Kelis Rogers Shared Her Must-Have Condiment for Any Holiday, and It’s Such a Mood

Plus, the singer talked about her life as a farmer and chef, her favorite training shoes and her lactose-free eggnog milkshake recipe.

Reviewed by Dietitian Jessica Ball, M.S., RD

When it isn’t bringing boys to the yard, Kelis Rogers’ milkshake brings family and friends to the farm. The singer and songwriter you probably know from her hit songs like “Milkshake” and “Bossy” now spends most of her time tending to her farm in California, and her remote location has only made her more passionate about food and agriculture.

Rogers is also a chef—and an inclusive one at that. She’s partnered with Lactaid to promote their lactose-free eggnog and vanilla ice cream, so everyone can enjoy a dairy milkshake without any unneeded stomach discomfort. “I think a lot of people don't realize that Lactaid is real farm-fresh milk,” Rogers said in our interview. “I didn't know that initially, so when I delved into more research, I was like, ‘Oh, this is great.’ If I didn't know it, and I actually do lots of food research, I'm sure lots of other people don't know. So [I] just wanted to start the conversation.”

Related: What Happens to Your Body When You Eat Dairy Every Day

Besides the talk about dairy, Chef Rogers also dished on how she stays active and her favorite hiking shoe. Plus, we talked about her favorite holiday condiment, her Black and Puerto Rican roots and her tips for becoming a plant parent in your own home.

EatingWell: What life lessons have you learned since moving from New York and L.A. to the farm?

Rogers: You have to create your own spaces. For me, having great wine, having great snacks, having people over—that's when my late nights really come off the phone, and I get to be outside. I can play music as loud as I want and I can do whatever I want. I smoke meat all hours of the night, and I love it. With one thing you lose, you gain something else, but I'm loving it.

EatingWell: I’m sure your lifestyle is pretty active on the farm, but do you still have a favorite form of exercise to stay feeling fit?

Rogers: I love pilates. I also love Krav Maga. I'm not a gym person, though I will go to the gym, but I like to keep myself busy and take lots of hikes. I walk a lot. And I'm always lifting heavy stuff anyways, but yeah, just like being active. But pilates is really mindful. You get to think about it and flow, and you get to get strong that way.

EatingWell: Do you have a favorite training shoe?

Rogers: I love my HOKAs. They're lightweight. They're colorful. They feel great. Those are my favorite hiking shoes, for sure.

Rogers is often seen on social media wearing her HOKA Tor Ultra High WP hiking shoes, which are half-off right now!

EatingWell: How do you prepare your eggnog for the holidays?

Rogers: I'm Puerto Rican. I grew up drinking coquitos, so eggnog wasn't even really something I grew up drinking. It's actually really delicious, so we decided to make a milkshake, obviously, which kept it really simple. I like to add a little crunch in mine with cookies. They kind of mend the milkshake. I like graham crackers or gingerbread. I also like shortbread, stuff with a good crumble.

EatingWell: What  experiences inspired you to prioritize inclusive cooking and dining when it comes to dietary restrictions like lactose intolerance?

Rogers: Being a chef, I have a lot of allergies. I want people to enjoy and to feel love. You want them to not have weird reactions and feel bad, so the first thing to do is put them at ease, right? ‘This is going to be good for you. It's going to feel good, and you're going to love it. You're not going to suffer for it afterwards.’ Food can be a touchy subject sometimes with people, but for me culturally being Black and Puerto Rican, [food] is the epicenter of every family function. So you want everyone to feel cared for and loved, because that's the whole point of going through all the effort.

EatingWell: What’s one absolute must-have at your family’s holiday dinner table?

Rogers: Must-have is gravy. If I don't have a gravy to pour on stuff, I don't know what is happening. Quite frankly, I'm offended. You go to someone's house, and there's no gravy? Like, what was I supposed to do here guys? What was the plan? I’m a saucier, though, so I am partial to sauces. I want to dip, smother, pour and all that good stuff. I just think gravy is the best part of every holiday.

EatingWell: If you could invite any chef to contribute to your holiday dinner, who would it be and why?

Rogers: I'm a big fire-and-heat girl, so I have a long list of chefs that I think would be awesome like Chef Kwame out of New York. I think culturally we could do a lot of things we love, go gastro and be a lot of fun.

EatingWell: What advice do you have for cityfolk that want fresher food options?

Rogers: I would see what farms are around. Farmers care. Ninety percent of the time you call a farm, they’re going to [say], ‘Check us out at this farmers market,’ or, ‘We actually have a service, a farm collective or business going on.’ I think we've lost that relationship that we had with our local growers, farmers [and] beekeepers. These people still exist, and they need support, so I always support local, Black or women farmers. There’s a lot more of us than people think. And we care, so I think that's the way you can kind of eat better [with] very little effort.

Related: Farming While Black: How One Woman Is Improving Access to Healthy Food for Black Families

EatingWell: What advice would you give to people wanting to start growing plants in their homes or apartments?

Rogers: Funny enough, I got one of those little kits that you sit on your countertop. It was herbs like basil, oregano, thyme and mint. It was so easy, and then you always have fresh herbs. Even if you just start like that, having your own herbs be so fresh, you start to get full of yourself when you're like, ‘Oh, that actually tastes so much better!’ I go to the grocery store and a lot of stuff tastes very tasteless to me. You can just [grow] it on your countertop and see the difference. That’s a great igniter for the next step of what you're going to grow.

Related: Your Ultimate Guide to Growing Herbs Indoors

EatingWell: What does eating well mean to you?

Rogers: Eating well means good quality. If you’re eating good quality ingredients, I think that's the key. If I'm going to eat butter, it's going to be really good-quality butter. If I'm going to eat meat, it's gonna be really great meat. That to me is eating well, which makes it so that I don't really diet. In general, I’m gonna eat what I want to eat, and it's gonna be great. I think that people misunderstand what eating well is. They think that if you eat healthy, you have to eat with no flavor, which I think is the worst lie of all time. You can eat something super flavorful, and it can be really delicious and packed full of nutrients. I believe in purposeful eating. I want every ingredient to do something good for me, so I'm very cognizant about how I choose my ingredients.

Read the original article on Eating Well.