THIN IS IN HOW FOOD NETWORK'S JUAN-CARLOS CRUZ BECAME THE CALORIE COMMANDO.

Byline: Natalie Haughton Food Editor

Juan-Carlos Cruz is winning at losing - and in a big way.

You might recognize the trim Food Network television host - who is blessed with the gift of gab - sharing ways to decalorize and defat food and lifestyles in two shows geared to the weight-conscious: ``Calorie Commando'' and ``Weighing In.''

Who better to tout the message than a former pastry chef who ballooned to 280 pounds on his 5-foot-8 frame eight years ago but now weighs around 180 pounds?

``I try to practice what I preach,'' notes the 43-year-old Westwood resident, ``which means eating much smaller portions and more often during the day (five times a day to curb hunger). I'm obsessed with keeping it (the weight) off, because at one time in the past, I had lost all the weight and gained it back in a matter of months.''

Although he adheres to a strict dietary and exercise routine most of the time, he still struggles with his weight - and temptations like ice cream, chocolate and cookies.

The incentive for his weight loss stemmed from an offer to participate in the pilot of Discovery Health Network's ``Body Challenge'' five years ago.

On the show, Cruz lost 43 pounds in four months, (he was 240 pounds when the show started), came in second and won a cruise to Alaska. Afterward he lost another 16 pounds.

``I'm a fat-person survivor,'' says Cruz, who then dubbed himself the Calorie Commando.

Invited to do a seven-minute segment featuring his healthy-eating Calorie Commando philosophy and recipes on ``Body Challenge 2'' (aired in 2002), this tape became the impetus for pitching a show with the same name to the Food Network. It was picked up, and the show debuted in May 2004.

With 39 ``Calorie Commando'' shows under his belt, it was a natural for the Food Network to tap Cruz to host 13 episodes of ``Weighing In,'' a reality/lifestyle weight-loss show that debuted last month.

``One reason people like (Cruz) is he has a healthy attitude toward weight loss,'' says Kathleen Finch, senior vice president of prime-time programming at the Food Network. ``He helps you lose weight by eating, NOT not eating. You can relate to him.''

He solved his own weight problem by changing his diet, so the message he sends is believable.

``He doesn't dictate what you must eat, but he helps you tailor your favorites (with his recipe renovations) so they fit into a healthy diet.''

Born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Cruz moved to this country with his parents and two older brothers when he was 3. He grew up in Arcadia.

Cruz's love of food dates back to his youth.

``My father would cook huge meals on Sunday for the whole week, including a lot of Hispanic stews and Caribbean specialties like pepper pots and roasted pork,'' he recalls. ``I thought it was like magic. He could take a bunch of ingredients, throw them in a pot, and they came out great-tasting.'' He also remembers his mother's delicious special-occasion fried meat pies, similar to empanadas.

With both parents working two jobs, Cruz assumed some of the cooking duties at age 10.

``I enjoyed cooking and didn't take it on as a chore,'' says Cruz, who learned to cook from watching Julia Child, Graham Kerr and the Frugal Gourmet on television.

Cruz continued to dabble in cooking through high school and then returned to the kitchen after junior college, cooking mostly for friends. An interest in baking led to selling wedding, party and special-occasion cakes. His client roster grew after gifting a friend with a wedding cake.

That's also when his weight problem started.

``I cut off the tops of the cakes and ate them. I came from a family where you didn't waste food.''

While fulfilling his dream and attending the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, Cruz's weight began to spiral out of control. Focusing on pastries - his passion - he immersed himself in the daily baking of fresh Danish for the school shop.

After graduating in 1993, he married his high-school sweetheart, Jennifer, and did a pastry stint at a hotel in Palo Alto for a year. In 1996, after returning to Los Angeles, he landed a pastry sous-chef job at the Hotel Bel-Air.

In 2001, after five years, he left to pursue his Calorie Commando Catering and Pastry Dude businesses and also teach cooking classes, work on a cookbook and develop recipes for new shows.

Natalie Haughton, [phone]

natalie.haughton(at)dailynews.com

CHICKEN ASOPA 

3 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

2 teaspoons ground oregano 

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

1 tablespoon paprika 

1/2 teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic, chopped

3 ounces Canadian bacon, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium green bell pepper, chopped

1 medium tomato, chopped

1/2 medium spicy turkey sausage, cut into 1/2-inch thick pieces

1/4 cup chopped, pimento stuffed green olives

1 tablespoon drained capers 

1 cup uncooked converted rice

3 cups boiling water OR chicken stock

1/2 cup frozen peas

Toss chicken with oregano, pepper, paprika, salt and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Coat evenly. Brown in a large, hot nonstick skillet.

Heat a large nonstick pot with remaining 3 tablespoons oil and saute garlic with Canadian bacon. Then add onion and bell pepper and saute until soft. Add tomato, browned chicken and sausage; cover and simmer 10 minutes.

Add olives, capers, rice and water. Cover and simmer 15 to 20 minutes. Add frozen peas and simmer 5 more minutes. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Makes 10 servings.

NUTRITION INFORMATION PER SERVING: 267 calories; 8 grams total fat (1 gram saturated); 19 grams carbohydrate.

SPICY GARLIC SHRIMP

1 pound large shrimp, cleaned and shells removed

2 tablespoons chili garlic sauce

1 tablespoon canola oil

3 bell peppers (1 EACH yellow, red and green), thinly sliced

1 onion, thinly sliced

Toss shrimp in garlic chili sauce and refrigerate 1 hour.

