Cook Yourself Thin (Or Why I Hate Lifetime)
I’m a tad cranky and will try not to let that inform my review of the new Lifetime show Cook Yourself Thin. With that disclaimer aside, let’s take a look. From the website description:
“Do you want to have your cake and eat it too?* ‘Cook Yourself Thin,’ an all-new series, offers viewers the skills and the confidence to give their favorite indulgent meals a healthy makeover by cutting the calories and doubling the flavor!
Based on the successful British series and popular cookbook, culinary experts Harry Eastwood, Allison Fishman and Candice Kumai show guests how to lose their unwanted inches by replacing extreme dieting with clever cooking. Each half-hour episode follows one guest as she learns simple ways to transform her favorite high-calorie meals into delicious, healthier fare.
The meals are prepared step-by-step, comparing the calorie count of the original recipe to that of the ‘Cook Yourself Thin’ version. The guest is then sent home with the ingredients, tools and tips necessary to make healthy changes in the kitchen. After six weeks of living the ‘Cook Yourself Thin’ lifestyle, each participant is visited at home by the hosts to check on her progress.”
Here are my general notes, observations, rants:
- It seems this show hopes that by teaching someone how to make her favorite recipes in a less calorie- and fat-dense manner, she will carry these same methods over to everything she cooks and miraculously cook herself thin! No mention of exercise is made. No mention of how to actually gauge the calorie content of foods is actually made (or how to count calories or whatever). The guest really isn’t armed with long-term, practical advice unless she is going to make the same less-calorie version of her favorite pasta dish for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the rest of her life (and that’s assuming she doesn’t overeat them since we all know we can still overeat and get fat from the less calories version of our fave foods, right?!)
- Well aside from giggling at the literal implication of the show’s title (what? It’s the English major in me!), I really wish the chefs would stop saying “and now you can cook yourself thin!” every five seconds. We get it. It’s the name of the show. Brilliant.
- The show banks on the type of guest who suffers from food ignorance more than food attachment issues. In other words, if you’re taking someone who simply cooks gratuitously fattening foods because she enjoys the taste and is not really aware that using cream instead of nonfat milk is adding unnecessary calories to her diet, then yea, this show will teach her some great cooking tips.
- But. These simple swapping techniques will not help a person with any deeper issue than “I love to cook fettuccini alfredo and only know how to cook it with my grandmother’s recipe who hails butter and shuns the scale.” Your emotional or boredom eating, calorie-phobia or whatever, will not be addressed here.
- I don’t get why the chefs wouldn’t go one step further to add to the health of the dishes they “recreate.” Maybe the point is to do it in baby steps? Sometimes I think the whole “baby steps” thing is lame and a hindrance. Why cook a less cal version of penne pasta and still use refined, enriched, white flour penne? I mean, come on! This show should be more about health than a calorie per calorie play by play, right? Maybe not…Maybe I’m just too cranky…
- All crankiness aside, yes, it may generally be a good watch simply because if you like to cook it certainly will give you ideas of dishes you can make yourself and of simple swaps to make.
- BUT – don’t bother to go check out their recipes on the site because they do not even offer the full nutritional information for the dishes. That is super annoying, my friends! Take this pizza dish, for example. When I scrutinize it, I wonder – why would they list that one use “organic” tomato sauce but not organic bell pepper and basil? I think people mistakenly assume organic means better (and it is better in some cases for some things) but at least be consistent. Why not use whole-wheat pizza dough? Or make the pizza on thin crust? Or make the pizza on whole-wheat tortillas to slash major calories? Why not use low-fat mozzarella instead of just two measly tbsp of Parmesan to go around? Lame. And for 475 calories a slice (how much fat? I don’t know – they don’t list it!), you might as well get a slice of pizza from Pizza Hut for LESS CALORIES. See here. Oh crap. Even a slice of the stuffed crust pizza has more than 100 calories less than their “thin” version…
I say Hungry Girl should get her own Lifetime show and put these chefs to shame! Speaking of Hungry Girl, submit a photo of yourself holding up the 200 Under 200 Calories recipe book to media@hungrygirl.com and you might win a shirt. I submitted my “glamour” shot
Don’t mind the sun burn mixed with pastiness mixed w/ I haven’t slept look…
Coming in tomorrow’s post…When Vegan Cookies Look Like This…
you know you’re no Chocolate Covered Katie and really should be cautious when experimenting…Even Frankenstein couldn’t love this experiment gone awry!
