There are a lot of cooking shows available, and I like several of them. One of the newest, Cook Yourself Thin, premiered with back-to-back 30 minute episodes on May 4, 2009. The show is based on the British cookbook and series of the same name. With a bit of a different twist, this cooking show will likely be a lighthearted and popular addition to the lineup of cooking programs.
In the show, three culinary experts team up with a new participant each episode who wants to lose weight and learn to cook healthy versions of favorite recipes. The experts work the guests through calorie redo recipes of three typical meals. The last segment of the show takes place six weeks later. In it, the experts -- Harry, Allison, and Candice -- travel to the participant's home to follow-up and see if she has learned to 'cook herself thin' and lose a dress size in six weeks.
Harry Eastwood starred in the British version of this series. She is a food writer and co-author of the cookbook, Cook Yourself Thin: The Delicious Way to Drop a Dress Size. As an expert baker, she specializes in substituting high-fat ingredients usually found in baked goods for healthier ingredients.
As a former recipe developer/food stylist for Martha Stewart and the Food Network, Chef Allison Fishman has also acted as co-host of TLC's Home Made Simple, and writes a weekly food column. Her recipes and writings have appeared in magazines and newspapers across the nation.
The third expert, Candice Kumai works as a special events Chef at the Ritz-Carlton and has her own catering company. She was professionally trained at the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu and appeared as a contestant on Bravo's Top Chef. In addition, Candice has participated in nationwide cooking demonstrations.
The first show participant, Rachel, self dubbed as the 'takeout queen,' developed bad eating habits as a child. Her personal motivation to lose weight was to facilitate getting pregnant. The experts cut down her typical daily calorie intake of 2,500 to less than 1,000. Did you know that keeping the skins on Yukon potatoes when you mash them makes them taste more buttery? And then if you also add half a cauliflower, scallions, and buttermilk to make tasty mashed potatoes you cut your calories from 1,042 to only 389 per serving. Rachel's main food nemesis was cupcakes. With secret ingredients like ground almonds to provide natural fat and shredded zucchini to add moisture instead of butter, calories in her cupcakes were slashed.
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