Alexander - I Cant Believe Its Not Fattening!: Over 150 Ridiculously Easy Recipes for the Super Busy

also by devin alexander

Fast Food Fix
The Biggest Loser Cookbook
The Biggest Loser Family Cookbook
The Most Decadent Diet Ever!

BROADWAY

Copyright 2010 by Devin Alexander

All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Broadway Books,
an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of
Random House, Inc., New York.
www.crownpublishing.com

BROADWAY BOOKS and the Broadway Books colophon
are trademarks of Random House, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Alexander, Devin.

[Im too busy to cook cookbook]

I cant believe its not fattening!: over 150 ridiculously easy recipes for the super busy.
p. cm.

1. Reducing dietsRecipes. 2. Quick and easy cookery. I. Title. II. Im too busy to cook cookbook.

RM222.2.A3792 2010
641.5635dc22

2009018861

eISBN: 978-0-307-76872-8

Photographs by Theresa Raffetto
Food styling by Jessica Gorman
Prop styling by Karin Olsen

v3.1

This book is dedicated to my dad, Ben Simone,

in the hopes that Mom will find the recipes in this book

easy enough and quick enough to make at least one new

one every night!

And for being a spectacular example of

how to be a business owner, while teaching me to

Keep on Keeping On no matter what!

Some days I wake up and have to pinch myselfI went from being the fat girl who was picked on in high school to a career woman who gets to play with (and enjoy) food all day long while working with a group of insanely talented, committed people:

The whole crew at Broadway: my esteemed editor, Annie Chagnot; designer, Elizabeth Rendfleisch; and Tammy Blake, publicist extraordinaire. Theyve made this process effortless.

Stephanie Farrell, also known as the Test Kitchen Goddess, who has been my right-hand gal for years. Recipe tester Angela Nehmans, who manages to work her breaks around my books, playing a huge role in keeping me sane. Recipe testers Sandy Levin, Tessa Genchi, Lisa Cohen, Kathryn Jacoby, and Elizabeth Packer, who made numerous sacrifices for the cause. And Super Mom Heather Haque, whos selflessly and substantially assisted with my every undertaking since college.

My manager, Julie Carson May, and publicists, Jim Eber, Mary Lengle, Carrie Simons, and Ashley Sandberg, whove made me appear everywhere out of nowhere and who Im also lucky enough to call friends.

My friends John Baker, Rasha Chapman, Alyssa Devore, Steve Farrell, Kelly Frazier, Heather and Tas Haque, Sandy Levin, Michelle Miller, Jamie Nehasil, Chris Nielsen, Nick Nunez, Kristine Oller, Amanda Philipson, Dawn Sostrin, and Jerry Whitworth, who offer never-ending support (and/or their tastebuds).

The team at Meyer Corporation, which keeps me well stocked with Circulon, the best nonstick cookware and bakeware. And the team at Heinz, which makes sure I have Smart Ones on hand when even ridiculously easy isnt good enough!

Photographer Theresa Raffetto and food stylist Jessica Gordon.

My entire family, who gives me the utmost in supportspecial thanks to my mom for testing many of the recipes. And last but not least, Jon Shafer, who sends the perfect number of text messages to keep a smile on my face even when things get as hectic as can be.

T wenty minutes in your kitchen can save you three hours on a treadmill.

Since youre holding this book, theres a good chance youve heard me say that. Thats because I say it all of the time. Heck, Ive even been quoted in the New York Times saying it. Thats because its my reality and my saving grace. I was on the yo-yo diet fast track, gaining ten to fifteen pounds per year without fail from the time I was eight until I was fifteen. At that point, I tipped the scales at close to 190 pounds and was wondering why I could succeed at everything I put my mind to except losing weight. Then I heard that if you cut just 100 calories from your diet each day, on average, youll lose ten pounds in a year. That really clicked. I immediately called upon the cooking skills my Italian grandmother bestowed on me. The next thing I knew, I was actually losing weightand, more importantly, keeping it off! All I did at that time was make minor tweaks to the foods I was already eating. Id make chicken Parmesan with full-fat cheese and full-fat sauce, but I wouldnt deep-fry the chicken. Id use 2 teaspoons less mayonnaise when making a sandwich. Or Id use a leaner cut of beef when making my favorite meatballs. Close to twenty years later, I live and breathe by cooking because it allows me to eat incredibly decadent food and enjoy all of the flavors I craveguilt free.

Though Ive lost over fifty-five pounds, I really dont struggle with my weight any more well, unless you count that nagging five to ten pounds all women fluctuate, wishing they would conquer forever. But even with that, my weight is no longer the obsession it was for the first twenty-six years of my life. Thats because I can eat all of the foods I love.

When I was on my book tour for The Most Decadent Diet Ever! I had my first and only very real reminder over the past ten years of what it was like to struggle and why cooking has truly transformed my life and even my happiness.

I left my home in Los Angeles and went on the road for thirty-seven days, launching the book on the Today show. Then I proceeded to travel around the country doing TV appearances, numerous book signings, and even in-person appearances for Self magazines Workout in the Park series. Every day was packed, and I was on a train or plane over half of the days I was gone. This meant I had to rely on restaurants and airport food. Now weve all seen episodes of The Biggest Loser where the trainers tell the contestants how to order out. And weve all seen segments of the Today show and Good Morning America where a nutritionist comes on and tells us what to choose. But did you ever notice its always the stuff you dont want? Sure, I can eat baked chicken and steamed broccoli and not do too too much damage. I can get a salad and skip the dressing and the cheese and everything else that might make it taste remotely palatable. Or I can get an egg-white omelet with veggies and choke it down and I wont gain the fifty-five pounds back. But wheres the decadence in that?

Tried and true, Im a food lover. I have cravings. And I have zero willpower. So I can play along with the nutritionist who tells me to eat the egg-white omelet with no goat cheese, but what shes not telling me (though I do know, having attended culinary school and worked in restaurant kitchens) is that theres a high likelihood that even if I do order that bland omelet, its going to be prepared in way too much butter.

Think about it. If you go to a restaurant and your food doesnt arrive on the table in a timely manner or doesnt look good, youre not likely to return. And most restaurants dont even own nonstick pans, so they have no choice but to load the pan with butter or lard or some sort of fat so your omelet cooks quickly and without looking like a disaster that was scraped from the bottom of a pan. So instead of eating a Cheese & Olive Omelet (see ) made with 4 egg whites for only 154 calories and 5 grams of fat, Im stuck eating a veggie omelet that has more fat and calories from the butter alone. If Id made my omelet at home in less than ten minutes, I would have easily saved a couple hundred calories (not to mention plenty of cash!). Multiply that by a few meals a day, and youre needing a lot less cardio to keep your figure and your health.