New Cookbook For People Who are Short on Time But Watching Their Weight
by Larry Cox on Mar. 17, 2010, under UncategorizedI Can’t Believe It’s Not Fattening: Over 150 Ridiculously Easy Recipes for the Super Busy by Devin Alexander (Broadway Books, $19.99, softbound)
Devin Alexander, the bestselling author of several popular cookbooks including “The Most Delicious Diet Ever” and “Fast Food Fix,” has been a chef on NBC’s The Biggest Loser and is the host of Healthy Decadence on Discovery Health and FitTV. As she points out in her new collection, twenty minutes in the kitchen can save you three hours on a treadmill. By that she means that by preparing nutritious, home-cooked meals, you can save time and, perhaps, even lose some of your unwanted weight.
There are two things about “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Fattening” that is obvious from just the first few pages: The recipes are, as she claims, ridiculously simple to prepare, and second, by tweaking ingredients and techniques they taste much richer than they actually are. Devin, who was, herself, an over-weight child, has successfully maintained her ideal weight for more than fifteen years by making sensible choices. Making sensible choices doesn’t mean that you have to sacrifice taste. Case in point is her Caramel Apple Sundae Snack which takes four minutes to prepare and has fewer calories than you might think, 176 to be exact.
This cookbook is divided into seven main chapters: Bring on the Breakfasts; Better Burgers, Sandwiches & Wraps; Amazing Appetizers & Savory Snacks; Midsection-Melting Main Courses; Slimming Sides & Salads; Decadent Desserts & Sweet Snacks: and The Basics. There is also a front section that is filled with tips and techniques that will help family cooking as easy as it can possibly be.
One of my favorite features is Devin’s advice on how to streamline the family kitchen and get the biggest bang for the buck during these difficult economic times. She suggests that cooking in bulk a few nights a week, stocking freezers and pantries so that staple items will last for a longer time, and investing in sharp knives and appropriate cutting board, cooks are sure to see a dramatic difference in the money they spend and the delicious foods they prepare.
Three recipes were tested from this collection: Pomegranate Oatmeal, which tastes better than it sounds; Asparagus Roast Beef Roll-Ups that created a spiffy presentation; and, my favorite, Tropical Truffles.
Tropical Truffles
Hands-on-Time: 10 minutes
One 5 oz bag of dried mangoes, cut into one inch pieces
One fourth c marshmallow crème
2/3 c old-fashioned oats
One fourth c sweetened flake coconut
Put the mangoes in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a chopping blade and process until the pieces are extremely fine and very sticky. Add the marshmallow crème and coconut and continue processing until well combined. Add the oats and process until they are just incorporated (the finished mixture will be sticky to the touch but the “dough” should hold together easily. Remove the blade from the bowl of the processor and using your fingers, divide the mixture into 8 equal amounts. Carefully form each into a ball. Serve immediately, or store in an airtight plastic container for up to two days. Each truggle yields 108 calories.
