Tia Mowry Is WeightWatchers Newest Ambassador

When it comes to healthy living, Tia Mowry’s focus doesn’t stop at what’s on her plate. The actress, mom, author and TV personality is all about understanding how different ingredients can affect her body and mind. Between the values ​​Mowry places on food education and her taste for the culinary world, she’s stepping up as WeightWatchers newest ambassador.

“When I think about food, I think about how it brings people together,” the Sisters, Sisters alum tells PEOPLE exclusively. According to Mowry, 44, WeightWatchers values ​​fit seamlessly with her own: “I feel like we share the same passions,” she says of the program. “Food, health and community.”

Mowry’s professional trajectory in recent years has reflected just how passionate she is about food. From 2015 through 2017, she hosted her own Cooking Channel series, Tia Mowry at Home. The former child star has also written two cookbooks–Whole New You and QuickFixKitchen–and she released her cookware line, Spices! By Tia Mowryin 2021.

“Food is my love language. Food is how I nurtured myself. Food is how I nurtured my family, my friends,” says Mowry. “I absolutely get so excited when I create content around food. It never really feels like work for me. Cooking is how I wind down. It’s how I zen out.”

Mowry found food and cooking at a time when she was searching for that sense of solace and belonging. After Sisters, Sisters wrapped in 1999, she and her twin, Tamera, enrolled at Pepperdine University to study psychology. At the time, Mowry was “at the crossroads” of being a young adult, as she recalls, and wasn’t sure where she was heading.

“I was like, You know what? If I never acted again in my life, I would want to go to culinary school,” Mowry, who ended up continuing as an actress, remembers. “This was when I was in my 20s. [Cooking] was always a passion of mine.”

Today, about two decades later, Mowry’s priorities have shifted, in the kitchen and in her personal life. As a mom, she doesn’t just cook for her own pleasure anymore. She does it to “inspire” and “encourage” others, namely her 11-year-old son Cree, her 4-year-old daughter Cairo, her fans and her followers.

And now she’ll be adding the WeightWatchers community to that list.

“With this program, there are no foods that are off limits… it’s all about encouraging people to experience and to explore nutrient dense food…that supports a healthy lifestyle,” the actress says. “It’s just about not feeling that you need to change yourself or minimize yourself or limit yourself to fit in societal standards. It’s just all about you loving yourself, and embracing who you truly are.”

Mowry will be creating new, original recipes with some retro twists — she’ll be adding healthy spins to nostalgic snacks that remind her of “feel-good memories.”

“[They’re] definitely going to be fun, exciting and recognizable recipes,” Mowry said of the menu she’s drafting. “When you’re able to enjoy things that you absolutely love…I feel like it’s definitely a way for you to stay on track and to maintain your goals.”