Me + Bethenny = Healthy Cooking Queens

So let me tell you about Bethenny Frankel, my current healthy living guru. I've admired her over the last year on the Real Housewives of NYC {a guilty pleasure!} and found her book, "Naturally Thin" in Chapters last week, so I decided to pick it up.

I'm seriously impressed by the book. Bethenny's a celebrity natural foods chef, and also was a runner-up on Martha Stewart: The Apprentice. It's straightforward, honest, real, and a healthy way to think about wellness and fitness. The book is an easy read with 10 Rules to be "Naturally Thin". It also has amazing recipes. Yes. I said RECIPES.

Usually I don't care about recipes, but her book really inspired ME to go into the kitchen today. It all started out with a trip to Whole Foods this morning {just BEING in that store makes me feel better about myself!} to buy whole, organic, and mostly vegan ingredients! I bought everything from oat flour to raw sugar to pine nuts and vegan chocolate chips!

My first project today was to bake vegan banana oatmeal chocolate chip cookies! They turned out well, apart from me realizing that I need to buy new baking sheets! They are moist, sweet, healthy and delicious. Find the recipe here!

I then made some butternut squash for a snack! Again, pureed deliciousness with a hint of cinnamon!

Around 4:30, I decided to tackle dinner. I haven't made dinner in at least 4 years. Adair does all the cooking in our house, and if he's not home I either starve or go through a drive-thru.

I browsed through Bethenny's recipes in the book and decided on her Zesty Mac & Cheese. I worked pretty hard {including spending about 25 mins finely grating parmesan cheese} and it turned out great! I also made a delicious salad with pine nuts, grape tomatoes and fresh parmesan cheese! For dessert, we had Bethenny's faux cheesecake made with ricotta cheese, with vegan chocolate chips and fresh berries! I'd say the meal was a success.

The best part is that instead of feeling too-full and uncomfortable, I feel healthy, clean and energized! Bethenny has a lot of recipes on her website and at health.com where she is a contributor! I hope you too can discover some healthy living tips and recipes from Bethenny too! Maybe one day I'll really be a Skinnygirl!