The author exclusively tells ET how she's staying calm ahead of the birth of her and Pratt's first child together.
Katherine Schwarzenegger is staying busy as she and her family patiently awaits the arrival of her baby!
ET spoke with the 30-year-old author on Thursday, where she opened up about how quarantine life has been going with her husband, Chris Pratt, and how they're gearing up for the arrival of their first child together. Pratt also shares son Jack, 7, with his ex-wife, Anna Faris.
Like Katy Perry, and Nikki and Brie Bella, Schwarzenegger will be giving birth amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. It's been a stressful time for people all across the nation, but Schwarzenegger has found some ways to stay calm as she and Pratt prepare for their little one's arrival.
"I think No. 1, just surrounding yourself with your loved ones, in a safe way, obviously, has been nice," Schwarzenegger tells ET. "And then being able to do things like [going live] to stay connected. I think the blessing in this is that we do have the ability to continue to connect with people, whether it's on FaceTime, or doing Instagram Lives, and to be doing things that are entertaining and also educational and fun."
"I've also done a lot of organizing in my house, because I like everything to look really clean and neat," she adds. "Learning how to organize your own refrigerator and pantry, those are all things that definitely keep me calm in this crazy time; this crazy, unpredictable time."
Schwarzenegger tells ET that she's actually been having quite a lot of fun in the kitchen during the pandemic.
"I've been baking a lot, and I would say my husband's been cooking a lot. I've been baking this granola, which I get the most requests from my family to make," Schwarzenegger says of her signature recipe, which you can find at the bottom of this article. "I would say a huge amount of our time is definitely spent in the kitchen."
"For me, learning a lot. For Chris, teaching me a lot," she continues, laughing. "It's been really fun. It's like a silver lining to be able to get more experience in the kitchen, and also be able to spend time with your loved ones in this quarantine. So, it's been a fun part of it."
Schwarzenegger admits she isn't the most "experienced" when it comes to cooking just yet (Pratt usually handles that!), but she's learning and enjoying the process.
"It was my New Year's resolution to get more comfortable in the kitchen with cooking," she explains. "I've always loved baking, but I definitely wanted to learn more in the cooking department. And to learn non-intimidating and simple recipes."
She recently teamed up with Rubbermaid to host "Brilliance Prep School," a virtual "few ingredients, many dishes" cooking class, along with Grandbaby Cakes cookbook author Jocelyn Delk Adams. During the Instagram Live, Schwarzenegger showcased how using the Rubbermaid Brilliance line makes it so much easier to keep meals fresh and organized for her family.
"Since being in quarantine, it's definitely been easier to be able to try and [cook more], especially because we're at home more, and meal prepping is something that's at the top of all our minds," she shares. "Having yourself organized is a huge part of that, so working with Rubbermaid and their Brilliance Collection just made sense. Not only was I already using the collection, but it just made everything so much easier and less intimidating when it comes to being in the kitchen."
"You can really just have one day of meal prep and planning for your entire week and everyone is taken care of," she adds. "It makes being in the kitchen a lot more fun, especially because I'm a neat freak, so, it helps."
To make Schwarzenegger's go-to quarantine dish, follow the recipes below. The Gift of Forgiveness author says she likes to top her favorite lemon curd with her signature granola.
KATHERINE & CHRIS' FAVORITE LEMON CURD
The two are big fans of this delicious recipe from Ina Garten!
Ingredients:
3 lemons
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 pound unsalted butter, room temperature
4 extra-large eggs
1/2 cup lemon juice (3 to 4 lemons)
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
Directions:
Using a carrot peeler, remove the zest of three lemons, being careful to avoid the white pith. Put the zest in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the sugar and pulse until the zest is very finely minced into the sugar.
Cream the butter and beat in the sugar and lemon mixture. Add the eggs, one at a time, and then add the lemon juice and salt. Mix until combined.
Pour the mixture into a 2 quart saucepan and cook over low heat until thickened (about 10 minutes), stirring constantly. The lemon curd will thicken at about 170 degrees F, or just below simmer. Remove from the heat and cool or refrigerate.
KATHERINE'S GRANOLA
It's so good, she and Pratt gifted it to their wedding guests last June!
Ingredients:
3 cups oats
1 cup dried cherries
1 and 1/2 cups almonds or walnuts
3/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp kosher or big flake salt
1 cup shredded coconut
Directions:
Bake at 300 for about 30-40 minutes. Take out and toss around a couple of times while it's cooking.
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