Padma Lakshmi would be anyone’s dream guest in the kitchen — well, maybe anyone except her own daughter’s!

PEOPLE caught up with the Top Chef alum during the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, where she spoke about her upcoming cookbook, Padma’s All American: Tales, Travels, and Recipes from Taste the Nation and Beyond, which is set to be released in November.

Her book features a recipe from her daughter Krishna, 15, which Lakshmi said is a testament to what she hopes to convey through the book — showing how recipes can change through time and generations without losing their core essence. (The teen's father is businessman Adam Dell.)

“I’m trying to show how recipes evolve, and so that's how her recipe came about,” Lakshmi said of Krishna’s recipe. “I like to cook with her. Actually, she prefers to cook with her father, to be honest. She says I'm a little overbearing."

"You know, she's 15, so I want her to go to college with like a dozen recipes — it can be simple — an omelette, a roast chicken, a couple of pasta sauces, some curry rice, some vegetables, two ways to do potatoes, stuff like that, just simple things that make herself sufficient," she continued.

Padma’s All American: Tales, Travels, and Recipes from Taste the Nation and Beyond features recipes that Lakshmi has learned and adapted through traveling, something that she said has definitely impacted her culinary prowess.

“It's basically recipes from immigrant cultures in this country, and in often cases, they're not the most quote, unquote authentic, whatever that means, or they're not doing all of the steps that they would do to make that recipe in the old country. Because it's about Americans who probably both parents work full time, and they still crave those flavors, but they want to make it simpler,” she told PEOPLE.

Lakshmi continued, “You've got so many different interesting foods in America that I actually think are the most exciting food in the world. It's like a microcosm of the world, but it's funneled through what's available in the states and what's easy for people to do, and also what's in the zeitgeist.”

Having easy to whip up and adaptable recipes is crucial for the cookbook author, who said she tries to keep things simple when she’s not on the road for work.

“I eat for a living, so when I come home, I eat very simply, and I want to eat really clean,” she said. “When I'm at home, and I'm cooking at home for my daughter, I try to just make it the cleanest, healthiest version of whatever I'm cooking.”

Lakshmi explained that there is “no secret recipe” to eating healthy. At home, she said she tries to keep her plates “at least” half fruits and vegetables.

As for Lakshmi’s advice on finding the best spots to grab a bite when on the road? Tap the locals.

“I ask the cab drivers because they're roaming the city, and they don't have time to eat a big meal. And you know, often when I'm traveling, I'm only there for a couple of days sometimes, or I don't have a lot of time, or I'm there for six weeks, but I'm eating so much food at work, so I need something quick and easy to taste,” she said. “And a lot of the best food is in those Mom and Pop hole in the walls.”

And though the former Taste the Nation host is a seasoned pro in the kitchen at this point in her career, she has sound advice for those looking to dip their toes into the culinary world.

“Think about the food you eat the most often, or go out to eat the most often, and then buy a book from there, from a person you trust,” she told PEOPLE. “[Cook] when you have time. Make it a fun activity. Don't stress out and read [the recipe] twice. Just read it start to finish twice. Look at all the ingredients, chop them up and have them ready, so that all you have to do is cook.”

Events at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen run through June 22.