Unless you literally don’t care about pop culture at all, it’s hard not to sometimes wonder what goes on in the private homes of our favorite (and even our not-so-favorite) celebrities. They live such glamorous, lavish lifestyles in the public eye that you can’t help but think about what they’re doing when they’re on their own with their family — especially when it comes to food. Are they shopping for the same things we are? Are they making their own meals or have they hired a private chef to do that for them? Are they really as healthy as they seem to be, or are they more lenient when the cameras aren’t around?
Luckily, a lot of stars are willing to dish (sorry, couldn’t resist!) on not only what they eat when they’re home, but also what they feed their kids. Whether you’re a parent or not, it’s beyond interesting to hear about how celebrity parents take care of their children… and as it turns out, these kids are probably eating better than most of us are! No real surprise there, though.
Take a look at what 21 celebrities feed their kids each day. Maybe you’ll even get some inspiration for your own family meals?
1. Kim Kardashian West makes hot dog sushi.
The internet was pretty horrified when Kim Kardashian West revealed one of the snacks she gives her kids: hot dog sushi, which is exactly what it sounds like (hot dogs rolled in sushi rice and seaweed). Kardashian West has also said that she loves to give them nutritious versions of snacks they like, such as Cheddar Bunnies instead of Goldfish. On her app, she wrote, “I’m definitely not obsessed with organic foods to the level that Kourt is, but I do think it’s really important to feed my kids more nourishing options, especially while they’re growing.”
2. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s kids love to eat bugs.
It’s all about the snacks for Angelina Jolie’s kids, and they aren’t exactly what you would expect.
In 2011, Jolie said that her kids have pretty expanded tastebuds, explaining, “I’ve always loved to eat crickets. It’s their favorite thing. They ate them like Doritos and they wouldn’t stop. But they’re good. They are like a potato chip.” She actually had to stop them from eating the bugs because they were eating so many. So… that’s interesting.
3. Alicia Silverstone’s son was a born vegan.
Alicia Silverstone is famous for feeding her son, Bear, from her mouth — literally.
She once said she chews his food and then gives it to him from her mouth to his. But what is she actually chewing? Probably something vegan. Silverstone is a strong advocate for a vegan diet and has been raising Bear on that since he was born.
A video for the nonprofit Farm Sanctuary’s Compassionate Meals program shows Silverstone and Bear eating veggie burgers and a kale salad as she explains why she’s so into veganism, saying, “I just have always been really interested in the truth in all areas of life. And so knowing the truth about where our food comes from is just so disturbing to me. Once you see it, there’s no way to go back from that for me.” She added that she feeds Bear easy-to-make meals like vegan tacos and stir-fries, all based on what’s in her fridge.
4. Gisele Bundchen and Tom Brady’s kids eat like athletes.
It’s no secret that Gisele Bundchen and Tom Brady follow an extremely strict diet, and apparently, they expect their kids to do the same. Their personal chef, Allen Campbell, told the Boston Globe that for the kids, “80 percent of what they eat is vegetables. [I buy] the freshest vegetables. If it’s not organic, I don’t use it.”
Campbell also said he doesn’t cook with sugar, white flour, iodized salt, MSG, or olive oil.
He makes the kids sushi out of brown rice, avocado, carrot, and cucumber, keeping it gluten-free. The kids also love fruit (which Brady doesn’t eat), so Campbell makes them “fruit rolls from bananas, pineapple, and spirulina.”
5. Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka’s kids are total foodies.
Apparently, Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka’s kids have pretty great palates.
In one interview, Burtka said that they are total foodies, explaining, “My kids are crazy eaters. They have incredible palates. Gideon eats everything you put in front of him. His passion for cooking and eating good food is in his soul. His favorite foods:
Clams, sushi, octopus, grilled pork, steak, Parmesan cheese, ginger, mint, cinnamon and coconut.
Harper likes very strong and briny flavors. Some of her favorites: Oysters, sardines, prosciutto, capers, duck liver, miso, and anything chocolate.”
6. Jessica Alba prefers cooking to take-out.
Is there anything Jessica Alba doesn’t do?
She has said that she likes to cook for her kids, and tries to keep them on a diet of homemade, healthy foods that are still fun for them. Alba told The Rachael Ray Show that two of her favorite recipes for her kids are vegetable-topped pizza, and healthier popsicles made with greens and herbs and not a lot of sweet ingredients.
Alba has also told Us Weekly that she has to get creative to get her kids to eat vegetables, saying, “I make them just try it, even if they don’t like it.” She added, “But, it’s not an option for them to eat vegetables. It’s like you have to eat vegetables in your meal somehow…or else you’re gonna be in deep trouble!”
7. Gwyneth Paltrow’s kids eat organic… but love French fries.
Although there have been a lot of rumors that Gwyneth Paltrow keeps her kids on a strict no-carbs diet, the star has said that isn’t true. She told Women’s Health that her son “should eat gluten-free” because of his eczema, but she doesn’t avoid carbs entirely. She added, “I try to have whole foods, organic when possible. And a lot of vegetables — my daughter is vegetarian, so a lot of our meals are plant-based.”
