A Glimpse Into Kamala Harris's Everyday Eating Habits

As the former Vice President, Kamala Harris was one of the most active politicians in Washington during her time in the White House. Her 2024 presidential bid kept her in the spotlight and the campaign trail was undoubtedly a hectic time for her and her team. Her busy schedule directly impacted her lifestyle, leading her to embrace her overall wellness, which is obvious in her personal eating habits.

Because of her schedule, Harris's breakfast is simple, but it isn't an afterthought. In a 2018 interview with The Cut, Harris revealed how she starts her mornings. "I usually stand at my kitchen counter eating some kind of Raisin Bran in almond milk while I look at my schedule for the day," she remarked. "It's the generic Raisin Bran that I get from the grocery store—I try to not have a lot of sugar in it." Harris often enjoys some tea before leaving for the day as well, balancing out her quick and nutritional breakfast.

But even before she has breakfast and heads out the door, Harris sets the tone for her day with a workout. "I fight for [time for myself]," she told Elle in 2015. "You got to take care of yourself."

Former Vice President Kamala Harris has a deep love of cooking and over the years, she's been very open about her eating habits. Those habits include meals that connect to her ethnicity, as showcased in a November 2019 episode of her "Cooking With Kamala" YouTube series. Harris teamed up with comedian Mindy Kaling to prepare masala dosas, a traditional South Indian dish, in an episode that also featured a discussion on their shared heritage.

That heritage included a vegetarian upbringing, which is the norm for many South Indian families. "If it had a mother, it was not getting eaten," Harris revealed. She also admitted that when she was growing up, she regularly ate rice and yogurt, potato curry, and dal, a dish made from dried lentils, beans, and peas.

Harris's mother regularly treated the family to meals made from scratch, including fresh baked cookies that were always readily available. While Harris didn't consider herself a food snob, she confessed that she was serious about her cooking.

Kamala Harris has enjoyed a successful career in politics, which most recently included a four-year run in the White House as vice president under Joe Biden. But she's not only fueled by her personal ambition but also by her love of food. That includes a roast chicken recipe that made headlines in August 2024.

Over 60 chefs and restauranteurs participated in a virtual event called "Cooking With Kamala," which featured the vice president's own roast chicken recipe. World renowned chef José Andrés complimented Harris during the event, saying, "When you have a leader that knows and understands the power of feeding one another, that's the power to build longer tables" (via ABC News).

According to Mashed, Harris prepares her chicken dish with herbs and spices, stores it in the refrigerator for 24 hours, then slow roasts it in the oven. She'll prepare a sauce for it, then serve it with dinner. But the dish goes beyond its first prep, as any leftovers are later used for a healthy chicken salad.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris enjoys cooking and has shared recipes online in the past, shedding light on her daily eating habits. But while her desire to talk about food could've been just an innocent move on her part, speculation began in 2024 that she was doing it for other reasons as well.

According to a September 2024 Associated Press article, Harris often used her love of food as a means to connect with voters during the presidential election. For example, Harris revealed at the time that nacho cheese Doritos was her preferred snack on the campaign trail. During a photo-op at Dottie's Market, a restaurant and gift shop located in Savannah Georgia, Harris spotted a chocolate caramel cake on the counter. "I want a slice of that," she said. "Caramel is like my favorite. Oh, chocolate and caramel? Fantastic."

Though the former vice president was honest about her sweet tooth, she didn't balance it out with her choice of beverage, as she also revealed that she was partial to root beer.

Kamala Harris's love of cooking has revealed eating habits that connect her to everyday voters who can relate to her on a personal level. Much of that is due to her YouTube channel, where she appears in several posts, preparing meals in the kitchen. One such video was published In October of 2019, when she visited the home of Deidre DeJear, who worked as Harris's political advisor.

Harris makes apples with bacon in the video, and reveals the recipe's origin. "My mother used to make this," she said. "Bacon is a spice, as far as I'm concerned." Harris later admitted that she was forced to recreate family recipes, due to her mother never writing any of them down. The fact that her mother was vague when questioned about how she prepared a dish, didn't help matters.

Harris also maintains the connection to family favorites thanks to Sunday dinners in her own home. During a 2023 appearance on the Jennifer Hudson Show, Harris talked about the importance of maintaining a regular schedule of those dinners, despite how many people show up. "Sunday family dinner is my thing to stay focused and to keep some normalcy."

Former Vice President Kamala Harris's regular diet includes everything from traditional South Indian dishes and family recipes that date back to her childhood to Doritos and root beer. While her own tastes in food are well documented, she's also made a point to call out the eating habits of a fellow politician. In April 2020, Virginia Senator Mark Warner shared a tongue-in-cheek YouTube video demonstrating his method for making a tuna melt. In the video, Warner mixed a can of tuna with a crazy amount of mayonnaise, then added two slices of American cheese, before microwaving the sandwich. As the video blew up online, it caught Harris's attention, who decided to have her own bit of fun and construct the sandwich in a live Instagram video.

Harris invited Warner to appear on the stream, which she called "The Art of a Tuna Sandwich." In the video, she provided a step-by-step tutorial on making a tuna melt the right way, using ingredients like celery, red onion, and Dijon mustard to enhance flavor and texture. She also highlighted the importance of using good bread and getting the right level of crispiness when toasting the sandwich.

While the livestream was only meant to be a fun video during the challenging Covid-19 lockdown, Harris's comfort in the kitchen was obvious. It was yet another example of how, despite her political standing, she's just a regular person behind the scenes.