It's said that y'all shouldn't trust a skinny chef. But a healthy 1? That's a unlike story entirely. Before Ariane Duarte smoked her opponents on the first season of Cook Your Ass Off, a new TV cooking competition in which chefs compete to overhaul America's guiltiest pleasures (information technology airs on upwave, on the HLN network), she had a bigger claiming: giving her own diet a makeover. She realized that being healthy isn't near giving upwards things or eating bland food, and this has made her a improve—and yes, svelter—chef at CulinAriane, her Montclair, New Bailiwick of jersey, restaurant. "My food is all about using dandy flavors and feeling good," she says.

When she was growing up around an Italian-American table, feeling proficient meant something different: by and large, digging into pizza, macaroni, and meatballs with abandon. "As a teenager, information technology started to take hold of upwardly with me," she says. "My family was getting heavier, and I knew I had the same genes and habits. I had stints of trying weight-loss pills or OD'ing on grapefruit, but those aren't long-term solutions."

In her twenties, Ariane barhopped with friends from culinary school and couldn't say no to a burger run. Her habits didn't better after graduation, when she spent long days cooking in New York Urban center restaurants, taste-testing dishes, and then grabbing late-dark meals after work. "I was never massively overweight," she says, "merely what kicked me into gear was that feeling: I was sluggish, I wasn't sleeping well, and fifty-fifty my 'fat pants' were pinching."

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Despite working with nutrient, Ariane had never learned about things like portion control until she joined a grouping weight-loss programme. It was an eye-opener: Meals didn't accept to be greasy to sense of taste amazing. She learned to make roasted potatoes with just a little nonstick spray, and to prepare sautéed veggies with flavor-boosting garlic.

Whittling away 15 or so pounds that summer—she would later employ the aforementioned know-how to driblet weight after each of her two daughters was born—left her with more stamina at work. And in a family experiencing obesity and heart disease, Ariane is proud of cooking her mode out of the doctor'southward role.

"I was fatigued to competing on Melt Your Ass Off because I want to show that good-for-you food tin can taste great," she says. "You can enhance flavors with herbs and spices rather than hiding them in fatty."

On the testify, Ariane transformed even wacky ingredients like frog legs and blowfish with finesse. But she'due south out to prove that healthy nutrient doesn't need to exist farthermost—or at all hard: "My favorites now are a basic salad, a roast chicken, or a lean steak on the grill. Everyone can cook this nutrient. Actually, the simpler, the better."

Have Stock
Here's what Ariane says every home melt should always have handy:

1. Olive Oil
An essential must-accept for heart-healthy sautes

2. Vinegar
Red, white, vino, cider: All add together totally guilt-free flavor.

3. Canned Beans
A perfect go-to side dish with tons of poly peptide and fiber

iv. Low-Sodium Vegetable Or Chicken Stock
The savory base for endless filling soups

v. Finishing Salt
Try fleur de sel or selgris every bit a zero-cal garnish.

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