Top 3 Cooking Tips From 12 Seasons At The Ranch

In my 12 seasons as nutritionist on The Biggest Loser, interviewing and coaching each and every contestant, I learned a great deal about the most common mistakes people make around the kitchen that can lead to weight gain. I also spent a great deal of time working with the contestants and developed simple and easy-to-follow guidelines.

When the Food Network's Healthy Eats blog asked me about some of my top cooking tips for weight loss, recently these are the three I thought of immediately:

Put Flavor First! Steamed broccoli and grilled chicken may help you drop pounds but it’s not a sustainable eating plan -- too boring! You have to put FLAVOR FIRST. Having the right condiments, dressings and sauces on hand can turn a ho-hum meal into an extraordinary culinary experience. My favorite store bought items to keep on hand include, salsa, capers, no-sugar fruit spreads, guacamole, horseradish, mustards galore, low-sodium soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and I’m the Queen of homemade dressings, sauces, dips and “mayos.”Make extras or big batches: Whenever you cook, freeze half in individual containers. When hunger strikes you’ll always have a cup of soup, a pasta dish or a scrumptious leftover to reheat in minutes or take with you. No excuses for visiting the drive thru!Always have a bowl of fresh fruit in sight: Keep containers in the fridge of freshly cut veggies to graze on or to quickly heat or sauté. Most of us eat mindlessly much more often than we realize. If you’re going to graze anyway, feel good about it!

Read the full interview on The Food Network's Healthy Eats Blog. And learn more about putting Flavor First at FlavorFirst.com.

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