What You'll Find In Kamala Harris' Daily Diet

Former Vice President Kamala Harris wasn't exactly in the political spotlight until her presidential nomination in 2024. That's when people started learning more about her personal life and how it might suit her as the first female president of the United States. Even during her grueling 15-hour days on the 2024 campaign trail, she made sure to start each morning with at least 30 minutes of exercise (per Fortune).

Back when she was serving as the junior senator from California, she told The Cut that her go-to breakfast was a bowl of Raisin Bran with almond milk. But over the past few years, Harris has switched up her breakfast every day, opting for more protein and nutrients. On Shannon Sharpe's Club Shay Shay podcast, she said she now starts her day with a spinach omelet and a side of chicken apple sausage.

(Here's what can happen to your body if you skip eating breakfast.)

No, she hasn't sworn off carbs. She usually includes some toast, too. That 442-calorie breakfast packs in almost 30 grams of protein and more than 5 grams of fiber. The chicken apple sausage is a bit high in saturated fat, but the rest of her nutrient-dense meal gives her a solid amount of calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc, and potassium. Harris' breakfast also helps her cover a healthy chunk of her daily vitamin needs. Let's see how the rest of her day stacks up.

While it's easy to keep breakfast on autopilot, lunch and dinner can be a little more flexible for someone with a packed schedule like Harris. She's always embraced her Indian heritage, and she shared with actress Mindy Kaling in 2019 that she grew up eating South Indian dishes like curd rice.

Curd rice is a beloved comfort food in India, made with cooked rice and yogurt. It's super customizable — you can toss in your favorite spices or seeds, and adjust the yogurt-to-rice ratio depending on how creamy or dry you like it. A cup of curd rice made with half a cup of rice, a third of a cup of full-fat yogurt, plus some carrots, cucumber, cilantro, and ginger comes in at about 207 calories with less than 2 grams of saturated fat.

Harris also grew up eating dal, a hearty, bean-based staple across South Asia. It's usually made with lentils, peas, or other legumes, and mixed with vegetables and spices. You can pair it with your favorite grain or bread to round out the meal. Depending on the recipe, half a cup of dal can give you around 10 grams of protein, 9 grams of fiber, and 3 grams of saturated fat. It's also packed with nutrients like iron, potassium, magnesium, zinc, and B vitamins.

As Vice President, Harris traveled all over the world, sampling cuisines from just about every continent. But one of her favorite dishes comes from deep in Louisiana: gumbo. She credits her love for the dish to her "second mother," who was from Louisiana. "I have been a lifelong gumbo apprentice, learning how to make gumbo my entire life," she said on her YouTube channel.

Like many regional favorites, gumbo recipes can vary from one cook to the next. The one thing every gumbo has in common is the roux — a rich, flavorful base made by slowly cooking flour and fat together. It's carefully stirred over medium-low heat until it turns a deep brown (but not burned). Getting the roux just right takes some practice. You have to stir it constantly to avoid lumps and make sure the flour cooks enough to bring out that signature flavor.

New Orleans-style gumbo often includes a mix of meats like sausage, shrimp, and chicken, along with celery, tomatoes, onions, and even the unpopular vegetable, okra. This stew-like dish is usually served with rice. Gumbo's nutrition can vary depending on what ingredients you use, but a cup of gumbo with rice can have as few as 217 calories and less than 2 grams of saturated fat. Gumbo can be pretty salty, with some versions packing more than 900 milligrams of sodium per serving. Still, the meats in gumbo deliver a solid dose of B vitamins, which help keep your blood cells healthy and convert food into energy.