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I was shocked to see how much weight Rachel Ray has gained recently with her appearance on the daytime emmy awards.

Maybe it’s the new found celebrity she is experiencing…maybe it’s all the hustle and bustle of producing 3 shows simultaneously and travelling all around the globe (tough work, I guess) shooting her “40 Dollars A Day” show. Maybe, just maybe…she’s eating all the greasy food she makes on TV.

Having gained a considerable amount of weight myself over the years, in 2006 I decided that 234 lbs was unhealthy for me. I used to be a svelt 175 back when I was bike racing. I probably even weighed less than that…but the point is last year I joined weight watchers and have since not only shed 15.8 lbs, I have kept it off. I absolutely refuse to gain that weight back. There’s nothing like realizing you aren’t carrying a few extra 5lb bags of flour around your midsection anymore. My knees stopped hurting, I can breathe much better now and for the most part I sleep much better.

Imagine my surprise to see Rachel Ray on the daytime emmy awards presenting and how much weight she has gained. I realize the television puts on a few extra pounds visually, but…did you see her? In general I don’t think your hips are supposed to be wider than your shoulders…that’s usually a really bad sign.

I really don’t like being critical of other people like this, but there’s a reason I am saying all this.

First of all Rachel, the food you make isn’t “good and good for you”. I watched your 30 minute meal show about some chinese chicken dish you made and the amount of oil you used was staggering. In Weight Watchers terms, your “nutritious” chicken dish which you called “Chipotle Cashew Chicken” is a whopping 19 points a serving. And the recipe makes 6 servings.

There’s no reason to make food so fattening. Even using too much “EVOO” isn’t healthy, and it’s one of the best oils you can use. You could easily make the recipe lower in fat by using one tenth the amount of oil you used. Chicken especially doesn’t need to fry in so much oil since the water in the skin will help steam it anyway.

Second, just because it’s not red meat doesn’t mean it’s healthier necessarily. There are several cuts of meats that are as nutritious or better than chicken and turkey and if you grind them up for burgers they even taste better. I don’t mind a turkey burger now and again, but i’ll buy those pre-made. If I want delicious burgers I’m gonna go with a lean top sirloin and some ribeye with the extra fat trimmed off. Red meats have other nutrients that chicken and turkey don’t like essential amino and fatty acids as well as vitamin B, zinc and iron.

Lastly, your portions are just too big. I realize some people are quantity eaters and not quality eaters, but stuffing your face with a huge helping of anything (except fruits and vegetables) isn’t healthy. Nobody ever got fat eating too much fruit or vegetables, it’s just not possible. That’s not to say a big juicy burger and french fries is a forbidden, on the contrary. I make it a point to have one meal a week that is basically a splurge. On Thursday evenings I get a cheeseburger, small french fries and a 6 piece chicken nuggets from McDonald’s. Sometimes I don’t even get the cheeseburger…but I know when I am doing it so I can plan for it and not ruin my “diet”.

So my message in all this rambling is, please, do yourself and your viewing public a favor and start making actual healthy food. I know your 30 minute show is about helping the busy person make a healthy meal in a short amount of time, but the food isn’t healthy when you are finished cooking. I’m sure that chipotle cashew chicken was delicious. It should be with all that fat. Seriously, there was about a half cup of olive oil or more in it. Use some measuring tools instead of eyeballing everything, you would be surprised how much your eyes can overestimate.

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