Katherine Schwarzenegger is dishing on her favorite busy weeknight meal for her family of four, including her picky two-year-old daughter.
Schwarzenegger told TODAY that she enjoys finding ways to incorporate her daughters, who are two years apart, into her cooking process.
"It's always fun to be able to find new and exciting ways to help out in the kitchen and make the the ability to find fun things to cook for your family and do it in an easy and seamless way," Schwarzenegger said.
Schwarzenegger is a best-selling author of three books and the daughter of TODAY special anchor Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger. She shares two daughters, Lyla, 2, and Eloise, 4 months, with her husband, actor Chris Pratt.
TODAY Food caught up with Schwarzenegger as part of the launch of her collaboration with Rubbermaid DuraLite Bakeware's Tuesday Night Cooking Club.
For her go-to weeknight meal, Schwarzenegger said she created a new recipe based on a meal her mom used to cook for her and her siblings. Her mom, she said, always said she was better at baking than cooking, so she would make a "kitchen sink scramble" with whatever was left in the kitchen.
To put her own spin on it, Schwarzenegger said she made it into a quiche using whatever she has on hand and incorporating her kids in the baking process — and it even has the stamp of approval from her oldest daughter, Lyla.
"She's definitely a picky eater, so whenever I'm able to find something that she likes or that she actually is interested in, it makes it a huge win," she said. "It's really fun as she gets older to be able to have her help in the kitchen and to be able to do those fun things together because I just have such great memories of being able to do that with my mom growing up and doing it with my siblings as well."
Something nice about the quiche, Schwarzenegger said, is that it doesn't have to be perfect, so her daughter can help out in making the meal and make her feel like she's part of the process too — which also helps pique her interest in eating the food she made.
She emphasized that her go-to weeknight meal is ideal for everyone because of how quick it is. From college students to busy moms, everyone can make this easy recipe for a busy day.
Schwarzenegger also discussed who cooks more in her household between her and her husband, Chris Pratt.
"My husband does the cooking in our household, and he definitely is really amazing at it and also is always really eager to teach me how to be able to be better... It's definitely a love language for him so it's worked out really well that I am not as good as him."
Currently, Schwarzenegger hosts an Instagram Live series called BDA Baby (Before, During & After Baby) where she interviews a wide range of people surrounding all things baby-related. The series recently launched a newsletter, and she said this is a topic she's really passionate about.
"As a mom of two and also someone who became a mom during the pandemic, it had moments of feeling isolating and lonely, and I think being able to have this IG Live series where we're able to connect with so many different moms and the whole mom community on Instagram and be able to have great conversations with really interesting people has been such a huge gift and something I'm really excited about," she said.
