Tia Mowry talks holidays, family and "Rosewood"
Tia Mowry has a lot planned both personally and professionally this holiday season. The host of the Cooking Channel's "Tia at Home" will indeed be whipping up some tasty dishes for Christmas, and she's also been working on the set of the Fox crime-drama "Rosewood," starring Morris Chestnut. Plus, she'll be spending time with her husband, Cory Hardrict, and their son, Cree Taylor.
We caught up with the 37-year-old actress about family life, her career and more:
On holiday cooking: "It's amazing. It's a lot of work. The baton has been passed down to me. My mom has been doing it for years. I've gladly taken on the responsibility and the challenge. I enjoy cooking because it brings the whole family together because we can sit down and talk about what's going on in our lives ... For Thanksgiving my brother actually hosted at his house and I cooked and it was wonderful. My brother, he had me on Snapchat like every second. Every second he was Snapchatting me. And I'm going to do the same for Christmas."
On her favorite dishes: "I have to say -- the turkey. I enjoy taking something on that seems like a challenge and then it doesn't become a challenge. So I enjoy that process ... I enjoy catering to it, basting it every 30 minutes. Cooking the stuffing was a lot of fun because I've made everything from scratch. My cornbread -- I let that sit out so it gets that stale consistency to make the stuffing. And ice cream! I love making homemade ice cream. It's so freakin' easy. Just put sweet milk in an ice cream maker and you just let it churn and it's done."
On cooking tips: "The key is to start with something that's not going to intimidate you at all. The first thing you can make is maybe a salad. That's very easy and simple. I make this amazing strawberry and sesame seed salad that's just very delicious and find ways to make it fun. Even if that means drinking!"
On her upcoming cookbook: "It's called 'A Whole New You.' It's a bunch of recipes that gear towards getting rid of inflammation in the body. I have something called endometriosis, which is an infertility issue ... I actually stayed on this diet for a whole year and I was able to get pregnant right away after being on this diet. It was my doctor who got me to change my diet and who got me to believe how food can be medicine. It can either accelerate or suppress an existing condition. It's called the Body Ecology Diet. So I made a cookbook that features recipes that follow this diet."
On being a mom: "Being a mom has given me so much joy and so much purpose in life. Not that I didn't have any purpose before. It just seems so clear right now. I'm enjoying watching my son grow, seeing his personality develop. I've learned to just really embrace the simple things in life. My son has allowed me to enjoy the holidays. I'm in my 30s and I've had several Christmases and Thanksgivings and they're all great but it becomes more routine, but when you have a child, it's new again."
This fall, Mowry partnered with MedImmune/AstraZeneca - the makers of FluMist Quadrivalent tohelp raise awareness about the severity of influenza and the benefits of annual vaccination.
On the flu and keeping her family healthy: "The flu is not a common cold. It's a respiratory illness that could lead to hospitalization. With me being a busy working mom, it's my priority that my family stays healthy. And one thing that is on the top of my priority list is making sure that my family gets vaccinated. It's my responsibility to do all that I can to protect my son and his health."
On the end of her sitcom, "Instant Mom": "I've already been getting tweets with like, "Noooooooo! I love this show!' I'm a fan of 'Game of Thrones' and that show's going to end eventually and I'm not going to be happy about it. But everything has a beginning and end."
On her recurring role on Fox's "Rosewood": "I play this runaway homeless teen who fell in love with the character Pippy. And I was the one who made her feel very comfortable about her sexuality. Her mom is kind of like still getting used to supporting her daughter being gay. And then my character was the one who, when she was younger, finally made her come to terms with who she is and say that she's OK."
On what's next: "I always see life as a book. There are all these different chapters. When one thing closes, another thing opens. And I'm excited about that new chapter ... I'm like that girl that is on a bus but she doesn't where she's going but she knows she's going to some exciting place -- an adventure."
