Pound for Pound
In the Kitchen and at the Food Bank

This week's Biggest Loser is all about giving back. First, famed chef Chef Rocco DiSpirito returns to the ranch to teach the gang how to prepare healthier “fast food,” then gives them a pop challenge to create a 30-minute meal themselves. The team that makes the tastiest meal with the fewest calories wins a specially prepared dinner by Rocco himself. The losing team gets to wash dishes.

The physical challenge turns poignant as the Black and Blue Teams travel to the Los Angeles Regional Food Band where they do the work of typical food bank volunteers, only much faster. The teams race to assemble and stock 150 donated food kits onto a delivery truck. It's an emotional challenge for everyone, especially one player who reveals she once relied on her local food bank to help feed her children. The challenge prize? A year's worth of free groceries for everyone on the winning team plus letters from home. (Pay special attention to what one winner does with his goods!)

Trainer Jillian Michaels gets fed up with someone on her team and takes action, saying, "This is by far the meanest thing I've ever done," as she asks the Black team to name the player they think is their weakest link.

Who wins the groceries? Who does Jillian confront? Who will win at weigh-in?

Thanks to TBL Newsletter


Celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito returns to the Biggest Loser to take the contestants to a restaurant, where he teaches them how to make healthier choices when eating out. Then the contestants have a lively cook-off, preparing healthier, low-calorie versions of once favorite meals. The winning team gets a meal specially prepared by Rocco, and a chance to pick a fortune cookie with an especially valuable fortune inside!

SOURCE

In this week’s challenge, the players all head to a food bank where they’ll race to pack food kits for the hungry and load them on trucks, with the winning team earning an amazing prize. Later, all of the contestants are surprised to learn about a new twist at this week’s weigh-in. Alison Sweeney hosts the series, and trainers Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels also star.

I believe KP may be right about Mike giving away a few groceries

A little anti-climatic to say the least to read this and see the preview. Not sure why they continue to give us reasons to tune out for segments of their show.

Any guess who the weakest link on the Black Team is? My guess is they will say Laura even though it will be close between her and Helen. Former Bob's will stick together? Any idea why they will be asked to do this? Seems like a lame attempt to drum up drama. Isn't that what the elimination is for?

Or at least the letters, if not both.

This promises to be a great episode! I usually set up my DVR and watch it with my daugher on Fridays! But I guess we might have to plan to watch it tomorrow ! I just love the overall feeling this season, there is no animosity

I forgot about those letters... ..I'm changing my guess to those.....it would be silly for Mike to give away the groceries even if he is living at home.

LOL - so, I guess we already know who wins the challenge and what Mike gives to Aubrey (I doubt its the letters, remember someone last week said they 'made it sound like he'd donated a kidney) - its probably the groceries.... I don't think the letters qualify as 'the nicest thing anyone has ever done on the biggest loser'

Very true! I think it will be the groceries as well. We don't know much about Mike's situation, but if he is in college, groceries would likely be fairly useless if he is on a dorm meal plan. And if he still lives with his parents, and they don't need the groceries, but Aubrey does, I could see Mike doing that for her.

Based on the kidney comment I'm going to say both groceries and letters. Now this is the kind of gameplay I can approve of!

As long as there's no crying and begging for them

I guess I'd better not have anything to eat or drink during the show cause if there is boo-hooing I might throw something at the tv!

Get the Kleenex or Puffs..... .....wonder when they are going to sponsor BL?

Well, let's just hope that the boo-hooing is a result of how happy Aubrey is for Mike giving her whatever, and not because she didn't win it and it isn't fair, etc.

Mike appears to be a great kid........so I would think any tears would tug at his heart.

I get that e-mail as well. I'm fine with a preview, but is anyone else bothered by the fact that TBL, between this e-mail and preview from last week, told us which team is going to win the challenge?

Grr! They have some opinion thing I think on this site - it blocked me from posting! (Literally stopped my mouse from working every time I clicked in the box to type). Didn't see it until I closed my browser to restart.

Anyway...

How do we know Mike won the challenge?? (I don't get previews here) - but perhaps the previews are misleading? They have been in the past.

It was on the very ending of last week's show - showed Mike giving away a 'prize' he'd won.

Ah. They didn't show that from Canada. We don't get previews of next week

I don't know why - and I really wish they would!!

Then again... if its spoilers, maybe its good that its not? LOL

You know, I didn't see the previews last week either. Not sure if I changed the channel too soon or they didn't have them. I did watch the last half of the FLN encore and although it did have a revamped update on Dane... It definitely did not show any previews.

When I guessed at the groceries, it was only because they did have a prize last season of free groceries.. and it was to a non national chain. How would that have worked had someone won in an area where a chain did not exist? Would the show have provided a substitute grocery chain? I think the previews listed in this post can help us connect some dots. Or I think most of us assume it is Aubrey who has 5 kids (4 her own and 1 they have guardianship of). But maybe it is one of the older woman like Helen, or Cathy who may have had to resort to food banks or public assistance when their families were younger. I don't know why I am thinking a woman.. Maybe I presume that most men would not be so quick to readily admit something like this. (a pride thing perhaps) It's open for speculation I guess.

