What Kelly Ripa Typically Eats In A Day
Even if you've taken up residence under a rock, you know that Kelly Ripa is in incredible shape. A lot of that has to do with a strict workout routine. Ripa's trainer, Anna Kaiser, told Shape magazine about working with the bubbly TV personality and cohost of Live with Kelly and Ryan. "I've been training Kelly for three years. She works out four to five days per week for 90 minutes per session," Kaiser explained. She went on to dub Ripa's work ethic as "more insane than anyone I've ever met!"
After Ripa tweeted a photo of herself with her rock hard-abs, everyone wanted to know her secret. Kaiser explained that you can't just start doing crunches and expect results. "If you want to see your abs, you have to lose fat," she clarified. Naturally, being in shape involves more than just exercise. Ripa is also health-conscious and strives to stick to a balanced diet. How so? Keep reading to find out what Ripa typically eats each day.
A beautiful cappuccino with half-and-half
As a weekday morning talk show host, it may go without saying that Ripa loves — and needs — her caffeine. In an interview with Bon Appétit, Ripa shared some details about her routine. She rises at 6:30 a.m., which she says is both "very reasonable" and "not too early." Each morning, her husband, Mark Consuelos, prepares "a beautiful cappuccino with half-and-half" for Ripa. Jealous much?
After having her morning cup of joe, Ripa heads to the kitchen to prepare her kids' breakfasts. She joked, saying, "My kids will take the time to get up and make sure they place their orders." As a kid, she said she'd grab a quick breakfast, like an English muffin, and then head out the door. Her children's tastes are more diverse. "They'll say, 'Can I have scrambled eggs and a side order of pancakes?' Sometimes I look at them like, 'This is not Denny's!'" she divulged. To be fair, eggs and pancakes do sound better than a plain English muffin.
She doesn't eat until after 10 a.m.
With her kids' meals out of the way, what is it Ripa likes to whip up for herself for breakfast? Despite preparing fairly time-consuming morning meals for her children, she doesn't actually eat along with them. "I never eat breakfast until after the show. I can't seem to focus my mind if my stomach is digesting," she told Bon Appétit. She further explained, "I find that if I eat beforehand, I'm just making digesting sounds."
Healthline explained those noises as a result of food, liquids, digestive juices, and air moving through your intestines. In a process called peristalsis, the walls of your intestines will contract to digest the food you've eaten and it can actually last for several hours after eating. The more you know, right? While we wouldn't fault Ripa for her noisy tummy, it's understandable that she wouldn't want her stomach sounds to steal the show. After all, Live with Kelly and Ryan is, well, live.
More caffeine and finally some breakfast
During the week, Ripa heads off to work after slurping down a homemade cappuccino and making breakfast for her family. If you watch Live with Kelly and Ryan with any regularity, you'll generally always see a mug atop the desk. That's not just there for decoration. Instead, it's more liquid fuel. "At the host chat desk, I'll have a triple shot skim latte," she revealed to Bon Appétit.
After the show wraps up is when Ripa finally has her breakfast. Different from her kids' breakfast preferences, Ripa prefers to keep it both super simple and healthy. Speaking with the magazine, she said, "I usually have my yogurt and granola after the show."
On the weekends, however, she changes it up. "On Sunday, it's a full hot breakfast," she explained. She even makes her hubby breakfast in bed. She whips up some scrambled eggs, with cream and cheese, for the whole family. "They're not fat free, but they're delicious," said Ripa. Yes, please!
She eats super clean
For the most part, Ripa sticks to a very clean diet. She told Shape magazine about her love of Fage Greek yogurt with fresh blueberries or pistachios. "I also like to make my own lavender honey," she told the publication. Detailing the steps, she said she simply adds dried lavender to her honey and, once it sits, the honey becomes infused with the flowers. She mixes that in with her yogurt for a "salty, sweet, and a little tangy" taste, which she says is great for breakfast, a snack, or really for any time of day.
Ripa is also a believer of always having fresh produce in the home as snacks — especially for her children. Likewise, follows a similar a clean eating plan for dinner. She explained, "If I'm having a sliced chicken breast, I'd put it on a bed of simple sautéed spinach with a little bit of lemon and olive oil." She admitted she's not a fan of drenching food in various sauces. "I just want the taste of the food," she said.
Clean eating means not eating too much crap
A big part of of eating clean is adding lots of fresh foods to your diet. Of course, it also entails cutting back on the amount of processed products and junk food you consume. While Ripa admitted to ABC News that she does have a candy drawer at her house — one that she hilariously named "The Andy Cohen" drawer after her friend — she still tries to eat as healthy as possible.