But Paltrow is also realistic about what her kids really want to eat, and she lets them do so.
She told You magazine, “You can’t tell them, ‘No Coke, no cake.’ It is not realistic. Their favorite foods are pasta and French fries. It’s about trying to augment that with something healthy.” She added that she loves to cook most nights, but doesn’t have strict rules.
8. Chrissy Teigen’s daughter is all about spaghetti and fish sticks.
Chrissy Teigen has been honest about how hard it can be to feed a picky toddler.
She once tweeted, “I always came from the mindset of ‘eat what we serve or go to bed hungry,’ but I’m officially owned by my toddler, struggling to make a *dinner* luna likes aside from spaghetti and fish sticks. Any ideas welcome!” Teigen got so desperate that she made a menu for her daughter, saying, “I’m spending my days making a menu, cooking and plating every meal and taking pics so my DARLING ANGEL will eat something WHO HAVE I BECOME … I just love projects.”
9. Kristin Cavallari keeps it realistic.
In her book Balancing In Heels, Kristin Cavallari wrote that when her kids stopped breastfeeding, she started feeding them homemade goat’s milk baby formula. Since then, Cavallari has said that she’s not as strict with their diet as people think she is. The reality star told People that while she does try to be as healthy as possible, “I’m not so strict with them that they’re gonna go to a friend’s house and then go to college and just completely go the other way. I’m realistic too, and I want them to be kids and enjoy everything that comes with being a kid.”
10. Kourtney Kardashian kids follow an organic, gluten-free, dairy-free diet.
In 2016, Kourtney Kardashian wrote about her super healthy diet for her and her kids on her app, saying, “I have noticed a great positive change in behavior with my children when we stick to a gluten-free and dairy-free diet. I don’t think everyone needs to eat this way but we had muscle testing done, which showed we all have sensitivities to corn, gluten and dairy.”
Kardashian has said her kids love eating things like gluten-free waffles, carrots and celery with hummus, a gluten-free rice tortilla with turkey meat or hot dogs, and candy without artificial dyes or ingredients. She added, “Of course, we pick our battles and I do let the kids have popcorn at the movies and a churro at Disneyland.” She has also said that they all indulge more when they’re on vacation.
11. Madonna’s family sticks to a hard-core organic, macrobiotic diet.
In 2012, it was reported that Madonna kept her kids on a strict organic, macrobiotic, vegetarian diet.
They were also supposedly only allowed to drink Kabbalah water, and never allowed to go near fast food. A 2016 report on Page Six claimed that her kids Rocco and Lourdes were “over” their mom’s controlling parenting style, with a source saying, “Madonna’s kids must follow the hard-core macrobiotic diet that she herself abides by. Sweets and chocolate are outlawed, along with dairy products, salt and preservatives.”
12. Jennifer Garner literally prepares homemade bagels.
Jennifer Garner keeps her kids on a healthy diet that mainly eliminates sugar and other junk foods.
She once told People, “I’m not worried so much about junk food, because we don’t have it in the house — although I don’t want to be a freak about it, so that they just want to get their hands on it at all costs. It’s more that you just want to make sure they’re getting a rainbow of flavors and of foods.”
She also said that she grows a lot of her own fruits and veggies.
Garner told Well + Good that she prefers making her own fresh food for the kids, saying, “We have bee hives in our yard, my kids have their bee suits and like to get involved with it all — it’s so fun, it’s like a living science experiment. In our garden, we grow tons of fruits and vegetables and we’re so lucky to live where we live, because we can grow almost anything — we can’t stop planting new things!”
We’re also obsessed with the lengths she goes to make her kids feel special, she’s even filmed herself waking up super early mixing, proofing and boiling to prepare homemade bagels.
13. Nicole Richie pushes fruit over sugar.
Nicole Richie has said that she grows a lot of the food she feeds her kids, opting for an organic, fresh diet. One source told Gulf News, “Nicole is obsessed with doing everything she can to try to keep her children healthy and safe. She insists on everything being organic. The food, the diapers, the clothing. She’s always at Whole Foods.”
Richie also once told The Talk, “Sugar is obviously a big no-no,” explaining, “I was at a birthday party and there was a cupcake with all this pink icing and there was a blueberry on top of the cupcake. Harlow looked at it and her eyes got so wide and she was like ‘Ohh,’ and I was like, ‘Oh boy, here we go,’ and she was like ‘Blueberries!’ So I went to the kitchen and got her a whole thing of blueberries. And she was happy.”
14. Natalie Portman’s kiddos love coconut milk.
Natalie Portman has been an outspoken advocate of a vegan diet, so it’s not surprising to hear that she has raised her kids to be vegan as well. She told Us Weekly, “It comes really naturally because I think, you know, you tend to make one thing that everyone eats for dinner. We tend to eat vegan and vegetarian food in the house. It becomes like the normal stuff that kids get used to.”
