Padma Lakshmi may have a bun in the oven, but she swears it's no "Pomegranate," the "Top Chef" judge tells PEOPLE, poking fun at creative celebrity baby names.
"I just want to see how the baby looks when it comes, and then I'll have some ideas," said Lakshmi, displaying her curvy figure in a long, low-cut Gucci gown on the Hammerstein Ballroom red carpet in New York for Alicia Keys's charitable Keep A Child Alive's annual Black Ball on Thursday.
Given her own background, Lakshmi, 39, indicates that the baby's name will be Indian-influenced. "The name will have to do with my family," she says. "I don't think it's going to be called 'Pomegranate' or 'Atlanta.' "
Lakshmi says she has yet to fix up a baby room or create a college fund for her unborn child. "I'm Indian," she said by way of explaining her superstition. "So we don't buy a whole bunch of stuff before the baby is born, because we want the baby to be born first, 'Not the cart before the horse.' "
In terms of eating for two, "I eat the same, just more often," she said. "Everything from movie theater nachos to spinach and apple salad. Everything. I'm not eating so much more. You only need 300 more calories. It's not a reason to pig out."
And when does she expect her bundle of joy? "I'm due in the spring."
As for the father, whom she has declined to name, "I don't know," she said when asked if one day there will be a big reveal. "But I don't want to talk about it either way. I'm extremely happy, and I feel really blessed."