If your pantry is full but you still somehow have “nothing to eat,” this one’s for you.
Giada De Laurentiis is in a phase where it’s less about complicated recipes and more about getting the basics right. Less focused on complicated recipes, more focused on what’s actually worth keeping on your shelves. With her Giadzy pantry line, she’s dialing in on foundational ingredients, bronze cut, slow dried pasta that holds sauce properly, high polyphenol olive oil that brings both flavor and function, and tomatoes that taste like they were picked at the right time.
Because living well, for her, isn’t a full reset. It’s the small things that actually stick. What you make on a random weeknight. What you pour over your pasta. What you keep stocked without thinking twice.
In this edition of Living Well With, Giada shares the habits that anchor her mornings, the pantry swap she recommends to everyone, how motherhood has shaped her perspective on nourishment, and what la dolce vita looks like at home today.
If you love conversations with founders who are redefining wellness from the inside out, read our latest Living Well With featuring Robin Berzin, founder and CEO of Parsley Health here.
Living Well with Giada
Do you have a morning ritual that sets the tone for your day? Yesss! I’m a creature of habit, and I’ve found that is what makes me feel good for the busy day ahead. I feed my dogs, take them for a stroll, and go right into an hour of yoga. I drink bone broth and collagen powder as my first food every day. All of that before I have any coffee or phone time.
Do you have a non-negotiable ritual that grounds you no matter how busy life gets? Being with my family (including the animals!). Sitting with them and really being present, hearing about my daughters day, cooking alone with no cameras. All therapy to me!
How has being a mom shaped the way you think about food and wellness? As a mom, it’s my job to make sure I’m feeding Jade food that has the nutrients she needs to grow. To me, that means making sure that the food that I’m feeding her is real. Now that she’s a teen, I don’t have as much control over what she eats, but she has a good baseline understanding of what works for her, and that’s all I can ask for.
What’s always stocked in your pantry? My Go-to vinaigrette
Pre-making condiments and dressings is one of my favorite hacks to save time, and still consume the whole ingredient.
I use the Giadzy Organic Coastal Puglia Olive Oil because it’s high polyphenol so that I get an extra hit of antioxidants.
Your new pantry line highlights quality ingredients and thoughtful sourcing. Why do you think it’s important for people to rethink what’s in their pantry? Your pantry sets the tone for how you eat every day. If you stock it with high-quality ingredients then cooking becomes so much easier and healthier. It’s not about having a million specialty products, it’s about choosing a few really good basics that you can rely on.
What’s one thing most people don’t realize about the health difference between premium pantry staples and conventional ones? So much of what we consume is filled with fillers, dyes, additives. It can feel super overwhelming to tackle your pantry.
Taking the time to source your ingredients is one small action that you can take to elevate your dishes and feel good about what you’re eating. We tirelessly source the best ingredients, which goes all the way to where our pasta is cut and how it is dried. It’s a labor of love, so that you don’t have to do the thinking.
If someone could only swap one pantry item for a higher-quality option, where should they start? Pasta! It’s such an easy swap. Pick a pasta that is imported from Italy, bronze cut, and slow dried for a nutrient dense product to feed your whole family.
What do you hope people feel when they open their pantry and see your products? I want people to feel that they are getting a really transparent product so that they know that what they’re serving their family is the best it can be. Having grown up in Rome, these foods taste like home to me. We so often hear “pasta tastes so different abroad” and that is literally because it is. We are bringing that luxury into your everyday pantry. Shop Giada’s Pasta here.
What book or podcast are you loving at the moment? I love Elise Loehnen’s podcast Pulling the Thread. And I like to listen to books while I work out, and just finished Bobbi Brown’s new book. So good.
What does “living well” mean to you right now, in this season of your life? Taking the time to enjoy my life. Things get so hectic, and I love finding my slice of la dolce vita by spending time with my animals and family. I’m at my core an introvert, so being at home is.
The post Living Well With Giada De Laurentiis: On Pantry Swaps, Morning Rituals, and La Dolce Vita at Home appeared first on The Chalkboard Mag.