Tia Mowry On Her 5 Steps for Parenting Self-Care: 'You Are Your Biggest Supporter'

Tia Mowry is adamant about the kitchen being a great place to create memories and to start family dialogue. "I know for me, when I was growing up, the kitchen was where conversations would start," she told me during our virtual sit down for :BLACKPRINT Meredith, the Black Employee Affinity Group for Meredith Corporation. "[My parents would ask], 'How was school today?' 'How are you doing?' 'How's your mood?' 'Are you happy?'"

With her new cookbook, the mom of two—Cree, 10, and Cairo, 3—wants to inspire other families to get in the kitchen and have that same experience. The Quick Fix Kitchen is packaged into quick and easy hacks and tips, bright, colorful photos, and amazing recipes like crispy Parmesan hash browns and apple pie dip. Mowry, who undoubtedly loves to cook, also wanted to simplify the kitchen experience for her readers. "The kitchen is a fun place, mainly because you are making delicious meals. You are nurturing your family, your friends, and you're putting great quality food on the table for your loved ones," the Sister, Sister star says.

The famous mom, who is keeping busy with an upcoming lifetime movie, new cookware, and a vitamin line Anser, also makes sure to include her kids in the kitchen experience. For example, Cree now cuts his own bagels and smears on the cream cheese but started with safe tasks like cutting fruit with a butter knife. Mowry writes in The Quick Fix Kitchen that as soon as they can stand on their own two feet, kids can start helping. She advises to bring out colorful bowls and let the little ones "stir, stir, stir."

These experiences also help to build a close-knit family unit, which could be the reason Cree didn't hide a disturbing racist incident he once experienced. "A kid at school told him a few years ago, that the color of his skin was not a nice color. We talked to a counselor about the situation, the kid apologized, but my son came home crying and just really confused."

Mowry and her husband of 13 years, Cory Hardrict, had to have a conversation about racism with Cree, well before they thought they would. "We had to sit down and have 'the conversation.' It's unfortunate that situations like that happen, but the reality is we want to talk about it because we want to prep and make sure that our son knows how to handle the situation when stuff like that arises."

The star admits that being the mother of a Black boy has its fears. Add this to all the other parts of her busy life, and it's no wonder why she has a robust self-care plan. "Self-care, to me, first of all, is bringing awareness to how you feel, and what you need to reach your potential when it comes to happiness, mind, body, and spirit. It's all-encompassing." She breaks it up into five easy steps:

Mantra: "Whenever I'm just overwhelmed or frustrated, I tell myself, 'You got this. You got this girl.' I think it's important to have mantras and I think it's important to have a relationship with yourself, and to talk to yourself. You are your biggest supporter."

Meditation: "Training the mind to focus on the positive things [is integral]. So many things could be going wrong in your life, but I think it's really important to fixate and focus on the positive."

Exercise: "When it comes to body, my self-care is about exercising and giving [my] body what it needs to feel great and to feel awesome."

Food: "Eating well [is] being aware of what you're putting in your body. Food is medicine and it also triggers emotions. It could trigger anxiety; it could trigger depression. So being aware of how food makes you feel when you eat it—mind-blowing. When you start to get that relationship, you really start to feel whole. It's a part of taking care of you."

Spirit: "I feel like what feeds my spirit is making sure that I'm around positive people. I think that's a part of self-care, being aware of who the people are that you are around most of the time. Are they speaking negative things into your life?"

Along with this five-step plan, Mowry also says she has a secret to happiness and success. "Where there is appreciation, all things flow. Even if you're in the midst of a tribulation, when you have appreciation for where you are, things just start to flow in your life."

Watch fun questions with Tia Mowry and the full interview here. Follow :BLACKPRINT Meredith on Instagram.