It’s 7 a.m. and Annette Sym already has had a hectic day. It began at 2 a.m. with a radio interview, followed by more interviews at 2:30 a.m., 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. A photo shoot for a magazine is scheduled for this afternoon. It’s just another day in the life of Australia’s number-one low-fat cookbook author, who has self-published and sold more than 2.5 million books. She recently published “Simply Too Good to Be True, American Version,” and is bringing her story and recipes to the United States. On April 22, she will be in the Kansas City area. (See box below.)

“Give me an hour and I will change your life,” she says.

They say the proof in the pudding is the eating, and she claims that’s one of the reasons for her success. She cooks for her audiences, and they like how it tastes.

“You really can’t tell the difference,” she says. “If you don’t tell people this is low-fat, they wouldn’t know. And I’d like to think that people can relate to my story.”

In her book and at her appearances, Ms. Sym tells the story of how she used to be fat. It’s a story of how she was nicknamed “porky” by classmates and came to weigh 220 pounds. She explains how she overcame the despair of being overweight and turned her love of cooking into a way to overcome it. She not only lost 70 pounds, but has kept it off. The cookbook includes 150 low-fat recipes with menus and a 28-day weight loss plan, along with instructions on how anyone can do the same.

What made you change your lifestyle so radically?

I remember very well when this happened. There was this picture of me in a swimsuit. I was devastated when I saw that photo. People say, “Well didn’t you look in the mirror? You do, but you don’t look that long. When I looked at that photo, that’s when I had that realization that the dieting thing was making me fat. I was always looking at ways to lose weight, and if I wasn’t on a diet, I was thinking about it and feeling guilty because I should be on one. That’s when I decided to dump the dieting because I was sick of living this way and I wasn’t getting the outcome I wanted. I decided to concentrate on being a healthy person.

How did you deal with sweets?

I had a very sweet tooth and experimented with low-fat cakes. I used to have a bake day and make a chocolate cake and carrot cake or something like that. I would cut them in normal-serve slices, wrap them in cling wrap and put them in the freezer. Then every day, especially the first years when I was losing weight, I would take out something from my container in the freezer and would have my treat. I think that helped because I knew each day I would have something fun and delicious and considered naughty food, but it really wasn’t. Once I started doing this, I realized that I had great control. It was when I was trying to starve myself and live off fish and salad, I was miserable.

How did your children react to your low-fat recipes?

They were terrific. I believe if you make it tasty enough, everyone should want to eat it. When kids are 2 and under, they shouldn’t have low-fat food, but other than that, it’s no big deal as long as you give them fat in other ways, like in milk or yogurt.

What are some of your favorite recipes?

That’s like asking which one of your children are your favorite. These are all my babies (laughs). But if you like pizza, the chicken pizziola is great because it’s like a pizza but you use the chicken as a base. You get the flavors you love with 7.8 grams of fat. Another fun recipe for the family is rippa rissoles (beef patties). It’s a way of getting kids to eat vegetables without even knowing about it. If you love Mexican, the Mexican meatballs are fabulous as well.

What were the changes you made when converting the cookbook from Australian to American?

You are still in pounds and ounces, so I had to change that. Also, ingredients. Your bell peppers, we call capsicum. You call it cornstarch, we call it cornflour. All-purpose flour is plain flour. There’s a lot of differences. Also, sometimes we spell things different than you. Fiber in your world is fibre in ours.

Do Australians prefer different foods?

No, we’re very international, but so are you. Probably the only difference is in Australia is we really love Thai food. It’s just starting to kick over in America. Thai food can be quite high in fat. It looks really healthy because all of the fresh vegetables and that, but they use coconut cream. It’s a saturated fat with about 40-odd grams of fat a cup. Mine is 4 grams. I use evaporated 2-percent milk and imitation coconut extract. When I make it, people say I can’t tell the difference, and that’s exciting, because it means you’re not missing out.

Sauté garlic in a non-stick frypan that has been coated with cooking spray for one minute then add seafood, green onions and wine to pan, then cook for three minutes. Add canned tomatoes and tomato paste then cook for a further three minutes. Combine cornstarch with milk, add to pan, stirring well, bring to boil then pour over cooked pasta.

Note: Marinara mix is a combination of raw seafood such as fish, shrimp, calamari, octopus and mussels.

Suitable to be frozen for two to three weeks. 198 calories (223 when made with shrimp) and 1.5 (1.6) grams of total fat. — Annette Sym, author of “Simply Too Good To Be True.” For more recipes and tips visit www.symplytoogood.com

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. To make cake, place chocolate, margarine, sugar, coffee, water and bourbon into a large ceramic dish and microwave on medium-low for two minutes. Stir ingredients then return to microwave for a further two minutes on medium-low. Stir until all ingredients are dissolved. Stir baking soda into applesauce (it will froth) then add to chocolate mix. In a cup, beat egg whites using a fork then add to chocolate mix. Sift all the flour and cocoa into bowl then gently fold ingredients until combined. Pour mixture into an 8-inch round cake pan coated with cooking spray and bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly pressed in center. When cool spread frosting over cake.

To make frosting, sift cocoa and confectioner’s sugar and add margarine and enough milk until a smooth frosting is made. Spread over cake. Refrigerate. Suitable to be frozen. Makes 14 servings

NOTE: Mississippi mud cakes have a tendency to crack a little on the top. The icing will camouflage this. A traditional mud cake has around 50 grams of fat per serving. This has 6.6 grams and 223 calories.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Flatten chicken breast with meat mallet. In a medium size mixing bowl, mix together ham, mushrooms, bell peppers, green onion, tomato, garlic and basil. On a baking tray that has been coated with cooking spray, place raw flattened chicken then spread 1 dessertspoon of tomato paste over each breast. Spread the ham mixture evenly over each breast. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of cheese over each piece. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until chicken is cooked and topping is golden brown.

Makes four servings. Suitable to be frozen. 222 calories, 7.8 grams total fat.