I Can't Believe It's Not Fattening!: Over 150 Ridiculously Easy Recipes for the Super Busy

by Devin Alexander

Book Overview

From the New York Times Bestselling author of The Biggest Loser cookbooks: amazingly simple, super-speedy, and decadent recipes that taste sinful but are 100 percent guilt-free

Devin Alexander lives by the motto that twenty minutes in the kitchen can save you 3 hours on the treadmill The chef and author of The Biggest Loser Cookbook has maintained a weight loss of fifty-five pounds for almost twenty years by transforming...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0767931572
• ISBN13: 9780767931571
• Release Date: March 2010
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter Publishers
• Length: 230 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 7.3" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Great recipes!

I still enjoy watching Devin Alexander on Fit-TV reruns! I love to make her recipes, as they use ingredients that are easy to find. It's real food that is healthy. I like the fact that she names names...she tells you what she brand she used to make the recipe. I have over 100 cookbooks and I can honestly say her cookbooks are ones I have cooked more recipes out of than any others.

"Twenty minutes in the kitchen can save you three hours on the treadmill"

I greatly enjoy cooking, and have a good supply of delicious recipes in my collection, dishes my wife really likes and dishes that almost always turn out well. A number take quite a bit of time to prepare -- relaxing and fun for me -- and I make these when there's lots of time, especially those that freeze well. That way I have a good supply of low fat, delicious meals always on hand. However, we are always on the lookout for delicious, healthy meals that can be prepared from scratch in a short period of time. My wife has excellent (demanding) tastes, and is wonderful at putting together menus where the dishes enhance each other. I showed her this book, and she picked a dozen dishes she thought we would like. I've prepared six so far -- all six real winners. Breakfast Fried Rice Pomegranate Oatmeal Baked Brie Turkey Wrap Pierogies with Kielbasa and Sauerkraut Pan Fried Old Bay Salmon Mexican Mac and Cheese 70 % of the recipes can be made with natural and organic ingredients; Alexander includes a list of those that can't. Of course, she provides nutritional date for each recipe. This book is a real winner; I'm happy to have another weapon in our arsenal of good, healthy foods. Robert C. Ross 2010

I can't believe how good these recipes taste!

My hero Devin Alexander lost 55 pounds and has kept them off over a decade. She did it by taking all her favorite foods and creating healthier versions. She has written bestselling cookbooks for the Biggest Loser and under her own name. She also has her own cooking show on cable. This book is a different format from her earlier ones. First, the drawing of Devin on the front is remarkably similar to the one for the Hungry Girl series. The pages are slick and glossy and the color pages of the recipes are gorgeous. I made a list of all my favorite foods and recipes from restaurants, food courts at all my favorite shopping malls, county fairs, takeout menus, and comfort foods. I wrote them all down and started looking for cookbooks that gave me great tasting healthy alternatives. I had totally given up on burritos - until I tried her Fully Loaded Turkey Burrito Pocket. At 300 calories and 15 minute prep time, this is one of my favorite meals. I love tuna so the Spicy Tuna Salad (with chili sauce) was a new taste buzz for me. (I usually put Chesapeake Bay Seafood seasoning on my tuna; some cracked pepper and heat it up for a few minutes.) One of my favorite snacks is the Faux French Onion Dip (made with Greek yoghurt) and the Quick and Crunchy Potato Chips (made from real potatoes). All in all Devin continues to be extremely passionate about cooking and has fun with the healthy recipes she creates. I highly recommend all of her books.

She's a genius!

About a year ago, I first heard about Devin Alexander when reading a review for a "diet cookbook" by someone else. The quote was something like "anything by Devin Alexander is better than this". So, I bought the Biggest Loser cookbook, then The Most Decadent Diet Ever and Fast Food Fix. Now, I have I Can't Believe It's Not Fattening, and I am firmly convinced Devin Alexander is a genius. Her "secret" is this: food doesn't have to be plain to be healthy. Her recipes appeal to the food lover who wants to be healthier or lose weight-without compromising taste. Let's face it, most of us do not crave plain grilled chicken and steamed vegetables. All of her cookbooks are a little different: the Biggest Loser is a little more on the VERY low fat and calorie side; Fast Food Fix is geared for the fast food lover; Decadent Diet-well, I can't imagine who wouldn't love that one...unless it's someone who wants everything to be quick. I Can't Believe It's Not Fattening is specifically written to appeal to people who don't have a lot of time to cook. From that standpoint, I think she hits her mark and then some. The recipes sound fabulous, tasty, and EASY! So far, I've had the book for about 48 hours and have made the mini frittatas with herbed goat cheese, the pb & j oatmeal, breakfast fried rice, pierogies with kielbasa and sauerkraut, quick crunchy potato chips (twice) and fixed up french onion dip, and the chocolate banana boat. And worked two-twelve hour+ days. I loved every one of them. I can't claim to have tried every recipe in the book yet; I can tell you that I'm picky and demanding, and I have not yet found one of her recipes that I didn't like. Most of these recipes taste just as "decadent" as her previous recipes but with more "shortcuts"...using storebought dressings, jarred marinara, or herbs in a tube. Personally, I prefer making homemade salad dressings or my own fat free marinara, but there's no reason that these couldn't be substituted IF you don't mind the additional time. If you are looking for healthy, low fat food that will taste fabulous AND not take up too much time to cook, THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU!

Great addition to your kitchen!

I love cookbooks and trying new recipes. This book is excellent in that the recipes are all quick and relatively painless and they are healthy. I have tried several already and those have been kid-appetite friendly, tasty and truly are ridiculously easy to make.