COOKING CHANNEL JUNE 2012 HIGHLIGHTS
Cooking Channel’s The Culinary Adventures of Baron Ambrosia
Review: Not My Mama’s Meals
Follow Productions is the brainchild of host/producer Gordon Elliot and under his leadership has produced some of the most successful food programming in history. Elliot hosted one of my favorite shoes, Follow That Food as well as Door Knock Dinners. He also made celebrities out of everyday people like master sommelier Andrea Immer Robinson, BBQ enthusiasts Pat and Gina Neely and of course restauranteur Paula Deen.
Follow Productions is the force behind hit shows like Paula’s Best Dishes, Road Tasted and the Chew. With a history of producing shows who’s menus tip towards extravagant ingredients and colossal calorie counts the time has come for a show with a more health conscious treatment. Enter Not My Mama’s Meals.
Mama’s stars my favorite member of the Deen clan, Bobby Deen. Where his brother Jamie inherited their mother’s bigger-than-life personality the youngest Deen has always seemed like a down to earth guy that you’d like to hang out with. Although his schtick isn’t as large as the rest of his family, Bobby still has the same on-camera charm.
In this series, Bobby takes his mother’s recipes and transforms her Southern comfort food into lighter, lean, yet still delicious dishes. Each week, the camera follows Bobby as he tries to recreate one of his Mama’s famous meals with healthy substitutes that cut down on calories and fat, but still deliver on taste.
The timing of the show is perfect as recently Paula Deen revealed that she suffers from Diabetes. If I had to guess I’d say she and Bobby have been working on her diet for a while now and the result of their efforts fuels the recipes for the new show. But that is just my own speculation.
In the most recent episode I viewed, Bobby was joined in his NYC loft by friend and fellow healthy eating guru Daphne Oz (co-host of the Chew and daughter of Dr. Oz). The stunning blond helped out as Deen streamlined his mother’s shrimp and grits into shrimp and polenta then cut 600 plus calories from her fried apple pies. Each episode ends with Mama trying her son’s reboots of her recipes and casting her critique upon them.
I have to say that Not My Mama’s Meals is one of the best shows to come from one of the top production companies of food programming. Deen’s recipes are packed with flavor despite the reduction in fat and calories of those that inspire them. This show is a winner.
For two decades now Food Network, Cooking Channel and other networks have heard cries from viewers that they want a show about healthy eating. The problem is that whenever one hits the airwaves those same people who whined about healthy food shows never watch them. Ever since the old Graham Kerr show of the early 90’s cable networks have struggled to find another healthy food show that people will actually watch. Not My Mama’s Meals may just be that show.
Not My Mama’s Meals airs Sundays at 12:30pm ET on the Cooking Channel.
Melissa d’Arabian Set to Drop 5 lbs with Good Housekeeping
Cooking Channel Press Release:
NEW YORK, NY – December 7, 2011 – Cooking Channel kick-starts the New Year with two new series designed to help viewers lose weight and change their eating habits. In Not My 
Mama’s Meals, premiering Wednesday, January 4th at 9:00pm ET/6:00pm PT, Bobby Deen takes his mother’s (Paula Deen) recipes and transforms her southern comfort food into lighter, leaner, yet still delicious versions of her dishes, with special guest appearances by Paula Deen, Daphne Oz, among others. Emphasizing small changes that deliver big results, Drop 5 lbs with Good Housekeeping premieres Saturday, January 21st at 11am ET/8am PT. Based on the magazine’s popular weight loss column, the series is hosted by Melissa d’Arabian (Ten Dollar Dinners with Melissa d’Arabian), and also features expert advice from fitness guru Ashley Borden, Good Housekeeping Nutrition Director Samantha Cassetty and Aarti Sequeira (Aarti Party).
“After a season of over-indulging, January is the perfect time to introduce Cooking Channel viewers to Not My Mama’s Meals and Drop 5 lbs,” said Bruce Seidel, Senior Vice President, Programming, Cooking Channel. “Both shows emphasize healthier foods that are still delicious – with expertise from Bobby Deen, who prepares his mother Paula’s world famous dishes with a lighter touch, and tips from Good Housekeeping’s Drop 5 lbs ‘small change, big result’ philosophy.”
Each week on Not My Mama’s Meals Bobby Deen will recreate some of his mother’s famous meals with healthy substitutions that cut down on calories and fat, but still deliver on taste. Bobby begins his culinary quest by putting a unique spin on two of his mom’s dishes, her Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding and Chocolate Mousse Pie, by whipping up a Fresh Fruit Bread Pudding and Frozen Chocolate Pie. The Bag Lady herself (Paula Deen) makes a surprise visit to help Bobby lighten up two dishes that go way back – her Pimento Cheese Sandwiches and Gooey Butter Cake.
Designed to make weight loss easy and manageable, Drop 5 lbs with Good Housekeeping episodes are filled with cooking and shopping tips, workout techniques and dining out do’s and don’ts. From slimmed down versions of indulgent dishes like Fettucini Alfredo and Sesame Shrimp Stir Fry to fat blasting fitness plans and nutritional advice, this series offers a new approach to eating better, getting healthier and getting the most out of life.
Not My Mama’s Meals is produced by Follow Productions.
Drop 5 lbs with Good Housekeeping is produced by Scripps Networks, in partnership with Good Housekeeping.
