“Don’t underestimate the power of a new recipe,” dietitian, nutritionist and author Ilana Muhlstein told the Journal.

“When I have clients who feel stuck and frustrated with their weight loss … I have to change the whole conversation,” she said. “Sometimes it’s a cabbage steak, a really good slaw or, zoodles or a yummy spaghetti squash bowl that takes you out of that place of feeling stuck and into a place of thriving.”

Muhlstein is the author of “You Can Drop It” and founder of the 2B Mindset weight loss program. Her first cookbook, “Love The Food That Loves You Back: 100 Recipes That Serve Up Big Portions and Super Nutritious Foods,” will be out in January.

“There’s a lot of food-like products out in the world that people associate with comfort foods, but really just leave you overall not feeling great,” she said. “As someone who’s a registered dietician but also loves delicious large volumes of yummy food, I knew I had to cut the noise and show people that good food can taste really good, too.”

Muhlstein, who battled with childhood obesity, said she had to redefine comfort food for herself.

After Muhlstein’s parents got divorced when she was four years old, she would go to synagogue just to get all the candy associated with shabbat and to birthday parties for all the pizza, ice cream and cake.

“Food was definitely controlling me more than I was controlling it,” she said. “It was a really unhealthy place to be both in my mind and my body.”

At age eight, Muhlstein’s doctor, concerned about her health, sent her to weight loss camp. She would lose 30 pounds only to gain it all back and more the following school year.

She repeated this “vicious yo-yo dieting cycle” for seven or eight years before coming to the realization that it was her mindset that needed to change.

“I had to figure out a plan that would work for me and my lifestyle,” she said. “At the time all the dieticians were telling me small portions – chicken should be the size of a deck of cards and you shouldn’t add any butter or salt to your vegetables; all these things that were not enjoyable and not sustainable.”

Muhlstein realized that a few small swaps could make a huge impact on her confidence and energy, as well as her weight loss results. Using her unique method and perspective throughout high school and into college, she lost 50 pounds on her own and decided to make a career of it.

Losing weight and eating healthy, she explains, comes down to changing your mindset. This applies to what you eat, your relationship with food and how you take care of yourself.

While many feel it’s easier to order food in, Mulstein says that simple recipes and the right tools make a huge difference. By the way, if you are compelled to dial for dinner, Muhlstein’s Ilana Meals offers kosher food delivery in Los Angeles.

Some of her favorite tools are knives and sheet pans.

“A good, new sharp knife that cuts into everything quickly will help you cut the time in half in making a salad and everything else,” she said. “And a good knife doesn’t have to be expensive.”

Also, having large sheet pans, where you can just throw on lots of vegetables and roast them, is very helpful.

One of her favorite sheet pan recipes is for chocolate cream rolls. That recipe is below.

Muhlstein is also a huge fan of shortcuts.

“There’s no blame, shame or guilt in a bottle dressing or a store-bought marinara,” she said. “Pre-shredded cabbage, lettuce, carrots, anything that can help you save some time in the kitchen, is helpful. Even rotisserie chicken in place of cooking your own chicken. “

She adds, “When people think everything is so gourmet and so homemade, it actually just halts them from trying.”

Plus, if the food you eat tastes boring or even simply tolerable, you’ll likely give up on eating healthy pretty quickly.

“Food has to be something that actually makes you feel good …  so that you will want to keep eating vegetables and healthy food for the rest of your life,” Muhlstein said.

Learn more at IlanaMuhlstein.com and follow Ilana Muhlstein on TikTok, YouTube and Instagram.

For the full conversation, listen to the podcast:

Chocolate Cream Rolls

Makes 2 servings

2 bananas

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 ½ cups 0-2% plain Greek or dairy-free “Greek style” yogurt

1 Tbsp cocoa powder

1 Tbsp honey, maple syrup or monk fruit (or use stevia drops to taste)

Pinch salt

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cover a rimmed baking sheet or rectangular cooking dish with parchment paper and spray with oil.

In a blender, combine bananas, eggs and vanilla extract. Pour batter onto the baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes.

In the meantime, in a small bowl whip the yogurt with the cocoa powder, salt and sweetener of  choice. Set aside.

Allow the sheet pan banana “cake” to cool. Once cooled, spread the yogurt topping evenly over the sheet pan. Slice lengthwise down the center and roll. Serve along with berries and enjoy.

Note: This stores well covered in the refrigerator, so you can prep the recipe in advance and enjoy serving the next day.

Debra Eckerling is a writer for the Jewish Journal and the host of “Taste Buds with Deb.” Subscribe on YouTube or your favorite podcast platform. Email Debra: tastebuds@jewishjournal.com.