Pop-Culturalist.com

Rachael Ray burst onto the scene with her 30 Minute Meals back in 2001. She’s down to earth, funny, and makes it look so easy to cook and talk at the same time (this is NOT easy based on what I’ve seen on Next Food Network Star). Who doesn’t want delicious food that can be made in a half hour or less?

Plus, she does good with her non-profit Yum-O, which is dedicated to feeding the hungry, teaching families how to cook healthy food, and funding education for kids who want to pursue careers in the food industry. Because of her work with Yum-O, Rachael was presented with the HealthCorps Golden Heart award last night, where I was lucky enough to have a chance to chat with her.

How can you not love a woman whose top tip for living a healthy life is to “have a sense of humor?” Laughter’s good for the heart, or so they say, and according to Rachael, “without a positive attitude, you’re destined for disease and a short bad time on the planet.” Gotta love a lady who enjoys a laugh.

When asked about her top guilty pleasures, she insists that there should be “no guilt when it comes to life! You can be guilty when you’re dead.” A sentiment I wholeheartedly agree with.

Rachael also has great taste in TV shows–a recent favorite of hers is The Night Manager (which we just recommended yesterday). Surprisingly, she leans towards darker fare when reading or watching shows/movies. As a child, she says, “I couldn’t stand cartoons, but I could watch twenty hours of Columbo.” She’s also a fan of Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro’s Delicatessen (Jeunet was the director ofAmelie), a dark comedy set in a post-apocalyptic world.

Header Photo Credit: RachaelRay.com