Cure Your Cravings

Let me preface this post by saying if you’re one of those “food is fuel” type people then you may want to stop reading right here… We don’t need your feedback about our Dorito ingesting ways or your half-judging eyes (stay tuned 🙂 – your healthy post will be coming soon) But, if you are a “food is fuel,” and I can also really get down with a loaded plate of nachos on football Sunday then you can stay. All jokes aside, there’s a time and place for a green smoothie and a time to sit back and enjoy some pizza. Believe me, I’m the queen of “You know….. Today I think I’m going to start eating healthy,” and then by 10pm I am googling pictures of cinnamon rolls oozing with butter and icing, and looking up authentic Chicago deep dish pizza recipes on Pinterest (both of these things have actually happened, by the way). Then, the next morning I might be making a spinach smoothie. It’s all about balance, people. If there’s anyone who understands this better than the rest of us, it’s Chrissy Teigen! Model, co-host of day-time talk show, The Fab Life, host of Lip Sync Battle, soon to be mother, self-proclaimed foodie, Sports Illustrated cover model, wife of John Legend, and now author! I’m honestly exhausted just thinking about that seemingly never-ending list of duties. So how does a model who enjoys Taco Bell, bacon, and Captain Crunch ever make it in the modeling industry? Well, besides the fact that she is drop-dead gorgeous; it’s balance and a lot of hard work.

Cure Your Cravings With Chrissy Teigen

Prior to the recent release of her cookbook, Cravings: Recipes For All the Food You Want to Eat, Chrissy ran a food blog called So Delushious which includes meals she makes on the regular for week night dinners, as well as memorable food she’s eaten in her travels. It’s still up and running by the way-definitely check it out.

For those of you who may already follow Chrissy on social media (if you aren’t, we need to talk) then you already know she’s hilarious, refreshingly honest, feisty, and everything you could want in a friend (she once retweeted me on Twitter and liked one of my Instagram photos so we’re basically besties right?). I was hoping the humor and candidness would carry over to her cookbook, and it absolutely does!

Without giving tooooooo much away before you buy it, her cookbook is broken down into recipe categories which include: Breakfast All Day, Soupmaster, Salads (For When You Need Them), Noodles and Carbs, Thai Mom, Party Time, Sh*t on Toast, Vegetable Things, Things That Intimidate People But Shouldn’t, and Supper. I mean if that doesn’t already sound like a party in your mouth, then I don’t know what to tell you. Each recipe is paired with an introduction-like story about the dish. Most will have you laughing out loud- not just “lol” funny where I say I’m laughing but I’m really staring off into the distance stone-faced…legit LOLzzz! Here’s one of my favorite introductions for a recipe called “Mexican Street Corn:”

[pullquote width=”300″ float=”left”]”Ohhhhhhh my god I am like freaking Cookie Monster when it comes to Mexican street corn. I get rabid. I completely stop caring about my physical appearance or bodily noises, the entire world around me disappears. My eyes point in different directions, nose full of cotija cheese, chunks of corn taking permanent residence in my purchased pearly whites. And I don’t even care. The only thing I care about it how. I can consume. More corn… (Pg. 167)” [/pullquote]

Cravings is everything but a typical cookbook which is what makes it so enjoyable. Not only are all the recipes dishes that you actually want to make (and devour without sharing), all of the recipes include a corresponding photograph. I’m not a fan of cookbooks that don’t include photos to go alongside the recipes. I NEED to know deep in my soul whether I completely failed a recipe or whether to be proud of myself that it came out looking exactly like the photograph. The photographs are crisp, unique, and aesthetically pleasing. I mean what other cookbook includes a picture of the model, turned author in a bathing suit eating chicken wings?

Bottom line is that every single recipe looks insanely delushious (see what I did there). The recipes are easy to follow and actually look like the photos when you’re done making them. If you need a tease of some of the other recipes in the cookbook that I’m dying to make, they include- crab cakes benedict, yellow cake baked oatmeal, french toast casserole with salted frosted flakes and rum (swooooooon), pot pie soup with crust crackers, crab wontons, pineapple grilled short ribs, and I could keep going……

Sweet potato gnocchi….in 30 minutes. Because who said making pasta had to be hard?

Beef & pork bolognese. I’m aware this looks repulsive in the photo but just make it; it’s insanely good. And yes you can eat the leftover sauce the next day in a bowl like soup. No shame.

So- What do you do if you “can’t cook?” If you’re someone who feels like you “can’t cook”- just dive in! I actually love cooking (god-so domestic), but even I have those moments where I get frustrated, too, and it usually involves pie crust. Everyone starts somewhere and you don’t become great overnight. It sounds annoyingly cliche and I’m going to hate myself for saying this, but it takes practice. If you’re one of those people- follow recipes! It’s much harder to wing it and cross your fingers that it goes well than to follow a tried and true set of directions for how to make something. Half the fun is trying something new; especially when making a meal for a loved one 🙂 Perhaps you’ll find a new hobby or recipe to spice up the weekly rotation! Thanks for reading and hope you guys enjoy!

Shop Chrissy’s book here.

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