Have you guys watched Cook Yourself Thin? Read the book? What do you think?
*p.s. I hate when people ask “do you want to have your cake and eat it too?” OF COURSE I WANT TO HAVE AND EAT MY CAKE! Why would I just want to stare at it? I would also like a scoop of ice cream on the side and maybe a shake to go with it, but that’s not going to happen, is it?
Let’s hope I’m not so cranky tomorrow. This makes me happy:
He’s sleeping and dreaming about calorie-free mice while I write this 
Tags: calories, Cook Yourself Thin, Hungry Girl, nutritional information, vegan cookies
6 People have left comments on this post
“type of guest who suffers from food ignorance more than food attachment issues”
This is classic! I don’t see how you can be food ignorant in this day and age. The show does seem rather, repetative. How many of these do we have to see? Why can’t there be shows on how to motivate yourself for real, how to maintain for life, how to overcome the little voice that is hell bent on making you eat like a pig?? That’s the kind of show I would watch. A show with REAL people who really struggle with their weight or being fit. Hosted by success stories.
well well well…
LOVE IT! I saw a commercial for this last week at the gym but do not have cable so I’m glad you recapped it for me, looks like I’m not missin’ a thing!
Cheery up cranky pants, tomorrow is a new day & I’ll be back – cuz I stalk your blog updates (but don’t worry, I don’t know where ya live!)
Heather – you got me thinking. At first I was like “well The Biggest Loser” shows real people who are struggling with their weight and food issues.” And then my inner voice slapped me and was like “yea…real people with cameras on them, doctors on set, personal trainers and dietitians monitoring them do NOT represent the rest of us.” Then i thought maybe a documentary type show could capture it, and there have been many – i’ve seen them – but it still comes down to the fact that if i knew a camera was on me, i would certainly censor certain behavioral aspects and would be less inclined to eat poorly simply out of fear of shame (and others over-perform for sensationalistic motives).
i’m not sure there can ever be a show that truly teaches all of us how to overcome that demonic little voice that tells us to overeat, or how to motivate ourselves when we’re lacking it. we’re all so different and what gets some of us going, or some of us down, really varies across the spectrum. I know it helps me to see other people who have conquered bad habits, who are thriving in healthy lifestyles, and who still have a sense of humor through it all!
if my response didn’t satisfy you, maybe we can start our own t.v. show to spite Cook Yourself Thin. we can call it “Cook Yourself Fat” and we’ll simply cook disgustingly fatty recipes. that might actually help motivate people more. or make them really hungry for fatty food. not sure yet.
Someone is a wee bit cranky. Must be all the artificial sweetener you are eating from the Hungry Girl cookbook recipes.
I actually like the show. It is a cooking show that adjusts the ingredients to be healthier, adding veggies and taking away some of the fat and calories. It is not a complete manual for how to lose weight. Again…it is a COOKING show, not a complete guide to lose weight. I like the fact they do not use artificial sweeteners. I cannot eat articial sweeteners because they each cause me to become ill in unique and hellish ways. Even if I could, I would choose to not use them because they are unnatural chemicals. If you are that concerned with what goes into your body, you should not eat or drink anything that contained them. If you actually watch the show, you should notice they give a cookbook along with the ingredients to make the 3 dishes they show how to make on the show. By the way, that personal pizza’s calorie count was for the entire pizza, not just a slice. For Pete’s sake, get over yourself. The whole idea of the show is to rework the recipes for problem foods while still feeling like you are treating yourself. And to encourage people to cook at home instead of going out and buying these convenient and unhealthy foods. Some people have unreasonable expectations and cannot take things at face value. Honestly, what is wrong with you? There…that’s MY rant. Now, have a cookie or something and stop bitching!
Hey Melissa, you should check out my post on artificial sweeteners here: http://www.feedmeimcranky.com/?p=1518
I was just watching this show and feeling guilty about the pizza I’d planned to order for dinner. I came across your site trying to look up a Cook Yourself Thin version of pizza. Absolutely brilliant, and spot on.