There were moments growing up where I felt beautiful, but I truly didn't feel beautiful all of the time until I became a mom. It really allowed me to realize no one is perfect.

The kitchen was the center of our household. I spent all of my time there growing up.

I started preparing meals for my family when I was 12 because both of my parents worked, but I didn't know that it was something I could make a career out of until I had my daughter and realized there were people out there who were interested in learning how to prepare a quick meal.

I prayed about it consistently - that God would direct me in the right path and that, when it would happen, I would know that I'm in the right place.

I know girlfriends of mine who, when they were approaching pregnancy and starting a family, consistently went through a period right beforehand that was a last gasp kind of thing where they just wreak havoc. They fall apart, in a profound way, because there's some awareness that that's the last time they can do that for awhile.

If I do a movie where I have to have a son and it's a chubby kid, my mother is always like, 'You were never like that.' She gets so upset about it.

My grandfather's family used to own a pasta factory in Naples and they would go door-to-door selling their pasta. So his love of food came from his parents, which was then passed down to my mother and then again to me.

I haven't lived my life through my daughters. Some parents devote everything to their children, which must be so hard, and it's very beautiful. But I'm a working parent, so I've always kept my own life.