Healthy Recipes From Oprah's Diet Guru

Jan. 20, 2008 — -- Even if you've slipped up on your New Year's resolution to eat better, hope remains. Bob Greene, who became famous for helping talk show queen Oprah Winfrey lose weight, wants to help.

His best-selling book, "The Best Life Diet," is helping thousands to slim down. His plan has three phases and even includes information about which six foods to avoid. Get some of the book's featured recipes below.

Greene's six foods to avoid:

Soda is empty calories and sugar, so you have to cut it out. Instead, drink water, low-fat or fat-free milk, or tea. Fruit juices are good too, but remember, fruit juice, not fruit drink.

Transfats. They clog your arteries, they're high in calories, and they may even make your body store fat in the abdominal area. Aside from being unsightly, it's also bad for your health. You'll find these in cookies and baked goods which might be made with margarine.

Fried foods. I mean, even if you use a good fat oil like olive oil to fry foods, anything fried has a lot of calories. Try things that are oven baked instead of fries. There are calories either way, but oven baked has fewer.

White bread. You don't have to get rid of carbs entirely, but white bread is made from refined grains, which are stripped of their most nutritional parts, so you're eating empty calories. Instead, we want you eating bread made form 100 percent whole wheat or whole grains.

High-fat milk and yogurt. Use 1 percent or non-fat dairy in their place, which are often just as good, only with lower cholesterol, fat, and calories.

Breakfast

Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Banana Smoothie

Makes 2 servings

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

2 cups 8th Continent Light Chocolate Soymilk

2 tablespoons Smart Balance Chunky Peanut Butter

½ cup Better'n Eggs All Whites 100 percent liquid egg whites

2 bananas, frozen

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth, about 2 minutes.

Nutritional Information

1 Serving

Calories: 326

Protein: 18 g

Carbohydrate: 43 g

Dietary Fiber: 4 g

Total Fat: 10 g

Saturated Fat: 1.6 g

Cholesterol: 0 mg

Sodium: 336 mg

Calcium: 306 mg

NOTE: Round out your breakfast with ½ cup of blackberries (fresh or frozen, thawed) and a Wasa cracker spread with a teaspoon of Smart Balance spread to bring you up to about 400 calories and 9 g of fiber.

Lunch

Chicken Wrap with Fresh Basil

Makes 1 serving

Prep Time: 12 minutes

Total Time: 12 minutes

Ingredients

½ cup (2.5 oz.) rotisserie chicken, off bone, skin removed, and chopped

½ stalk celery, chopped

5 baby carrots, diced

1 large white button mushroom, sliced

1 teaspoon finely chopped red onion

1 tablespoon Hellmann's Canola Cholesterol-free mayo

1 tablespoon mustard

5 fresh basil leaves, shredded

1 Flatout Multi-Grain Flatbread

Directions

1. Combine chicken, celery, carrots, mushroom, onion, mayonnaise, mustard and basil in a medium-sized bowl. Season with salt.

2. On one of the rounded ends of the flatbread, place chicken mixture and roll.

Nutritional Information:

Calories: 300

Protein: 30 g

Carbohydrate: 26 g

Dietary Fiber: 11 g

Total Fat: 11 g

Saturated Fat: 0.8 g

Cholesterol: 53 mg

Sodium: 733 mg

Calcium: 71 mg

NOTE: Round out this meal by having a heaping cup of chopped fruit topped with a 6-oz. of light yogurt (i.e., Yoplait) .

Dinner

Rotini with Wilted Spinach, White Beans and Tomato Basil Sauce

Makes 4 Servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon Bertolli Extra Virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon minced garlic (fresh or jarred)

4 cups fresh baby spinach

1 cup white beans, cooked from scratch (or canned, no-salt added beans, rinsed and drained)

½ box (approximately 7.25 oz) Barilla PLUS Rotini, cooked according to package directions and drained

1 cup Barilla Tomato & Basil sauce

8 basil leaves, rolled and sliced to create ribbons

¼ cup grated Parmesan

Directions:

1. Using a large non-stick sauté pan, sauté garlic in oil.

2. Add spinach and toss until almost wilted.

3. Add beans, pasta and sauce. Toss until heated through.

4. On the final toss, add in the fresh basil.

5. Top with fresh pepper and Parmesan and serve immediately.

Nutritional Information:

1 Serving

Calories: 360

Protein: 18 g

Carbohydrate: 55 g

Dietary Fiber: 7 g

Total Fat: 8

Saturated Fat: 1.6 g

Cholesterol: 4 mg

Sodium: 427 mg

Calcium: 161 mg

NOTE: Serve with a salad of mixed greens, tomatoes, and 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts, tossed with Wish-Bone Spritzer Balsamic Breeze Vinaigrette Dressing.

Snacks

These high calcium snacks are about 185 calories each. Depending on calorie needs, have one or two snacks daily.

1. Crackers and Cheese; 2 slices Wasa crispbread (i.e. Hearty or Multigrain) topped with 1½ ounces reduced fat cheddar or Swiss.

2. Yogurt and almonds. 6-oz. Yoplait Light such as Blueberry Patch (or any flavor) topped with½ ounce (about 11) almonds

3. Apple Tea Latte.

Latte: Bring to boil 1 cup 8th Continent Original Soymilk with a small apple (chopped, skin and seeds included) and a teaspoon honey. Steep a bag of Lipton Black Pearl pyramid tea into soymilk mixture, remove after 3 minutes. Strain and serve.

Serve with a small slice whole grain toast, spread with a teaspoon of Smart Balance Buttery Spread.

Treats

Have no more than 150 calories daily of the following:

Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwiches (or Cones)

Edy's Fruit Bars

Shopping List

2 Bananas

Apple (small)

6-ounce bag spinach

Garlic (or, get jarred minced garlic)

Small container fresh basil

1 jar Smart Balance Chunky Peanut Butter

1 can white beans, rinsed and drained

1 box Barilla Plus Rotini

1 jar Barilla Tomato Basil sauce

Bertolli Extra Virgin olive oil

Wasa Multigrain, Hearty, or other Wasa with Best Life Approved seal

Almonds (at least 1/2 oz.)

Lipton Black Pearl pyramid tea

Honey

Whole wheat bread

Better'n Eggs All Whites (16 oz. carton)

Grated or shredded Parmesan (at least 1 ounce)

Reduced fat cheddar (i.e., Cabot 50%) or Swiss cheese

Smart Balance Buttery Spread, original, 67%

1 bottle 8th Continent Light Chocolate Soymilk

1 bottle 8th Continent Original Soymilk

Yoplait Light

Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwiches (or Cones)

Edy's Fruit Bars