The boxing champion recently celebrated her new cookbook at The Pointe restaurant in West Hollywood, California.
It pays to eat well!
Laila Ali is dishing out tips on adding fresh ingredients to your plate in her new cookbook, Food for Life: Delicious & Healthy Comfort Food From My Table to Yours.
“We spend money on hair and our clothes and this that and the other, but we don’t always want to spend money on [quality foods],” Ali told ET during her book launch party at The Pointe restaurant in West Hollywood, California, last week, where guests munched on recreated recipes from the release including Smoky Shrimp Cobb Salad, Cheesy Quinoa & Rice Bake and Sock-It-To-Me-Honey cake.
The 40-year-old married mother of two, who has been cooking since before she stepped into a boxing ring, was instrumental in creating the atmosphere for the soiree and worked closely with DJ Ian Gotler of Red Shoe LA to curate a playlist of ‘90s R&B jams.
The event also featured lounge seating adorned with lavender pillows and cocktail tables provided by Signature Party Rentals, and a wall of fresh herbs for her guests, which included Garcelle Beauvais, Carson Kressley, Nicole Ari Parker and Boris Kodjoe, Tina Knowles Lawson, Samantha Harris and Yvette Nicole Brown, to take home.
Food for Life caters to meat eaters, seafood lovers, vegans, vegetarians and gluten-free diets.
The book even offers “swap it out” options to modify the recipes of delectable dishes like Louisiana-style jambalaya, baked zucchini fries with marinara dipping sauce, “oven fried” chicken wings, tomato and roasted garlic cream soup, key lime cheesecake and pecan sweet potato pie oatmeal parfait.
Ali only buys organic vegetables and free range, grassfed meats, but understands that a healthier lifestyle can get pricey. To offset some of the cost, she suggests scaling back on meat to leave more money for vegetables.
Most importantly, the four-time undefeated champion boxer warns that not paying for better quality foods could cost you in the long run.
“You’re either going to pay now, or you’re going to pay later [with your health],” she added. “We need to be in control of our lives, don’t let food control us. You don’t want to be sick because you can’t discipline yourself.”
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