The Real Housewives Of Dallasare officially on a filming hiatus along with the rest of the successful Bravo franchises as the world social isolates during the COVID19 pandemic, but that doesn’t mean that ‘wife D’Andra Simmons, 40, hasn’t been busy with her current businesses’ while still managing to find time in the kitchen during her quarantine and she is putting her ideas into a potential new book. The owner of Ultimate Living International, which was started by her mother Dee Simmons after her own personal battle with breast cancer and the passing of her grandmother to pancreatic cancer, has been so busy in the kitchen that she’s thinking of saving her recipes and turning them into a cookbook. From Indian cuisine to Italian breads too, it sounds like husband Jeremy is reaping all of the benefits as she tests out recipes and she filled HollywoodLife in EXCLUSIVELY on all of the details from her Texas home on April 3.
What are you binge watching? I just finished, well of course, what everybody’s watching — Tiger King!!! Seriously, who’s not watching that show? Next I’m going to look at Schitt’s Creek.
What are you doing to work out or stay fit during this time? I’m doing two to three videos a day on Amazon Prime because every time I’ve tried to mirror my phone and pair it with my TV with my Peloton or my Beachbody app, it crashes, so it’s the only thing I can get to work most of the time. I guess everybody in Highland Park [where we live] is doing the same thing. Sometimes I can only get my Amazon Prime videos to run part of the time, but it’s better than nothing and I’m doing the best I can under the circumstances. So, if I workout in the morning, I usually have a better chance of getting through the whole video than in the afternoon.
And what are your at home quarantine essentials? And what did you stock up on? My Lord, I am cooking as if I am competing like I’m going to be doing my final exam for the CIA. We’re eating everything. I took this time to test out some recipes, like French tarte recipes and Italian breads, things that I don’t usually have the time to make. I’m also trying things from some cookbooks that I have borrowed from my chef friends here in Dallas like Katherine Clapner. Before the shelter in place was issued in Dallas we went to the Central Market and stocked up on ingredients. We love to shop there because they have all the quality meat, fish and vegetables that we need. My husband likes to cook on the Big Green Egg and I normally cook the vegetables, so we have been going to the market about once a week. I also have Daily Harvest delivered because I like that service, and it ensures we are getting more vegetables and antioxidants into our diets. I like their smoothies in the morning and I like their soups for lunch. They are healthy, and the calories and portions are controlled. However, during quarantine I am eating things that I should not eat! I am eating bread and pasta, normally a “no, no” in our house! Not sure what has gotten into me, but I made some great homemade pasta sauce!
Courtesy of D’Andra Simmons
What’s on your quarantine playlist? I actually don’t have a specific quarantine playlist, however when I’m cooking, I always listen to opera, or classical music. If I am feeling like pop I listen to Lady Gaga, Lizzo, Rihanna, Beyonce or Halsey. If I listen to country it is Tim McGraw almost always! The funny thing is, what my husband and I really like to do is karaoke. We have an at home karaoke machine which has been put to use more than ever! I like to sing Amy Winehouse and my husband likes to sing Metallica and Motley Crue! Check out my Instagram stories as sometimes we will post our at home “quarantine” karaoke concerts!
Though her cookbook is still a work in progress, D’Andra takes major pride in her already formulated successful nutritional products for her company Ultimate Living. The formula for Green Miracle recently was relaunched using high-powered antioxidant ingredients and phytonutrients that boost your immune system, and help protect against the onslaught of toxins, pathogens, viruses, and free radicals. And, if your skin needs a nice refresher during this time at home, D’Andra has her Hard Night Good Morning skincare, a naturally derived, botanically based aloe vera cruelty-free skin care line.
