What Katie Lee Biegel Eats in a Day on Weight Watchers

Katie Lee Biegel is a chef, TV food critic, co-host of Food Network's The Kitchen, cookbook author, wife, new mom and WW (formerly called Weight Watchers) ambassador. It's safe to say that she wears many hats, so we were curious to learn more about how she sticks to a healthy diet while balancing her upcoming cookbook and life as a new mom during the COVID-19 pandemic. Here's what she had to say.

Katie Lee Biegel grew up eating veggies from her grandpa's garden and meat from her family's farm, so she's passionate about eating locally, seasonally and organically whenever possible. She says, "I want to know how the food got to my plate and how it was raised. I want to know that [the produce] was grown organically, and I prefer to find grass-fed beef or organic chicken." 

She's also a huge fan of fruits and veggies. She says, "I always look at my plate and try to make it 70 to 80% vegetables. I want a colorful diet. If you load up on the good stuff, you can crowd out the bad stuff." Fittingly, her focus on eating mostly plants is also a huge part of the WW program, since almost all fruits and vegetables are low- or zero-point foods (depending on which color plan you choose).

Lee Biegel says, "I love the [WW] program, and it is really easy for someone like me to be able to follow it. If I'm recipe testing and I'm making something that's more indulgent, I can eat it and still be on my plan. I just adapt the rest of my day to stay within my points. And I'm enjoying trying to make lower-point recipes." She says she loves pasta with cauliflower Alfredo sauce and her Mediterranean shrimp and veggie tray bake for easy, healthy meals.

So, what does Katie Lee Biegel eat in a day on the WW program? She says, "I'm a creature of habit. Since I had the baby, I've been eating the same breakfast every day." While she feeds the baby in the morning, she says her husband makes her "a bowl of oats, chia seeds and flax. He tops it with strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, granola, almond butter and almond milk." (Want to try something similar? Just add your favorite nut butter and granola to our Blueberry-Banana Overnight Oats.)

For lunch, she says, "I usually have either a salad or a turkey sandwich. I love Dave's Killer Bread (the thin-slice kind) with some avocado, hummus and a big handful of baby spinach. I'm always looking for a way to get some extra vegetables or fruits in." For a snack, she says she loves the oatmeal and chocolate GoMacro bars (buy them: 12 bars for $35 on Amazon), Sumo oranges and bananas.

Though she loves to cook, Lee Biegel says that since she had a baby she and her husband aren't spending as much time making complex meals. She adds, "We love a sheet-pan supper. We look at what vegetables and proteins we have. I'm a big salmon eater—the Whole Foods' salmon is my favorite and it's always $9.99 per pound, which I think is such a good deal." (We have a feeling she would be into our Sheet-Pan Salmon with Sweet Potatoes and Broccoli!)

As for her favorite indulgences, she says, "I love french fries with ketchup, chips and guacamole, and pizza Margherita." She adds that she's been trying to get takeout to support local restaurants during the pandemic, but it's "never as good" as getting hot, fresh french fries in a restaurant.

Katie Lee Biegel and her husband Ryan Biegel welcomed their daughter, Iris, in September 2020. She says, "I love being a mom more than anything. I don't even know what my life was before this. It's like before and after. I'm so obsessed with my daughter and I love being with her. It's been a blessing."

Lee Biegel says her daily routine has changed a bit since having her daughter. She admits, "I don't take care of myself nearly as well as I used to. I don't exercise every day. Sometimes I'm grabbing something easy, or I forget to eat lunch and I eat [too many] snack foods in the afternoon. I'm still trying to master balance."

However, she does try to practice some self-care each evening (and, honestly, her favorite form of self-care is so relatable). She says after she puts her daughter to bed, she and her husband "get to hang out." She adds, "My version of self-care is watching TV. Right now we're watching Downton Abbey. I love the hour of turning my brain off."

She says, "I've spent the last year inside basically and at home. We're really strict about COVID. We really haven't seen anyone. My mom has seen the baby, and we've tried to go about that as safely as possible. We've cooked a ton." Beyond that, she's also tackled a huge personal project during quarantine: her new cookbook, It's Not Complicated, which comes out on March 23. (You can preorder it on Amazon now for $25.)

She says, "I'm really excited about this book, because I didn't think I'd ever do a cookbook again. But I started thinking about it and getting inspired and it's more in line with the way I cook now." 

Though her new cookbook is called It's Not Complicated, she says, "It was incredibly complicated to do during COVID." Lee Biegel explains that they had to shut down the entire shoot halfway through due to the pandemic. "It had to just be my photographer and stylist, and I was doing the whole thing virtually. It got put together and I'm really proud of it. I think it's my best cookbook so far. It's so simple, but [the recipes] look incredible."

She says her favorite recipe from her new cookbook is the Roasted Chicken with Croutons. She says, "It can't get much easier. Make that with a salad and you're done." For a meatless meal, she also loves the mushroom Bolognese because it has "the consistency of ground meat." (We have a similar recipe here if you can't wait until March 23 to try her version out for yourself!)

Lee Biegel says that this cookbook is perfect for people who don't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, but still want a delicious meal. She says, "This is a book you can just go to, whether it's a weekend or a weeknight. Doesn't take a lot of time or ingredients." That sounds like just our speed, too.