Bethenny Frankel Swears by These Protein-Packed Foods

My freezer is my best friend

By Bethenny Frankel Sep 10, 2017 8:04 PMTags
Watch: Bethenny Frankel Treats Exercise Like a "Good Friend"

Bethenny Frankel has joined the team as a guest editor for Fashion Week at E!. The Real Housewives of New York star is also the founder of Skinnygirl and B Strong, her charity initiative to help women in crisis, the author of several self-help books and a serious yoga fan. She'll be taking a break from entrepreneurship and mom time to share tips about everything from the where to workout to the best protein-packed snacks.

Today, Bethenny is weighing in on the kinds of food you need to fuel a healthy and active lifestyle.

photos
Celebrity Fitness Stars

There are so many new kinds of snacks now, like Brussel sprout puffs and lentil snacks. I'm also really getting into bagged salty snacks. I have Skinnygirl microwave popcorn, which is a great snack. You pop a bag in and take it on the go.

Bars that are sort of raw are also good. A lot of the bars out there right now are just candy bars in healthy packaging, so you have to be careful. I like the ones with [raw ingredients]. And I really do like cashews. I'm a big fan of bringing a little thing of cashews with me. Sometimes I'll bring fruit with me, but I've also found these brands of fruit leather. Trader Joe's is a great place to find individually packed, healthy snacks. Since I do like candy, sometimes I'll have candy with me. I think it's about portions more than anything. You're going to want what you're going to want; not everyone is going to want celery sticks with them when they're stressed at an airport, stuck between flights.

 

A lot of these snacks are things that I can share with my daughter. She likes those humus packs with pretzels, and she likes salt-and-pepper cashews. I also buy the bags of organic hard-boiled eggs. 

You want to keep stuff in your fridge that isn't very perishable. I love arugula and I have it a lot, but it goes bad more quickly than something like organic hearts of romaine. That will last a while in your fridge, and you can just chop it up and make a salad. Those baby grape tomatoes—same thing, they'll last. Toss in some avocados and that becomes an easy salad. I have Skinnygirl salad dressings, too, and people really love them. They've been around for a minute and they're really popping off, especially the balsamic flavor.

If you've got multigrain or sprouted-grain bread in your freezer, and get back from a trip where you've been away for a few days, and you have an avocado that was a little firm to start, you can make an avocado toast with tomato and a little salt and pepper—super easy.

I'm big on the freezer, so I always have organic frozen broccoli, organic frozen peas, which you could just take out and steam or sauté. And then I always keep dried gains in my cabinet like quinoa, which is a high-protein grain, and couscous. I always have organic soups that come in boxes like tomato or cashew. Pacific and Imagine are good brands. Those are great things to have in your cabinet because you can make a little salad, a nice hearty warm soup, which is filling (high-volume foods are huge and important).

I always have good veggie burgers in the freezer and frozen sweet potato fries to. And, if you've bought fruit like berries or bananas, and you're about to go away without having eaten them, put them in the freezer and when you get back you can make a smoothie. My freezer is my best friend—it's always jammed. Some people would say it's better to have fresh [food], which I guess is true, but you do the best you can.

My entire business is Skinnygirl cocktails, which are low in sugar, and the wines are lower in sugar and 100 calories. So the white wines and red wines are great. Or, just vodka with soda. But different alcohols react differently with different people. I would say ice is your friend with cocktails, even with wine, but not red, obviously. But ice does make a drink last longer and you are getting a bit of water.

Club soda is your friend, too, because it stretches out a drink and you're getting a bit of hydration. I like a cocktail and I'm not excessive about food or drinking. But I like a good glass of wine, and if you're a woman in New York, going out on a date, you're going to need a cocktail.

Keep up with Bethenny during Fashion Week at E!, as she shares her best tips and advice for all things fitness.

Follow @stylecollective for updates on all things Fashion Week at E!