The biggest loser dessert cookbook : more than 80 healthy treats that satisfy your sweet tooth without breaking your calorie budget

278 Pages·2010·10.45 MB·English

by  Devin Alexander

Production Development & Direction: Chad Bennett, Dave Broome, Joni
Camacho, Steve Coulter, Mark Koops, Todd Nelson, Kim Niemi, J. D. Roth,
Neysa Siefert, and Ben Silverman
NBCU, Reveille, 25/7 Productions, and 3Ball Productions would like to
thank the many people who gave their time and energy to this project:
Stephen Andrade, Carole Angelo, Dana Arnett, Sebastian Attie, Nancy N.
Bailey, The Biggest Loser contestants, Dave Bjerke, Maria Bohe, Jill Bowles,
Jen Busch, Jill Carmen, Scot Chastain, Ben Cohen, Jason Cooper, Marie
Crousillat, Dan Curran, Dr. Michael Dansinger, Camilla Dhanak, Devin
Franchino, Kat Elmore, John Farrell, Cheryl Forberg, Jeff Friedman, Jeff
Gaspin, Christina Gaugler, Marc Graboff, Jenny Groom, Bob Harper, Chris
Harris, Robyn Hennessey, Shelli Hill, Dr. Robert Huizenga, Jill Jarosz, Helen
Jorda, Adam Kaloustian, Edwin Karapetian, Alex Katz, Allison Kaz, Loretta
Kraft, Laura Kuhn, Beth Lamb, Todd Lubin, Roni Lubliner, Alan Lundgren,
Carole MacDonal, Rebecca Marks, Jillian Michaels, Gregg Michaelson, John
Miller, Sarah Napier, Yelena Nesbit, Julie Nugent, Trae Patton, Ellie Prezant, Ed
Prince, Scott Radloff, Lee Rierson Rierson, Karen Rinaldi, Melissa Roberson,
Beth Roberts, Maria Rodale, Jessica Roth, Drew Rowley, Leslie Schwartz,
Robin Shallow, Carrie Simons, Lee Straus, Kelia Tardiff, Paul Telegdy, Deborah
Thomas, Julie True, Josie Ventura, Emily Weber, Liza Whitcraft, Julie Will,
Audrey Wood, Yong Yam, Jeff Zucker

Contents
I C D A
NTRODUCTION BY HEF EVIN LEXANDER
N C C
OTES TO THE HEF, FROM THE HEF
How Sweet It Is
The Biggest Loser Plan
A Passion for Fruit
Sweet Snacks
Easy Treats
Frozen Favorites
Bake Sale Staples
Healthy Holidays
Sweet Sips
Sinless Sauces, Dips, and Toppings
A
CKNOWLEDGMENTS
I
NDEX

Introduction
“I’ve lost more than 55 pounds, and 16 years later, I still eat chocolate every
day.”
That’s the first thing I say at pretty much every cooking demonstration,
lecture, and keynote speech I give around the country. And it’s true. You too can
eat chocolate (or another dessert) daily, if you want to . . . as long as you do it
the right way.
I’ve been working with The Biggest Loser for more than four years now in a
variety of capacities, but one of my favorite roles has been meeting the
contestants and showing them how they can indulge in healthy ways—giving
them the freedom to eat the foods they love and satisfy their cravings without
sacrificing their weight loss goals.
For me, the key to maintaining a substantial weight loss has been regularly
allowing myself healthy indulgences so that I never feel deprived. Many times,
people who are trying to lose or maintain a weight loss think they can’t ever eat
sweets again. And while it’s true that the unhealthiest foods should probably stay
off-limits the vast majority of the time, you can satisfy your sweet cravings in a
multitude of ways without breaking your calorie budget.
I should know. For years I’ve been creating recipes for friends, family,
clients, and cookbooks (not to mention for me!) that are big on flavor and low in
calories. When you start flipping through the pages of this book and see the
photographs of Strawberry Daiquiri Cream Pie (page 55), Blueberry Cream
Cheese “Strudel” (page 143), and Chocolate Hazelnut Ricotta Calzones (page
148), you’re likely to think, There’s no way I can eat that and be healthy! But
once you take a look at the nutritional data, you’ll realize that you can have your
cake and lose weight, too.
Most dessert cookbooks are organized by ingredient (such as “chocolate”) or
type of item (such as “cakes”), but we wanted to create a format that makes
sense for the way you and your family live. That’s why you’ll find chapters on
snacks, drinks, frozen treats, holiday baking, and even a whole chapter devoted
to on-the-go treats that are easy to whip up for bake sales, PTA meetings, and
kids’ classroom parties. The only exception to this rule is Chapter 3, “A Passion
for Fruit.” We wanted to start off the cookbook with an array of fruit-based
treats because fruit is such an important part of The Biggest Loser plan, and we
recommend it as the first choice any time a sweet craving strikes. But with
delicious recipes like Naked Apple Tart (page 44), Meringue-Topped Pink
Grapefruit (page 51), and Peach Blackberry Betty (page 59) fruit practically
feels like an indulgence!
These days there are an abundance of “healthy” treats and snacks available at
grocery stores, bakeries, and specialty food markets. But while they may be
convenient, many of these lower-fat, lower-calorie foods rely on artificial
ingredients to make them taste good. All of the recipes in this book are made
with only natural ingredients, allowing you to create all-natural goodies that
you’ll be proud to share with friends and family and happy to feed to your kids.
I believe that in order to live a healthy life, you have to befriend food—it’s
not the enemy!—and allow yourself to enjoy the things you love, in moderation.
As long as you cook and bake at home, you have control over every calorie that
goes onto your plate (and into your mouth). You can create the flavors you love
and still lose weight—I’m living proof of that.
It’s truly an honor to be a part of The Biggest Loser community, and I am
looking forward to hearing from each and every one of you—about your weight-
loss successes to the kinds of recipes you want to see in the next book!
Dessert anyone?
Chef Devin Alexander