Portman added that she likes options like tempeh bacon, coconut milk, yogurt, and cheese made out of cashews. She has also said that her son eats more of a vegetarian diet, and she encourages them to make their own decisions regarding their food.
15. Julia Roberts’ trying not to pass on her sugar tooth.
Julia Roberts keeps her kids away from sugar as much as she can. In 2010, she told People, “I’m a pretty strict mom when it comes to sweets. Even though I have such a sweet tooth myself.” She also said that she only allows her three kids to eat junk food and candy on special occasions, explaining, “You want sweets, ice cream and cake to be a great treat and a celebration. Something that’s not everyday. I think this makes them appreciate it when they do have it.”
16. Mindy Kaling is all about the DIY baby food recipes.
In 2018, Mindy Kaling revealed that despite her busy schedule, she loves to make time to make homemade food for her young daughter. She told Today, “One of the most rewarding parts of my weekend is doing meal prep for my daughter because she’s now eating foods. I never did this for myself before I had a kid.”
She also shared one of her DIY baby food recipes, saying she boils peeled and cubed sweet potatoes.
She added a bowl of cooked green beans, sliced mangoes, and poached salmon. She went on to say, “I know that there are so many good prepared organic baby foods out there you can buy, but because I work, I like making them on the weekends. It makes me feel like a part of my daughter’s life.”
17. Heidi Klum eats what she eats, or have to make their own meals.
Heidi Klum is one star who doesn’t seem quite as picky about what her kids are eating.
In an interview, she once said, “When the baby has baby food I usually give them exactly what we eat, but I put it in the Magic Bullet. I don’t make special baby food, so I love that.” She also added that her kids love to eat pretty much anything, saying, “They love spaghetti and meatballs, chicken soup, schnitzel and kale. They love everything! They eat healthy. I don’t make special things for them. They eat whatever is cooked and if they don’t like it, the kitchen is closed!”
18. Jenna Dewan’s daughter is a proud vegetarian.
Although Jenna Dewan eats a mostly vegan diet, she has been clear that she won’t force her daughter into veganism — but the little one is a vegetarian. Dewan told Health, “Evie is a vegetarian, mostly because I cook for her and it’s what I feel to be healthy for her and easiest.” She added, “She loves it and wears it like a badge. She will tell everyone, ‘I’m a vegetarian. I don’t eat meat,’ and I tell her, ‘Ev, you can try anything you want,’ but she’s like, ‘Ugh’ — very much a chip off the old block in that way.”
19. Kristen Bell likes to provide seasonal, colorful dishes.
Kristen Bell made the switch from vegan to vegetarian during her first pregnancy, and she tries to keep her kids on a mostly vegetarian diet now. She told Parents, “I do like to involve them as much as I possibly can. I also like that they are interested in the fact that I care so much about food and we can talk about that and why we eat the foods we eat, and talk about a colorful plate when I’m cutting up vegetables for a platter or a dish. We talk about what goes into it and why it’s good for your body. We have a lot of those discussions in our house so they understand that eating is something that should be done consciously.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, she sometimes cooks humanely-raised meat for her husband and her daughters, and keeps a focus on seasonal, colorful eating. She uses ghee instead of oils, or coconut oil if necessary. She likes spaghetti squash over pasta and cooks with a lot of mung beans. She also feeds her kids fresh fruits, dehydrated pea snacks, and tries to keep them away from sugar as much as possible, opting for healthy smoothies, like one made from bananas, cashew milk, dates, and cinnamon.
20. Bethenny Frankel’s loves truffle oil.
Bethenny Frankel might eat a vegetarian diet, but she doesn’t force her daughter to do the same, although she does encourage it. She once wrote, “As far as raising Bryn as a vegetarian, that was a personal choice. If Bryn is older and wants something at a party that isn’t vegetarian, I don’t want her to feel ostracized. She’ll find her way… I chose not to have her be vegan because I believe she needs the fat and protein in milk…Sometimes I need her to fill up on organic cheese. Her health comes first.”
Her youngster is also a tough critic, with a pretty refined palate.
In an adorable Instagram Story, Bethenny shared Bryn’s thought on her mama’s homemade pasta (made with truffle oil, butter and salt, and pesto.) Her hilarious commentary? A bit less sauce “per noodle” and, a girl after our own hearts, added, it needed “”a lot more” butter.”
21. Laila Ali loves go-to easy meals, like tacos.
Professional boxer Laila Ali told People that she has to plan fun meals in order to get her kids to eat healthy foods.
She explained that she loves making them tacos, saying, “I can find ways to switch up the flavors and they don’t get tired of tacos. They are easy to make, and I can sneak veggies into my taco meat, so I make that pretty often.” She also said that she loves to make them her favorite home-cooked meals, like gumbo.
