Now that’s what I call a PARTY!  So thrilled to be a Skinnygirl Cocktails Insider and to be able to celebrate the “new girls” (get it, the new cocktails?)  The party was so fun!  I mean, what’s not fun about getting dressed up, meeting celebrities and drinking Skinnygirl Cocktails?

I was able to bring a “date” so I brought my dear friend, Jen with me.  Check us out

Everything was gorgeous!  I felt like a celebrity myself, eh you know what I mean…

Here I am checking out the scene…

Allow me to introduce you to “The New Girls”….White Cherry Vodka, Moscato, Sweet ‘n’ Tart Grapefruit Margarita and Mojito…

Oh my, the cocktails were amazing!  They offered Skinnygirl White Cherry Coke (White Cherry Vodka and Diet Coke), Skinnygirl Aloha Sparkle (White Cherry Vodka, sparking water and pineapple juice), Skinnygirl Cherry Swirl (White Chery Vodka with lemon-lime sparkling water and a splash of cherry juice), Skinnygirl Mojito with fresh mint and lime juice, Skinnygirl Sweet ‘n’ Tart Margaritas and Skinnygirl Moscato.  I may or may not have sampled all of these fantastic cocktails…for research of course

My favorite was…. The light and fresh Skinnygirl Mojito with fresh mint leaves and fresh lime juice

And it wasn’t just because there were incredibly handsome bartenders that actually made this for me either…

We’ll get to the handsome bartenders later. Let’s start with the fabulous, original Skinnygirl herself, Bethenny Frankel…yup, I met her!  It’s not the best picture of me and you can probably tell I was just the tiniest bit excited to meet her…

She was so cool and just like you see on tv (if you’ve watched every single show she’s done and her talk show pilots like me) and even more beautiful!
This is when she introduced the “New Ladies” to the crowd…

and had the best line of the night…”flirting has no calories”…Ok now insert incredibly good-looking celebrity bartenders…

Right?  So we have Maksim Chmerkovskiy from Dancing with the Stars, the ridiculously handsome model Tyson Beckford, JP Rosenbaum, Chris Bukowski and Graham Bunn all from The Bachelor/Bachelorette/Bachelor Pad.

All of the bartenders were so fun and friendly (although Jen did have to show Chris how to make a cocktail) but we had a blast hanging with them!

I don’t watch Dancing with the Stars but if Maksim is on, I just might start watching…

Bethenny made me an Aloha Sparkle and it was FABULOUS!

Everyone picked their favorite “lady”…

How cute is this? Dance party with Skinnygirl White Cherry Vodka? Yes please!

It was such an amazing night.  I feel so lucky to have been a part of it!  Thanks so much to Skinnygirl Cocktails for inviting me!

Ok, now off to write my cookbook…

CHEERS!

XO

Lauren

Hello everyone

I have been really busy creating recipes for my new cookbook, but luckily I have some amazing and talented friends that want to share some of their recipes with you.  

My dear friend, Ann from The Fountain Avenue Kitchen is so talented and made this fantastic quinoa salad.  You know how much I love quinoa and I love the flavors she combined in this one.

Thanks so much Ann! Please go and visit her blog and Facebook page.  Tell her I sent you

Apple Quinoa Salad with Lemon Curry and Mint

Dinner, Vegetarian, Salad, Quinoa, Meatless

  

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa, rinsed (I like white quinoa for this recipe but red tastes the same)
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot or red onion
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1 apple, chopped (Fuji, Honey Crisp, Gala, and Stayman Winesap are all good choices)
• 1/4 cup raisins (I like golden in this recipe)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint, plus more for garnish
• 1/3 cup feta cheese
• 3 tablespoons slivered almonds
• 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds

Directions

• Bring quinoa and 1 1/4 cups water to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for about 12 minutes or until water is absorbed. Fluff with fork.
• Whisk together honey, shallot, curry powder, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper. Pour over quinoa and toss to coat.
• Add apples, raisins, mint, feta cheese, almonds and pumpkin seeds and toss well.
• Notes*
• If making early in the day, I will typically wait to add the almonds and pumpkin seeds until just before serving to ensure they remain crunchy. Also, sunflower seeds are a nice alternative to the pumpkin seeds.