"For the most part, when I'm not busy dipping into the drawer, I eat a very clean diet," she detailed. For Ripa, that means eating a good amount of vegetables and protein, but she explained how she doesn't really overthink her dietary choices. "It's everything you've read about or heard about in any diet book — don't eat too much crap, and I don't," she told the interviewer. "If that's the secret, then that's the secret!" True enough.
She can't go without some snacks
As Ripa admitted in her interview with ABC News, she will rummage in the candy drawer to find a not-so-clean snack. Her greatest weakness is not exactly candy, but Pepperidge Farm goldfish crackers. "It's a wonderful snack that I'm addicted to," she admitted to Shape Magazine. The little golden fishies aren't the only snacks she eats, though.
Ripa told Bon Appétit that snacking is her vice. "I give up snacking for lent every year," she said. That means no goldfish, no chips, and everything of the like. Although she seems to want to snack less, when she does inevitably succumb to her craving, she tries to find healthy versions. In her Live with Kelly and Ryan dressing room she keeps a variety of so-called "clean" goodies — from sugar-free to high-protein products — at the ready. "I don't know if they're any good for me," she confessed, "But I like the taste of them." That's all that matters.
What's a sandwich without cheese?
In addition to curtailing her snacking habits for lent, Ripa has also tried to cut out cheese — to no avail. In an interview with Shape, Ripa said she tried it once, but found it quite difficult. "I realized that cheese is the foundation of what I eat when I gave it up and went, 'I can't eat any of this! Who wants a turkey sandwich without cheese?'" She's since decided that cheese is the one food she can't live without. Considering Pepperidge Farm goldfish crackers are made with cheese, it's no wonder they're her favorite.
Ripa has been able to find a balance. When speaking to Good Housekeeping, the TV personality said she will eat "a ton of vegetables" at dinner, along with a salad, soup, or some fish. She admitted that she really does try "not to have too much cheese." Don't we all, Kelly? Don't we all.
She loosely follows the alkaline cleanse
In 2015, Ripa told the audience of Live with Kelly and Michael (now Live with Kelly and Ryan) that she found a life-changing cleanse. According to People, Ripa accredited the alkaline cleanse, or anti-acid diet, with eliminating pain and reshaping the way she thinks about food. "You're not hungry [on the diet]," she confessed. And the reason for that is simple: "You eat," she explained, "I actually eat much more on this cleanse than I do in my actual life, but it's what you eat and how you eat it."
The purpose of the cleanse is to eliminate acidic foods (coffee, most fresh meats, hard cheeses, etc.) and consume more alkaline-rich foods (kale, sprouts, cabbage, etc.). In doing so, the hope is to increase the pH value of your body and, in turn, improve your health. But does it actually work? The best answer: meh.
Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom, diet and nutrition editor for Today, said it's not necessarily a bad diet, but the benefits have been greatly exaggerated. "To say that the alkaline diet specifically is altering your body function because of a change in your body pH? That's not something you can do," she reasoned.
Pizza and French fries?
It's evident that Ripa places a high value on her health. However, even as a regular exerciser and a healthy eater, she's tempted by the same greasy goodness that entices us all. While a typical day for Ripa would include copious healthy foods — toast, protein bars, flaxseed snacks, fruits, vegetables, and fish — she admitted to Good Housekeeping that she "would love nothing more than to have pizza and french fries every day." Ripa does, however, value moderation. Instead of totally eliminating unhealthy foods from her diet, she simply cuts back. "I try to limit those treats to once a week," she explained. No doubt that's great, and reasonable, advice.
Even while following the alkaline cleanse, Ripa had no plans to give up one of her highly acidic favorites. "I'm still drinking coffee, even though I lied [to my nutritionist] and told him I wasn't," she divulged on her show (via People). We won't tell if you won't.
She's giving juice cleanses a go
Kelly Ripa may be satisfied with her high-alkaline diet, but that doesn't mean she'll never try something new. With some encouragement from her cohost, Ryan Seacrest, Ripa decided to try the iZO's Superfood Cleanse, which, as People explained, is essentially a juice cleanse with the addition of "superfood powders," like algae and seaweed. Oh. Oh my.
Ripa, never having been one for juice cleanses, said she'd give it a shot after witnessing Seacrest's success. Fast forward to two short days later and she revealed on her show: "I'm going to be honest, I'm not going to make it." If you've ever tried a juice cleanse, you know the struggle is real.
Seacrest urged his cohost to stick with it, but she was not too sure. "It really makes your system — it really goes into overdrive," Ripa told the audience while gesturing to her lower stomach, "I know people are having breakfast, but a lot is happening." She joked, "I could go at any time." As one concerned about stomach noises, "going" on live TV would be infinitely more embarrassing for sure.