The Italian Comfort Food Mark Wahlberg Loved To Eat Growing Up

Actor Mark Wahlberg grew up in a very crowded house. He is the youngest of nine siblings, several of whom also found success and fame in television, music, and films. His mother, Alma, also became a household name in part from her appearances on the reality show "Wahlburgers," a reality TV show centered on the Wahlberg family's burger restaurant business. With so many mouths to feed, Alma stayed busy in the Wahlberg kitchen while her kids grew up, and apparently she was quite the cook. Mark counts his mother's lasagna as his favorite comfort food, and would request it often when he was home from filming or touring.

Sitting down with A&E, Alma shared the recipes for all nine of her children's favorite recipes of hers. She noted that Mark probably didn't realize what a chore making lasagna can be, saying he'd sometimes call and ask her to make the dish, only to show up late (a day late, in one instance), and with multiple friends in tow. Still, mama made her baby boy what he wanted to eat, and the leftover lasagna probably tasted better the next day anyway.

Alma's lasagna doesn't include any meat, but is built with lasagna noodles, ricotta cheese blended with eggs and parsley, an Italian cheese blend, and a jar of tomato sauce. (It sounds like a perfectly tasty lasagna, although truly authentic Italian lasagna is actually made with béchamel sauce, not ricotta.)

Mark is open about his daily diet and exercise routines, which he regularly shares on social media. He maintains his impressive physique by rising early in the morning to work out, following a high-protein diet, and intermittently fasting throughout the day. He told GQ that he fasts for 18 hours and eats all of his meals within a six-hour window. While those meals typically include things like eggs, chicken, steak, fish, and vegetables, he makes room for pasta — which undoubtedly includes lasagna like his mom's — plus cookies and chocolate during his cheat meals.

In addition to pasta, Wahlberg told Men's Health that other comfort foods he enjoys include chicken pot pie and Thanksgiving dinner staples like stuffing and mashed potatoes with gravy. But he knows when and how much to indulge, and his regimen is often influenced by his filming roles. He admits he didn't begin to follow a training and diet program that worked for him until he was 52, so he probably ate much more of mom's lasagna in his earlier years. Still, It's likely a dish he won't forget. Hopefully he knows you can deliciously swap lasagna noodles for sliced zucchini, a swap which would probably better fit his strict diet.