FRIDAY DECEMBER 28, 2007 10:35 AM EST
Food Network chef and Today show regular – and expectant mom – Giada De Laurentiis isn't expecting her baby to be the Next Iron Chef.
"I hope I can pass on the love of food to my child the way my family did to me," De Laurentiis, 37, tells Redbook" for its January issue. "We spent a lot of warm, loving times in the kitchen.
"But watch, I will probably end up with a child who not only doesn't care about food, but doesn't ever want to set foot in a kitchen!" she says.
De Laurentiis announced her pregnancy on Today Nov. 5, revealing that she's expecting a daughter in April. It will be the first child for De Laurentiis and husband of four years, Todd Thompson, a clothing designer.
Husband 'Extra Protective'
Asked how she and Thompson stay in touch when she's traveling, De Laurentiis says, "A lot of texting! A lot! The key is, whatever I'm doing, he loves to know: Who am I working with? Where am I staying?"De Laurentiis adds: "He needs to know that to feel connected to what I'm doing, even if he's not there every day … He's been extra protective and worried about how I'm feeling, how I'm eating. And I'm like, 'God help me.' "
The food-minded couple has even come up with culinary nicknames for her bun in the oven.
"We call the baby 'the lemon,' " De Laurentiis says. "It started off as 'the lima bean,' but now we've moved to 'the lemon,' and pretty soon, it'll probably be 'the melon.' "
