Daphne Oz may be the face of healthy cooking, but she braved an uphill battle with food well throughout her childhood. In an interview with Prevention, Oz candidly opened up about “being the overweight kid in a family full of health nuts,” and how it impacted her relationship with food and cooking as an adult.
“I needed to rejigger my relationship to the love I felt for food, the connection I felt to food, and the joy I felt for food while also taking good care of my body and positioning myself to feel as confident as I could in my skin ,” she told the health magazine.
Having a health-conscious family did instill good eating habits in Oz. The “MasterChef Junior” host recalled how growing up in a vegetarian household made her appreciate veggies more. This inspired her to try out a plant-based diet which she now loves. However, she never wanted healthy eating to feel like a “punishment”, or to mean she had to give up her favorite foods.
“I eat with a great deal of balance as somebody who genuinely just loves food too much to ever feel restricted about it,” she said. Oz may write cookbooks about healthy recipes, but she’s all about moderation. Comfort food is always an option with the right ingredients.
