Best Selling Author, Weight Loss Expert and Biggest Loser Chef Devin Alexander joined us live with some quick and easy “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Fattening” recipes.
For more information on Devin Alexander, you can go to her website or follow her on twitter @chefdevin.
“I Can’t Believe It’s Not Fattening – Over 150 Ridiculously Easy Recipes for the Super Busy” is available online and in book stores everywhere.
The recipes featured in the segment are below.
Ravio-sagna
Biggest Loser Cookbook chef Devin Alexander combines two favorite Italian home-cooked dishes into one!
By Devin Alexander
This dish is insanely great for potlucks.
Instead of other lasagnes that you can slave over for hours, you can now spend just 10 minutes throwing this together. And the best news is that it can be assembled up to 1 day in advance.
After preparing it, simply cover it with plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator (be sure to remove the plastic wrap before baking!) so it can be baked just before serving.
Make sure you find a brand of ravioli with as little fat as possible. Some are laden with tons of fat and calories, yet they don’t taste any better than those that are lower in fat and calories. Rosetto also makes a whole-wheat ravioli that’s delicious and just as low in fat and calories but packs 6 grams of fiber per serving (I buy it at Whole Foods).
Though the bag is slightly smaller (22 ounces instead of 25), so you’ll need a bag plus a few more ravioli to make the recipe as written, it’s worth buying.
Ingredients
2 cups low-fat, preferably lower-sodium marinara sauce
25-ounce package frozen rectangle cheese ravioli (about 1 inch by 1½ inches; no more than 4 g of fat per 9-piece serving; I used Rosetto)
6 ounces (about 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons) reduced-fat, finely shredded mozzarella cheese (no more than 3 g of fat per ounce; I used Lucerne, found at Safeway chains), divided
1/3 cup finely slivered basil leaves, divided
Preparation
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Spoon 1/2 cup sauce evenly into the bottom of an 11 x 7-inch ceramic or glass baking dish. Lay one-third of the ravioli (about 18 pieces) side by side in a single layer to cover the bottom of the dish. Spoon another ½ cup sauce evenly over top. Sprinkle one-third of the cheese and one-third of the basil evenly over that. Repeat the layering 2 more times beginning with the ravioli. Cover the dish with foil.
3. Bake for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking an additional 10 minutes, or until the pasta is heated through and the cheese is melted. Let stand 10 minutes, and then slice into 6 equal pieces and serve immediately.
Serves 6
Each (1/6 casserole) serving has: 301 calories, 18 g protein, 43 g carbohydrates, 7 g fat, 3 g saturated, 26 mg cholesterol, 4 g fiber, 689 mg sodium
Incredibly Easy Chicken Parmesan
Who says you can’t eat the foods you love and lose weight? With Devin Alexander’s incredibly easy chicken Parmesan recipe, you’ll consume almost 800 calories less than the traditional dish without sacrificing any of the taste!
Serves 2
2 prepared Crouton Breaded Chicken Breasts
1/4 cup low-fat, low-sodium marinara sauce
1 tsp grated reduced-fat Parmesan cheese
2 1/2 tbsp finely shredded reduced-fat mozzarella cheese
Directions
Follow the directions for the Crouton Breaded Chicken, using fat-free Italian or Caesar-seasoned croutons instead of the herb-seasoned ones if you can find them (if you can’t, the herb-seasoned ones are a great second choice).
During the last 2 minutes of baking, top each chicken breast with half of the sauce, half of the mozzarella, and half of the parmesan. Bake until the sauce is warm, the cheese is melted, and the chicken is cooked through. Serve immediately.
228 calories, 31 g protein, 14 g carbohydrates, 3 g fat, Less than 1g saturated fat, 70 mg cholesterol, 1 g fiber, 419 mg sodium
Recipe taken from I Can’t Believe It’s Not Fattening by Devin Alexander. Copyright c 2010 by Devin Alexander. Published by Broadway Books, a division of Random House, Inc.
Devin Alexander’s Easy-As-Can-Be Pot Roast Supper
Devin says using baby potatoes and baby carrots make this recipe a cinch – and using foil saves on clean up!
Devin says: I love using tiny potatoes and baby carrots, which makes this recipe insanely easy. That said, sometimes tiny potatoes cost a minor fortune. If that’s the case, save money by using larger boiling potatoes. You’ll have to spend time cutting them into cubes, but it might make sense.
You don’t have to use the nonstick foil here if you have a really good nonstick roasting pan, but it makes cleanup almost nonexistent, so I swear by it.
This recipe makes 6 servings. Hands-on time: 9 minutes, hands-off time: time to preheat the oven, plus 30 to 40 minutes.
Ingredients
11/2 pounds baby carrots
2 pounds red or white potatoes; cut into 1-inch cubes
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
Sea salt and pepper
One 13/4-pound trimmed top round roast
51/2-ounce can tomato juice (I used Campbell’s)
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 medium onions, trimmed, peeled, and cut into quarters
Directions
Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Line a large roasting pan with nonstick aluminum foil. Add the carrots and potatoes.
Drizzle 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon of the olive oil over the vegetables and season them with salt and pepper.
Toss just to combine, then distribute them in an even layer in the bottom of the pan, leaving room for the roast in the center.
Rub the roast all over with the remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil, then season it with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Set it in the center of the veggies and pour the juice evenly over all. Sprinkle the thyme over the top.
Roast the meat, carrots, and potatoes for 18 minutes. Then, stir the potatoes and carrots (if using nonstick foil, be careful not to tear it). Separate the onion quarters into pieces. Scatter them over the potatoes and carrots. Continue roasting until a meat thermometer inserted in the center of the roast reads 125°F; for medium rare, about 15 to 20 minutes more.
Carefully transfer the roast to a platter.
Loosely tent the roast with foil for 10 minutes while the juices redistribute internally.
If the veggies are not tender, rotate them one more time and continue roasting, up to 10 minutes more.
Slice the meat into thin slices against the grain and serve immediately with the veggies.
Nutritional Information
Each (about 4 ounces beef plus 2 cups vegetables) serving has: 345 calories, 33 g protein, 42 g carbohydrates, 8 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 58 mg cholesterol, 7 g ?ber, 310 mg sodium.
