The Indian Dish Padma Lakshmi Makes Every Week

If you count yourself as a fan of "Top Chef," you can't go an episode without an appearance from host and executive producer, Padma Lakshmi. According to her website, Lakshmi ranks as a well-known food critic and has gone on to create other food-based shows, like Hulu's "Taste the Nation," after the success of "Top Chef." After moving from India to the United States and eventually graduating from college with a degree in literature, Lakshmi turned heads as a supermodel and used her star power to help create content focused around cooking culture on Food Network and the Discovery Channel.

With so many projects under her belt and in the works, it's hard to imagine that this model-turned-host has time in the evening to cook dinner. Despite her busy schedule, Lakshmi uses the evenings to bond with her children in the kitchen. She told Buzzfeed that she helps her kids make healthy food choices by having them help make dinner. "I think one of the best ways to get kids to eat — and especially eat something healthy — is to empower them by contributing to the meal in some way," Lakshmi told Buzzfeed." Washing the lettuce for a salad, chopping vegetables (if they're old enough to handle a knife), shelling peas, peeling potatoes, ripping the fresh herbs, stirring the soup, etc. Give them a part of the meal for which they can be responsible." Lakshmi also revealed her favorite meal to make for her family weekly.

Lakshmi has an organized system when it comes to cooking at home. She told Buzzfeed that each plate of food needs to contain 50% fruits and vegetables, 25% protein, and 25% starch. In order to keep these ratios on the menu, her household has a few standard recipes that it rotates through every week, and includes tacos and pasta with a Bolognese sauce. Lakshmi makes sure to serve up one special Indian dish each week. "Every Sunday we make a big batch of khichdi, which is an Indian savory porridge of rice and lentils with lots of vegetables," Lakshmi told Buzzfeed. "It's comforting, and easy to eat from a bowl on the floor for movie night."

When it comes to eating right, anyone can take a page from the celebrity's book and follow her weekly cooking schedule. With the right nutrition ratios and one signature, filling Indian dish, Lakshmi has found the recipe for success when it comes to keeping evenings on track while showing her children the importance of cooking.