Giada De Laurentiis Has the Most Surprising Favorite Snack Combo
It’s always fascinating to see what celebrities eat behind closed doors. Millionaire Food Network hosts have access to the fanciest ingredients in the world, but what do they secretly snack on while watching a few hours of mindless reality shows? Is it really caviar all day, or are their cravings a little more relatable?
Giada de Laurentiis became a star thanks to her engaging personality, her mega-watt smile, and her undeniable talent for whipping up Italian cuisine. But when it comes to snacking, the Giada at Home host doesn’t exclusively reach for antipasto platters like you might expect.
Instead, the mother of one has a unique yet strangely enticing snack combo that you’ll want to try for yourself at home.
Giada De Laurentiis is obsessed with lemons
The Food Network host and Le Cordon Bleu educated chef has a known affinity for lemons that extends into her personal and professional life. Mashed reported that De Laurentiis’s favorite dish is “lemon spaghetti with a simple arugula and Parmesan salad” while her favorite thing to order at her restaurant is lemon ricotta cookies.
And even in the kitchen, she names lemon as the one thing she can’t live without. When asked about her most essential kitchen staple, the cookbook author waxed poetic on the loveliness of lemons.
“You’re probably thinking I would say garlic or olive oil, but for me, it’s lemons,” De Laurentiis told Cooking Light. “I use their juice or zest to bring out the flavors of almost everything I make. Lemon juice is fat free and full of clean flavor, and it’s especially useful for lighter dishes. You can also use it as a substitute for the crispness of white wine in a recipe, if you prefer not to use alcohol.”
She loves one very strange snack combination
Pickles and ice cream might be the stereotypical weird food combination, but you had to know that for De Laurentiis, all snacks should include lemons.
It may sound bizarre, but De Laurentiis admitted enjoying Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies or Nilla wafers dipped in lemonade. “You’ve got to try it,” she told Delish, closing her eyes and imagining the sweet combination. “Yuuuum.”
De Laurentiis keeps it healthy at home
The best thing about De Laurentiis’s recipes is they’re simple enough to follow even for novice home cooks. She’s got a flair for combining seemingly basic ingredients to create gourmet dishes the whole family will enjoy.
And even when she tries to get fancy, she always returns to tried and true favorites. “I love to go wild experimenting with different gourmet ingredients and styles of cooking, but most nights involve simple ingredients and big flavor,” De Laurentiis admitted.
A lot of times she experiments with cuisines outside her comfort zone, including Asian and Indian food she never had at her childhood dinner table.
But no matter what Giada De Laurentiis is making at home or on her show, there’s a good chance she has her beloved lemons in close reach. Especially when she’s eating Milanos.