Heat canola oil in a large wok and add peppers and onions, cooking until crisp-tender. Remove to a large plate.

Add shrimp to wok; toss well and cook just until shrimp are cooked through. Return vegetables to wok with shrimp, tossing until hot. Serve hot. Makes 4 servings.

NUTRITION INFORMATION PER SERVING: 222 calories; 6 grams total fat (1 gram saturated); 4 grams carbohydrate.

CHICKEN ENCHILADAS VERDE

SAUCE:

6 fresh tomatillos, quartered OR 1 (11-ounce) can

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 (4-ounce) can diced green chiles

1/4 cup egg substitute OR 2 egg whites and 1 whole egg

ENCHILADAS:

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 medium red onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, diced

2 (4-ounce) cans diced green chiles

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 

1/4 teaspoon ground coriander 

3/4 cup Mexican beer

8 (6-inch) corn tortillas

3/4 cup shredded reduced fat sharp Cheddar cheese

1/2 cup shredded reduced fat Monterey Jack cheese 

2 tablespoons low fat sour cream

To make Sauce, heat broiler and place quartered tomatillos on a rack over a pan and roast 5 minutes. Cool. Place tomatillos in a blender with cilantro, green chiles and egg substitute. Pulse mixture until chunky. Set aside.

To make Enchiladas, heat olive oil in large nonstick skillet. Add red onions and saute until clear, then add garlic and continue to saute 1 minute. Add chicken breast, chiles, cumin and coriander; continue to saute for 2 minutes. Add beer and bring to a simmer until most of liquid has evaporated. Set aside once liquid has evaporated (to allow flavors to infuse).

Roll 1/2 cup chicken filling up in each tortilla and place in a casserole dish. Repeat until all filling is used.

Pour Sauce over rolled tortillas in casserole. Bake in a preheated 350- degree oven 20 minutes. Remove from oven and top with shredded cheeses. Return to oven 10 minutes or until cheeses are melted. Remove from oven. Garnish each serving with 1 teaspoon low fat sour cream and diced tomatoes and diced avocado, if desired. Serve with rice and beans. Makes 6 servings.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION PER SERVING (without tomato and avocado garnish, rice or beans): 304 calories; 8 grams total fat (2 grams saturated); 28 grams carbohydrate.

Tips for reducing calories

To reduce calories (and fat) for healthier eating, Juan-Carlos Cruz shares these tips:

--To save 200 calories, coat a saute pan with a four-second spray of an aerosol vegetable oil instead of 2 tablespoons oil.

--Roasted garlic (wrap in foil and bake in a toaster oven until soft) is a good butter replacement to spread on bread.

--Invest in and use good nonstick pans.

--To help low-fat cheese melt like its full-fat cousin, lightly coat it with a split second spray of canola oil.

--To reduce calories and fat in a cheesecake, replace half of the amount of cream cheese called for in the recipe with firm tofu. The resulting texture will be the same or similar.

--For a quick potato chip snack replacement, drain 1 (16-ounce) can garbanzo beans and toss with 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning spice. Spread on a baking pan, then bake in a 400- to 450-degree F oven about 10 minutes or until crispy.

--To make a low-fat hummus, drain a can of chickpeas and puree in a food processor with lemon juice and some fresh mint. Serve with assorted veggies.

--Soy chorizo is a good, lower-fat, lower-calorie replacement for regular chorizo.

--When dining out, skip the bread, start with a salad with vegetables with a low-cal dressing (to curb hunger), avoid high-cal toppings like butter, and request the chef go light on butter and oil when preparing your meal.

Also, to avoid overeating, put half of the dish ordered in a to-go box at the outset of the meal so you won't be tempted to overeat.

--Substitute spaghetti squash for pasta to reduce calories.

--Substitute lettuce leaves for tortillas when making wraps to reduce calories and carbs.

--To stick with healthy eating, remove trigger foods like ice cream, cookies and candy from the house.

--When making a cake, replace regular granulated sugar with a sugar substitute (like Splenda) and use egg whites instead of whole eggs.

--Use fruit as a topping for nonfat yogurt.

--For better taste, use lite or low-fat products rather than nonfat, especially when it comes to dairy products like sour cream, milk, cream cheese and such. Fat-free half-and-half is the exception.

--For a low-cal pesto, replace the oil with soft roasted garlic pureed with basil and toasted pine nuts.

- Natalie Haughton

CHEF CRUZ ON TV

Juan-Carlos Cruz believes you should enjoy food - and his ``don't deny, satisfy'' philosophy comes across in the shows he hosts on the Food Network.

``Calorie Commando,'' 5:30 p.m. Wednesdays, 2 p.m. Saturdays. Cruz shows weight-conscious consumers how to renovate favorite recipes/dishes, cutting fat and calories, for more healthy eating.

``Weighing In'' (debuted last month as ``Take It Off'' but show now airs with new name), 10 p.m. Fridays, 2 p.m. Sundays. In a reality-style one- hour show, Cruz assists a small group of dieters in adjusting their eating habits and exercise regimens (with help of a nutritionist and fitness trainers) to slim down for an important occasion (high school reunion, wedding, etc.). Cruz checks in with the participants periodically for three months, revealing the results at the end of the show.

CAPTION(S):

4 photos, 2 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) JUAN-CARLOS CRUZ

(2 -- color) CHICKEN ASOPA

(3 -- color) CHICKEN ENCHILADAS VERDE

(4 -- color) SPICY GARLIC SHRIMP

John McCoy/Staff Photographer

Box:

(1) Tips for reducing calories (see text)

(2) CHEF CRUZ ON TV (see text)