Awwwwwwwwww Sugar Ray Leonard? Will he really be on tomorrow's show? I would love to see that! Have not seen or heard anything about him for many years but. . .gotta love him! Sounds like this will be a very good one, and I'm really looking forward to it.

And. . . Mikey, you're my man.

"The Weakest Link " per Jillian!! Do you think that Jillian may be trying to get her $.02 in before the elimination so that she isn't blindsided like Bob with the loss of Dane? I do not expect that his reaction to that is going to be real pleasant.
Random act of kindness + TBL = Pulling a Mike......... most excellent dude
my $.02

So Blue gets pumped up by Sugar Ray and Black Team doesn't get a visit from a celeb to pump them up...and the season of the Bob continues...

Here is what NBC Universal has to say about Sugar Ray........
Couples get a special workout with boxing champ Sugar Ray Leonard and a valuable cooking lesson from celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito on the next episode airing Tuesday, March 3 (8-10 p.m. ET).

First the contestants meet up with DiSpirito and learn how many calories are really in some of their favorite fast food dishes. Then the black and blue teams have a lively cook-off, preparing healthier, low-calorie versions of pizza, burgers and a Mexican entrée. The team who prepares the tastiest and lowest calorie dish gets a meal specially prepared by DiSpirito, plus a chance to pick a fortune cookie with an especially valuable fortune inside – an extra vote at elimination.

Then trainer Bob Harper takes the contestants to a 24-Hour Fitness where a surprise guest awaits them – Sugar Ray Leonard! This is especially thrilling for contestant Aubrey, who was previously an amateur boxer. Leonard shows them how much fun burning calories can be when he puts them through a unique shadow boxing workout.

Later, all the contestants head to the Los Angeles Food Bank, where host Alison Sweeney explains this week's challenge: they'll race to pack food kits for the hungry and load them on trucks. Each member of the winning team gets an amazing prize – free groceries for a year, plus letters from home.

Then it's time for last chance workouts, when trainer Jillian Michaels has a dramatic confrontation with the player she feels is the weakest link on her team. And away from the gym, one contestant gives another a very generous gift. Later, all of the contestants are surprised to learn about a new twist at this week's weigh-in.

Wow. Now I don't know.... Its been a whole week since I saw the preview (at least I THINK I saw it...)!

There was some discussion at the end of the last episode thread about it, but I'm too lazy to go back and look at it.

Hopefully this means NBC figured out that the way the two teams are set up will lead to a very predictable elimination of former Jillian team members. Here's to hoping there is some sort of Yellow line instituted. Of course this comes in 1 week too late. Anyone else think they just make this stuff up as they go along sometimes?

Ok, I did not imagine it...post #148 in last week's thread refers to the promo about Mike as well...

I think they make it up as they go. I'll go as far to say that they determine the rules after they have done the initial non-televised weigh in to create more drama and excitement.

Just like the producers driving Dane to the finish line of the marathon. I guess Webster's will need to add an alternative meaning to the word reality pretty soon

I'm a big Mike fan and not a big yellow team fan. I'm glad for Mike to have a chance to show his quality but really hope any yellow tears are tears of joy, not tears of whining, or of asking the other team to throw the competition.

I'm not thinking of any situations in particular there...

Remember a couple of seasons ago when a group of the couples made a pact to throw the weigh-in in order to get rid of the black team? They were thrown for a twist at the throw in that black team won immunity which resulted in the pink team being eliminated. Is it possible that another "out of the air" immunity is granted to someone to prevent a voting block from eliminating a person?

If Mike does give his groceries away, I hope it is for the reason that the store chain isn't in his area or he doesn't want to pay the income taxes associated with the prize he won. I would hate for him to give the groceries to Aubrey solely because she was crying about how she used food banks before or how it would really help her large family. I hate to sound cold and cynical, but I am getting tired of people who believe they are entitled to various things due to a particular pedicament they are in.

someone gets to vote twice during the elimination.
Not sure if thats a twist or something in the fortune cookie or what?

I saw that, too. Ya know, I'm getting tired of these kinds of twists. I wish TPTB would leave the weigh in alone... no pound penalties, no take-away pounds, no extra votes - just leave the weigh in alone and let the scale make the decision.

I like the vote right after the weigh in, like last season.
Little time for thinking scenarios..drama..gameplay.

omg! this season could be the best!!

Can't wait for the pizza recipe!!

most delicious food got the highest calories :'(

i can eat the whole pie of pizza *drools*

I would like so win this challenge!!! I LOVE to cook and have spent several years figuring out how to fix meals like this! OK, I've finished blowing my own horn.

Hope Ron is using all wheat flour for that pizza

LOL "omg i can't take just tell me already"

FYI....we will be posting all recipes from the show here

I can't tell at all by his facial expressions what he thinks of the food!

The pizza people should have done thin, thin crust. Wouldn't that help???

Wonder what Alison has up her sleeves......I love the surprises and twists

that would be money saver for pizza people

how is this fair. How come Jillian never takes her team to do things like this?

boxing training with sugar Ray would be so cool

I was just saying to the hubby that this should have been a challenge reward.

Maybe Jillian does take her contestants out, BL just decides not to air it

that would have been a good reward

lol i love that commercial, trident extra care where woman stop the purse snatcher by holding it with her teeth