Martha Stewart says she doesn't think children should be fed 'chicken fingers and mashed potatoes or French fries'

• Martha Stewart was criticized for recommending a "kid-friendly" fish stew with salmon and corn.
• Stewart said she fed the soup to her own daughter Alexis when she was child.

Martha Stewart isn't fazed by parents' criticism of her "kid-friendly fish stew."

In fact, the lifestyle expert believes children should have a far more refined palate.

"I don't think children should be fed chicken fingers and mashed potatoes or French fries," Stewart told Insider in an exclusive interview promoting her new iHeartRadio podcast. "I don't think that's really what it's all about. It's about exposing children to as much as possible."

Stewart shared a photo of her fish soup on Instagram earlier this month, writing in the caption that "kids are sure to spoon this stew up."

The stew features potatoes, salmon, broth made of clam juice and heavy cream, and corn on the cob. Stewart recommended slicing the kernels off the cob and adding them back to the soup "for your little ones."

Parents took to the comments to express their dismay with Stewart's stew, with one person asking "Have you met children?"

"I'm quite doubtful kids will be stoked to eat this," one commenter wrote. "My kids wouldn't touch it I'm sure," another added.

But Stewart told Insider that she fed her daughter Alexis the same fish stew when she was just a child.

"She ate everything," Stewart said. "She did not turn her nose up at anything. Her palate is extraordinary."

Stewart said her grandchildren have a refined palate as well and are being brought up as "mostly" pescatarians.

"They do not turn anything away," Stewart continued. "I took them on a safari to Africa, they ate ostrich. They ate all kinds of strange things."

Stewart said her grandchildren Jude, 11 and Truman, 10, mostly eat fish and are huge fans of caviar and oysters. "They've been reading menus since they were two years old," she added. "So they know exactly what they want."

"The Martha Stewart Podcast" is now available on streaming services. Check out the trailer below.