Elsies Turkey Tacos and Arroz con Pollo or Getting Thin and Loving Food

Elsies Turkey Tacos and Arroz con Pollo: More than 100 Latin-Flavored, Great-Tasting Recipes for Working Moms

Author: Arlen Gargagliano

From a reality TV star and mother of six–quick and easy recipes for busy working parents

On the first season of Hell’s Kitchen, working mom Elsie Ramos was clearly the audience favorite, though she didn’t ultimately win. She even drew accolades from curmudgeonly chef Gordon Ramsay, who praised her no-nonsense approach to cooking and her simple but delicious Turkey Tacos and Chicken Soup. But while competing on the show may have been tough, it was no tougher than the challenge Elsie faced every night after a long day at work–getting a tasty dinner on the table fast for her longtime boyfriend and their hungry boys.

Now, in Elsie’s Turkey Tacos and Arroz con Pollo, Elsie shares more than 100 of her tried-and-true, Latin-inspired recipes for family-friendly weeknight meals. As a working mom, Elsie knows the pressures of putting satisfying, healthy meals on the table night after night–her kids’ typical greeting is not "Hello" but "What’s for dinner?" Elsie’s recipes offer ready-made solutions for great-tasting, easy-to-prepare meals, from one-dish favorites like Baked Ziti and Shepherd’s Pie to dishes that draw on Elsie’s Puerto Rican heritage–Arroz con Pollo, Fried Sweet Plantains, and Puerto Rican Baked Stuffed Meatloaf, among others.

With chapters on soups and stews, appetizers and sides, rice dishes, other main dishes, and drinks, along with Elsie’s rules for simplifying shopping and weeknight cooking, Elsie’s Turkey Tacos and Arroz con Pollo will be the go-to cookbook for parents everywhere who want real-world solutions for everyday dinner dilemmas.

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Getting Thin and Loving Food: 200 Food-Loving Recipes to Get You Where You Want to Be

Author: Kathleen Daelemans

Her inspiring story is familiar to millions of TV viewers. A decade ago, Kathleen Daelemans was unexpectedly drafted to be the head chef of a spa café frequented by movie stars, rock stars, and sports superstars. One problem - a big one: Chef Kathleen weighed 205 pounds and was a size 22. Refusing to sacrifice her love of food to lose weight, she invented a cuisine that earned raves from Esquire, the New York Times, Bon Appétit, and the Los Angeles Times. Kathleen herself lost more than 75 pounds, and her show on the Food Network, the station's first and only diet show, became a smash hit.
In Getting Thin and Loving Food!, Kathleen returns, with more than 200 super-simple recipes that put flavor first, plus hundreds of culinary and motivational secrets to help you achieve your healthiest weight while keeping you "Henry-the-Eighth happy and satisfied." From pleasurable power breakfasts like Oatmeal-Orange Raisin Bars, to meals like Cashew Chicken, Skirt Steak Fajitas, Thai Shrimp, and Stir-Fried Ginger Pork, to sumptuous desserts like Dark Chocolate Soufflé Cake and Strawberry Cheesecake Mousse, Kathleen's food combines down-to-earth practicality with vibrant flavors. Crammed with candid advice, task-oriented tips, and success stories from Kathleen's many fans, Getting Thin and Loving Food! gives you everything you need to jumpstart your new lifestyle and keep you motivated - and laughing - along the way.

Publishers Weekly

This sequel to the bestselling Cooking Thin with Chef Kathleen, from the host of the Food Network's popular show of the same name, is as much of a self-help book as a cookbook. Chef Kathleen's secret to losing weight is a matter of behavior modification rather than self-deprivation: set a goal, meet it, reward yourself and repeat. The good news is that many of these dishes are so appealing that eating a healthy dinner can be a risk-free reward in itself. Ahi Tuna with Napa Cabbage Slaw, Chinese Chicken Salad and Pan-Fried Pot Stickers rely on Asian staples like ginger, soy, chili paste and rice vinegar that deliver flavor without fat and are easy to keep on hand. (A word of caution: readers who don't like cilantro will be turned off by almost half of the recipes in this book.) Daelemans targets busy moms trying to satisfy finicky husbands and kids, and includes plenty of recognizable crowd-pleasers like School-Night Family Chicken Burritos and Skirt Steak Fajitas. The trick is smaller portions of protein on a plate loaded up with creative fruit and vegetable sides, and Daelemans makes a strong case for time-saving tools like the microplane grater for ginger, garlic and citrus zest and a thin-slicing mandoline for quick slaws. She also recommends judicious use of the microwave for steamed rice and fish, no-stick frittatas and even homemade jam. Although the book's chatty, pep-talking tone can be a bit much, it's so full of great ideas readers won't mind what it's missing: extra calories. (Mar. 25) Forecast: Daelemans chronicled her own weight loss (from a size 22 to a size 6) in Good Housekeeping, so readers might recognize her name. She'll go on a national author tour and will copromote this book with the President's Council for Physical Fitness and the American Diabetes Association. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

In this follow-up to her best-selling Cooking Thin with Chef Kathleen, Daelemans offers more simple, fresh, and appealing low-calorie recipes, along with words of wisdom and support for her many fans. (Her popular television series, Cooking Thin, is the only diet program to appear on the Food Network.) Her first book recounted the story of how she lost 75 pounds after she became the chef at a restaurant serving spa cuisine; here she provides other tips for losing weight and keeping it off while being able to enjoy food. In a relaxed but realistic tone, Daelemans serves up simple recipes organized into categories such as "Meals for Nights When They're Getting the Best of You" and "Little Plates, Appetizers, and Lunches Suitable for Royalty." For all cookery and diet collections. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Table of Contents:

	Acknowledgments	ix
	Introduction	1
	Make the Commitment: Your Body Is Your Temple. You Wanna Live There or in a Warehouse?	11
	Motivation: It's in There. And You Don't Even Have to Dig to the Back of Your Closet to Get It	19
	Accountability: Exercise Your Abilities. Count Your Rewards	33
	Support: Task-Oriented Weight-Loss Secrets	43
	KD's Cupboards Exposed and a Whole Lot More	53
	Mini-Max Meals: Minimum Input, Maximum Satisfaction Guaranteed	63
	Meals for Nights When They're Getting the Best of You	65
	Pajama Meals: When You Have the Time to Cook and Want to Play	123
	It Tastes Just Like Chicken, Honey: Barely-Any-Meat Meals	161
	The Queen RSVPed! Little Plates, Appetizers, and Lunches Suitable for Royalty	203
	Breakfast for Kings	243
	Quick Sides	259
	Sauces, Salsas, and Condiments: Really Cool Things You Ought to Make	285
	Fruit and Chocolate	297
	Index	325