Lose Weight By Tweaking Grandma's Recipes

Authors Of "Cook Yourself Thin" Take Out Half The Calories With Some Slight Recipe Changes

(CBS)  Think you’re cooking healthy?

Well, here’s the skinny: You may be able to cut half the calories out of your favorite recipes just by substituting a few ingredients with healthier alternatives.

Allison Fishman and Candice Kumai, stars of the Lifetime show "Cook Yourself Thin" and co-authors of a cookbook by the same name, appeared on The Early Show Monday with some of their secret ingredients to give some of Grandma’s recipes low-cal makeovers.

Kumai says the "Cook YOurself Thin" program is "really fun, cute and creative, because we take really great food and make it even better because we're making it healthy. You don't think of eating lettuce or rice cakes or depriving yourself, you think of an actual burger or fries or milkshake that you can have and actually love. It's mainly the lifestyle change and it's genuinely built for women."

The TV show's producers point out that the recipes are designed to be delicious and easy -- just without all those calories! They use clever swaps that will lower amounts of fat and /calories bwithout sacrificing flavor. What;s more, you probably have most of these ingredients already.

Examples Kuami and Fishman had on the show:


Your traditional French toast: 670 calories per serving
Our French toast cups: 353 calories per serving
SECRET INGREDIENT: Skim ricotta cheese

Your pan-fried chicken cutlet: 1000 calories per serving
Our chicken tenders & coleslaw: 513 calories per serving
SECRET INGREDIENT: Corn flakes & buttermilk

Your traditional vanilla cupcake: 550 calories per serving
Our vanilla cupcake: 211 calories per serving
SECRET INGREDIENT: Zucchini & ground almonds

Your chocolate cake: 600 calories per serving
Our mint chocolate cake: 336 calories per serving
SECRET INGREDIENT: Shredded sweet potato

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Want to know what kind of eater you are? Take the "Cook Yourself Thin: Eater ID" quiz: click here.