Print Recipe | Print Ingredients Only

Thanks for stopping by!  And thank you Ann for sharing this delicious recipe~

XO

Lauren

As a Skinnygirl Cocktails Insider, I am thrilled to be a part of this event tonight! They are officially introducing “The New Girls” and I am lucky enough to attend.  Follow me on Twitter and Instagram  with hashtag #MeetTheNewGirls and you can be there with me!  Can’t wait to try the new cocktails~

Have a great day!

XO

Lauren

Sorry I haven’t been around much these days, life has been crazy, but in a very good way.  I was asked to write another cookbook!  I have a very tight deadline to write this book, but I hope to share some friends’ recipes with you while I am working.

I’ll be checking in as much as I can!  Thanks for letting me share this with you.

XO

Lauren

I am feeling so blessed.  My very dear friends hosted this fabulous party to celebrate my cookbook, The Everything Wheat-Free Diet Cookbook.  I was fortunate enough again to have the amazing team of Be-Event Productions to help plan this party for me.  Oh what a lucky girl I am…

My very generous friends, Carolyn and Anthony, offered to host a book launch party at their beautiful house.  We served all different, yummy foods from my cookbook (of course) and served wine, beer and really fun Skinnygirl cocktails (you know I love my Skinnygirl!).  The Be-Event Production team not only helped me cook all the food (for 75 people…I KNOW!)  but added their creative touches to every last detail.  Amazing.

Let’s start with the TO-DIE-FOR cake.  I mean, marshmallow fondant with a marble cake center???  Insane!  And yes, it tasted just as good as it looked.  And the kicker, one of the event planners, Stacey Vuolo MADE THIS CAKE!  Can you imagine?  I might or might not have had two or pieces of cake that night….

First displayed here are my Skewered Thai Chicken with Peanut Dipping Sauce.  These are ridiculously delicious.  But see, I would have just thrown these bad boys on a platter.  But the oh-so-creative event planners displayed them in wheat grass.  Simply gorgeous.

How adorable are those little recipe cards that they made?

Ahhhh…. One of my personal favorites….Baked Mushroom and Fontina Risotto.

Healthy Shrimp Scampi.  What a huge crowd pleaser.  Trust me, shrimp does not need to drown in butter to taste fantastic.  Here’s the proof…

Yep, every party needs sliders.  We made my Slow Cooker Pulled Pork and made some on slider buns (not wheat-free) and others in lettuce wraps (totally wheat-free).  Cute, right?

Fresh Tomato and Basil Bruschetta over Portobello Mushrooms.  No need for bread here, my friends.

Always offer healthy options at parties! Crudite’ with my Tzatziki and my Avocado White Bean Hummus.

And then some fun stuff from my cookbook….Popcorn with Parmesan Topping,  Kale Chips,  Brown Rice Chips…

And now onto the cocktails…

“Orange-Ya Glad You Are Having A Cocktail?”  How adorable (and refreshingly delicious) are these?  It’s always fun to celebrate with fun cocktails (especially Skinnygirl ones).

And why not make some no sugar added Moscato Sangria?  Moscato is already sweet so between that and the natural sugars in the fruit, no more is needed.  And with all that Vitamin C from the citrus, you are sure to get your daily requirements in.  Just saying.

Squuueeeeee!!!! People wanted me to sign their books! I’m so happy to!

My fabulous agent, Joelle and me…

I am so thankful for an amazing night with wonderful friends.  Thanks to Carolyn and Anthony for hosting and of course the fabulous Be-Event Productions for throwing such a fantastic party!  Anyone in the area looking for help planning their next event?  You must contact them.  You will not be disappointed.  I am beyond thrilled!  Thanks everyone for looking through all these pictures and all of your support!

XO

Lauren