", lots of photos and inspiration and sensible advice.
