CHRIS SMITH: Welcome to the Mealtime Masters Cook- Off. You've met our contestants and heard their stories. Now let's see if they've got what it takes to cook for their health and the title of Mealtime Master. Let's welcome our competitors. First up to the stove is Christopher Kloko. He's been managing his diabetes since the age of 5. He lives in New York City and loves to take a bite out of the Big Apple, a passion that can sometimes get his blood sugar levels in a little trouble. He's here to turn his beef tacos into a diabetes friendly entree even his wife will love. Our second contestant is Cheryl Carriere. Cheryl grew up in Cape Cod by way of the south, and likes to stick to her southern roots when it comes to her food. Let's see if she can make a chicken dish, without the fat and cholesterol, that her whole family can enjoy. Our final contestant, meet Jodie Wasserman. She's a standup comedian who doesn't take her diabetes lightly. She loves her comfort food but would feel better knowing that her lasagna was heart healthy and more nutritious. Christopher, Cheryl, Jodie. Welcome to the Mealtime Masters Cook-Off Kitchen. The Cook-Off SMITH: The rules are simple. Create an unforgettable meal using any of the ingredients we shopped for. Throughout the competition, I'll US.GLU.12.05.054 1
be stopping by each of your stove tops to see how you're incorporating what we have learned. When you've finished cooking your meal, you need to plate a single serving of your dish so it's ready for me to judge. I will critique your dish based on taste, presentation, and nutrition. Then I'll reveal who will be going home and who will be crowned the Mealtime Master. Okay, off to the cooking stations. KLOKO: All right, so, first thing we're going to do is we're going to start on the fresh salsa for the dish. So Chris Smith told me that I could use a lot of fresh vegetables and herbs and a lot of spices, make this a lot healthier than what I was doing before. So let's start with the onion. CARRIERE: I'm making an oven-baked chicken as opposed to a deep-fried chicken. It's healthier because you're not cooking it in oil. WASSERMAN: Now, this is the big surprise. Have an open mind. I have taken out the pasta from the lasagna. Okay? And we're going to use portobello mushrooms. I think this is going to surprise Chris Smith. It's a radical move. He might love it. He might hate it. I don't know. But all I know is, it's taking the carbs out of a lasagna. KLOKO: I'm not quite certain how hot Chef Chris really likes his food. So I'm going to try and get all the seeds out of here. I'm a little bit US.GLU.12.05.054 2
concerned that it may be too hot, but again, I want to give it a lot of flavoring because I was taking that sugar and sodium out of the original recipe. CARRIERE: As an alternative to white potatoes, I sliced up some sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes are very healthy. When you have diabetes, all you can think about is "I can't eat this," "I can't eat that." And even when you eat healthy, you think it's not going to taste good. But I learned from Chef Chris that you can make substitutions, and it can taste delicious. WASSERMAN: So now here's a tomato sauce. You have to read labels because a lot of tomato sauces do have high fructose corn syrup. They have sugar. And chemicals that you really don't need. SMITH: I can barely wait to check in on all the contestants and see how they're doing. First stop: Cheryl. So Cheryl, we talked about a lot of different choices available. Tell me about the choice with the breading? CARRIERE: Well, when I was a child, I had an aunt who used to coat her chicken with corn flakes. SMITH: What I love about that is we talked about the original dish which is fried chicken, and I think a good example of that is that crispiness that comes from that. CARRIERE: Exactly. US.GLU.12.05.054 3
SMITH: And I love this choice that you made because I think from this you're going to retain that crispiness in this as you bake it, it looks like, is that correct? CARRIERE: Yes, absolutely. SMITH: Wonderful. CARRIERE: And it's going to be delicious. SMITH: Cheryl, it looks like you're doing great. I love the choices that you're making. I'm going to let you go and go check on those other contestants. CARRIERE: All right, I'll see you later. SMITH: Okay. SMITH: Christopher, what's going on? KLOKO: Chef Chris, how are you? SMITH: All right. Well, you're looking like you're styling here. You've got some onions, tomatoes, you've got jalapenos. KLOKO: I'm trying, I'm trying. SMITH: Looking good. The garlic, you're doing great. Real nice and slow... you got that. Another thing you have here is the jalapenos, and what's interesting about jalapenos, or any pepper, they have an element of that heat coming into it. You know, where do you want that - you've got a low, a medium or high, or 1 through 10. US.GLU.12.05.054 4
So figure how many you want to have in here, and this is really important, because a lot of people tend to over-add that jalapeno and it's so spicy it overwhelms the dish. KLOKO: Okay. SMITH: Christopher, it looks like you're doing well, and I'm looking forward to those tacos. KLOKO: Sounds good. SMITH: All right, man. SMITH: Jodie! WASSERMAN: Oh, why, hello. SMITH: I came in here. I followed the smell. This is looking awesome. Lok at this. WASSERMAN: Yes. I am making my version of a healthy lasagna. There's some surprises. I'm not going to tell you yet, but it's a big surprise. I hope you're happy with it. SMITH: I know we talked about different substitutions with the pasta, so I see you've got all these changes going in. I can't wait to see how this finished lasagna looks. WASSERMAN: All right, well, we'll see you in a little while. SMITH: Okay, good luck. WASSERMAN: He has no idea. US.GLU.12.05.054 5
KLOKO: Okay, so now we've started cooking the turkey here and as it starts to cook, now is when you want to incorporate the spices because I really want to give it some great, great flavor. And now we're going to mix this up. And again this - the fresh taco seasoning that we did here, with all these spices, is much, much healthier than those prepackaged things you're going to find in the store. CARRIERE: I'm going to put the chicken in now and you're - we're going to cook it for approximately 45 minutes. WASSERMAN: Okay, so, now I've peeled these portobello mushrooms. Put them in the pan. You've got to watch these because you don't want them to burn. SMITH: Time to get out of the way so the contestants can get in their zone and bring their meals to a perfect culmination. (Shots showing contestants cooking) CARRIERE: I know I have a nutritious meal but I'm going to work on my presentation a little bit because I want it to look perfect. WASSERMAN: And there you have your mushroom lasagna with tomato. KLOKO: I want to clean this up, get it ready for presentation, and hopefully, come out the winner of Mealtime Master. US.GLU.12.05.054 6
SMITH: I am so impressed by the contestants and their drive to earn the Mealtime Masters crown. From prepping to plating, they were all about making everything perfect, and it showed. [END OF VIDEO] US.GLU.12.05.054 7