10 Questions with Katie Lee

Besides being absolutely gorgeous, smart and witty, Katie Lee is an eater after my own heart.  We both love to eat, but we strive to find a healthy balance.  Trust me, I would LOVE to eat my momma’s Red Velvet cake (especially the frosting) every day, but that’s not a healthy way to live.  Striking a balance is key and I love finding and sharing my tips and tricks to achieving it with you.  Speaking of tips and tricks, Katie gives us a great one below.  Hint: It is called a spiralizer.  Let’s just say I just ordered one and I can’t wait to take it out for a spin!

Thank you, Katie Lee for taking the time to answer my questions!!  I have to admit reading your answers made me very hungry!!!

I consider you the consummate foodie.   If the world were ending, what would be your last meal?

I would eat everything.  No need to worry about calories and fat at that point! I would have dinner at Chez L’Ami Louis in Paris and order escargot to start.  I’d take crusty bread and soak up all of the yummy garlic parsley butter (in all honesty I am more interested in this butter than the snails).  Then I’d have the roast chicken and potatoes Béarnaise and a green salad.  I’d wash it all down with a bottle of really, really good Bordeaux.  And I’d have a big piece of chocolate cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for dessert.

How does one balance being health conscious and still get the cozy comfort food we all enjoy?

I love my comfort food, but I also love my skinny jeans.  Like you, I workout at Tracy Anderson Method, and that certainly helps.  I like to eat healthy, but still feel fulfilled and satisfied.  During the week, I try to be more mindful of what I’m eating, so I’ll do healthy dinners like baked salmon, roasted acorn squash and sauté some Swiss chard or kale.  If I dine out, I make adjustments.  For instance, I love Italian food, so I’ll ask for the chicken Parmesan to be grilled instead of the traditional breaded and fried version.  On the weekends, I indulge!

What is your favorite app right now and why?

I really love this app called Vivino.  You can take a picture of a wine label and it finds the wine in a database, gives you rating, pairing notes, and how much it should cost.  If you like the wine, it saves it for you so you can remember it.

Any recent fun trips or vacation destinations?

Over the summer, I went to the Puglia region of Italy and stayed at an incredible hotel called the Borgo Egnazia.  Puglia is still fairly undiscovered by tourists and it felt like “true” Italy.  I had one of the best meals of my life at Masseria il Frantoio, which is a working farm originally built in the 1500s.  We spent the days by the beach and then explored all of the little towns in the evening.  It was perfect!

Who inspires you on the culinary front?

My grandma has always been my number one source of inspiration in cooking.  I grew up in her kitchen in West Virginia and no matter where I eat in the world, I still think her cooking is the best! I also find inspiration when I’m traveling and the farmers in the Hamptons continue to inspire me every day with their produce!

Food trunk or Michelin star?

Food truck, no question.  I’d much rather get down and dirty than fancy any day.

I recently read an interview that said you love making your own DIY skin products from your pantry.  I love doing that, too!!  Coconut oil is my hero. Do you have a favorite recipe you can share with us?

I am sooooo into coconut oil too!! I use it as my night cream.  One of my favorite DIY beauty products is a coffee scrub.  I take my leftover coffee grounds out of the pot and mix them with a little coconut oil and sugar, then use it in a circular motion on my butt and thighs.  The caffeine in the coffee helps tighten the skin and can reduce the appearance of cellulite.  It can get a little messy in the shower, so put a coffee filter over your drain and it will catch all the grounds.  (Note from Molly: I can’t wait to try this!! And brilliant idea about covering your drain with a coffee filter!!)

Favorite new restaurant in NYC?

I love Gato.  It is Bobby Flay’s new restaurant and is awesome.  Bobby is one of my culinary heroes and this restaurant is like eating in his kitchen at home.  Be sure to try the eggplant appetizer (it’s kind of like a Spanish eggplant parm…though Bobby would probably tell me that’s a totally inaccurate way of describing it) and the kale and egg paella is out of this world.

I LOVE all the pics of your adorable Pug, Fionula, on Twitter.  Do you ever make food especially for your 4-legged daughter?  I have plenty of fur babies at my house.

I am so crazy about Fionula.  I cook all of her meals.  She gets chicken, rice, peas and carrots.  I make a big batch of it and freeze it in portions.  She is so spoiled, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I will admit, I’m a bit of a kitchen gadget geek myself.  Are there any cool gadgets you are obsessed with?

We do a fun segment on The Kitchen where we test gadgets and then rate it a “tech-yes” or a “tech-no.” Most of the time, I vote no, because I don’t want to take up space in my drawers with a bunch of gadgets, but there are a few that I really like.  My favorite is this pair of scissors that’s called the “toss and chop” for making chopped salads.  I love a chopped salad, so I use these often.

I am also obsessed with the breakfast sandwich maker.  I was super skeptical of this gadget, but it really does make the best breakfast sandwiches and is really easy to clean.  It’s a great way to make breakfast in a hurry.  One of my very favorite new gadgets is my spiralizer. I like to “spiralize” zucchini and serve it with a tomato sauce or a turkey Bolognese with a sprinkle of Parmesan. I get the comfort of feeling like I’m having pasta, without all the calories. It’s one of my favorite weeknight meals.