Kristin Cavallari in White Tank Top and Gray Leggings Cooks a Healthy Dinner

Kristin Cavallari is known for many things including whipping up delicious meals for her family, but the former reality star didn't always know her way around the kitchen. "I really didn't start cooking until I had kids," she told Harper's BAZAAR. "I just recently wanted the episode of Laguna Beach where Jessica and I make the boys dinner and we say the chicken Alfredo tasted like feet," she laughed. The mom of three has come a long way since her teenage days and now has three cookbooks packed with healthy recipes. Wearing a simple, yet sexy white tank top and gray workout pants, the fashion designer posted a pic of herself making one of her epic dinners. "Home, leggings, no makeup, kids running around, red wine and cooking = happiness." The 36-year-old maintains a clean diet and we take a closer look into what she eats to stay slim and healthy. 

Cavallari starts her day by checking her phone, drinking water, making coffee, and then juice. " I wanna let my body get hungry before I put in a huge breakfast otherwise I just feel kind of sluggish the whole day," she told the outlet. "I will do apple, lemon, cilantro, celery, cucumber." She added, "Sometimes I'll throw ginger in there, which I love." 

In the interview with Harper's BAZAAR, Cavallari admits breakfast is the only time she will make her kids different meals. "I have these gluten-free crepes out of Truly Simple that I make a couple of times a week." She continues, "Inside of them I'll either do like a healthier Nutella, a chocolate hazelnut spread, and bananas." Another thing she'll make for breakfast is an egg bowl with "scrambled or fried eggs." She adds "arugula or spinach a little sauteed, goat cheese, avocado, and maybe some cherry tomatoes." 

After breakfast, Cavallari drops her kids off at school, works out, hits the sauna for a half hour, and then has an early lunch. "Depending on how much time I have or what's going on in my day, I'll have leftovers, or I'll take a leftover protein and put it on a salad." She adds, "I love a homemade dressing. They take two minutes to make, and they are so well worth it. Even something as simple as olive oil, Dijon, a little honey, and salt and pepper."  

In an interview with EatingWell, Cavallari said if she only had to eat one vegetable for the rest of her life it would be cauliflower. "I love cauliflower because I think it's very versatile, and there's actually a Sweet Harissa Cauliflower recipe in Truly Simple that's my absolute favorite cauliflower recipe on the planet," she said. "If you've ever been to True Food Kitchen, their cauliflower was the inspiration behind it. There's this sweet harissa dressing that's on it, and there's little chopped-up dates in it, so it has that nice balance between sweet and savory. It's the absolute best."

Since the Uncommon James founder eats lunch early, she snacks in the afternoon. "I do anything from beef jerky sticks, hummus, and carrots," she told Harper's BAZAAR. She also noted that she loves Papa Steve's cherry dark chocolate bars. 

A dish Cavallari raves about is "frying Brussels sprouts in avocado oil." She said, "It is so simple. Sprinkle them with a little sea salt. They taste incredible and people think you put all this time and energy into it." Really they take like 15 minutes," she added. 

Cavallari confessed she has quite the sweet tooth and has to have something every night, "even if it's just a piece of chocolate." She'll also indulge in ice cream, banana pudding with homemade vanilla wafers, and oatmeal cream pies. 

While she has a healthy balanced diet, Cavallari doesn't give up anything. "Eating well to me means enjoying your food and having what I call "food freedom," where you can enjoy what you're eating without beating yourself up," she told EatingWell. "You can eat anything in moderation."