**Thank you to Disney for setting up the interview and covering travel expenses on this trip. Opinions are my own.*
During my trip to LA for the Iron Man 3 red carpet premiere we got to have a sit down with Gwyneth Paltrow. As mentioned in the Interview Part 1 post, she is such a kind person. She is funny and very committed to her family and part of that is making sure they eat right. Out of that and out of friends always coming to her for cooking advice, her cookbook “It’s All Good” was born. It was nice to hear Gwyneth open up about her family and what got her focusing on the healthy lifestyle she does her best to live all the time (of course we all have cheat days, and it makes me feel good to know that this stunning woman indulges every once in a while too).
With her newest cookbook hitting the shelves we definitely wanted to know how in the world she got started doing cookbooks (as if her plate isn’t full enough already, right??).
I started writing down my recipes because I was always a cook and a foodie. My friends would call me asking me how do you do that or this, what temperature do I roast this? Like, there’s Julia, my best friend since seventh grade, she called me once and she said, I have a guy coming over and I have no idea what to make- I have to make dinner. Or friends calling to ask “What’s an easy dinner” or “I have a dinner party, what can I make”.
So, I started writing them all down My dad is the one who taught me to cook, we learned together and our connection to food was such a big part of our relationship. Then when he died I thought it would be a really nice way to pay homage to him and our relationship and at the same time it was cathartic.
I guess I kind of felt him in the kitchen. It was really sweet. You know, I really felt him there. Then this particular book I did basically because my son has really bad eczema, so I did his food allergy tests and stuff. He’s really allergic to gluten and cow’s milk. I felt so bad for him, not having regular ice cream, meat balls and stuff. So I just decided-I’m gonna just make him, basically a mini-encyclopedia of totally yummy comfort food that’s on his diet.
It’s been incredible because so many people are trying to avoid gluten either for weight or they’re allergic to it, so, that’s sort of how it all happened.
In “It’s All Good” you may find reference about items that may not usually be in your pantry/fridge. One such reference is duck egg, so of course we wanted to know the reasoning behind that being gluten free was the reason.
Yes, because he can’t have chicken egg. I’m actually allergic to chicken egg, as well, so there’s some duck egg in the cookbook. I do regular eggs, as well, but this is to just give people an idea. That’s why the whole baking, the whole sweet section has no egg, no milk, no butter, no gluten. I want to give alternatives for moms who are trying to follow that kind of regimen.
As a mom, I enjoy that my kids want to help in the kitchen which left me wondering do Gwyneth’s kids help out in the kitchen with her??
Oh yes. My son, especially, is really into it. He can, like, perfectly crack an egg. He has since he was four- no shells in the bowl. Every weekend, we cook something together. He loves it.
My dad did with me where he always kind of set up the space for me to win or to do something that I didn’t expect. He would, like, allow me to do something where he was “You can solve that.” I thought it was such an interesting parenting philosophy, with very close supervision to be set up to really surprise ourself and to grow in like one instant. I do that a lot with my kids in the kitchen.
It’s just cool. Then he’s so proud of himself and I actually think that the kitchen is an amazing place to interact and teach kids. Like, we do math in the kitchen. It’s such quality time of interacting but you’re also making dinner, you know what I mean? You’re doing something you need to do anyway, so why not with them?
We all know I am a secret rap star, it seems I share that talent with Gwyneth. When asked about her rapping skills in the kitchen here is what she had to say:
Do you have a hidden camera in my kitchen? That is so crazy. How do you know that? Yes, we are a hip hop household, a hundred percent. My son is especially. He said the best thing the other day because he’s loves hip hop. He’s obsessed!
You know, Jay-Z’s a really close friend of ours and that was my son’s sort of gateway into hip hop. Now he’s branched out and the other day he was, like, “Mom, I think that Jay is story rapper and Kid Cudi is a feelings rapper.” was like, “You’re totally right. This is so weird.”
So yeah, the answer is yes.
I had such a great time at the Gwyneth interview and I am definitely looking forward to trying Korean Chicken Tacos (pg.116) and the Dark Chocolate Bark with coconut, almonds, and sea salt (pg. 252). Don’t worry I will be sure to share how they turned out.
Toni Patton
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I have been wanting to check this book out. I am excited it is gluten and dairy free. We use a similar diet for my son’s autism and I love getting new recipes that focus on this type of cooking.
I have heard that that is a good book. So neat that you have an autographed copy!
She is so cute!
Sounds like a great book.
I love this cookbook! So many yummy looking and sounding recipes!
I’m definitely going to grab a copy of this cookbook!
I love that it’s allergy friendly.
The Dark Chocolate Bark with coconut, almonds, and sea salt sounds really good. 🙂
sounds like a fabulous interview I’m so happy for you that you were able to experience it all
I love that it all started as homage to her dad.
I am in love with this cookbook. Gwyneth was so down to earth and real. I am so happy she took the time to talk with us.