For Bridgette Wilson-Sampras, family and food are indelibly linked. This beautiful and successful actress, model and singer is also a dedicated mom who believes strongly in the family dinner and in making sure it's both healthy and delicious. That's why Wilson-Sampras has teamed up with Barilla to encourage people to get back to the family dinner table. It's a solid value that Wilson-Sampras grew up with and wants to pass along.

Wilson-Sampras grew up in Gold Beach, Ore., in the same town as her grandparents and great-grandparents. It was, she says, "just a great core family; we were very close." They sat down to dinner every night as a family, and one or more of the grandparents often joined them, not just to eat, but also to help with the cooking.

"I'll still call my mother or my grandmother and ask their advice if I have a question about something I'm cooking or something doesn't come out right," Wilson-Sampras says.

As a teen, Wilson-Sampras began acting in musical theater at a local theater company, and, in 1990, won the title of Miss Teen USA. She realized that she really loved the life of an actress, so after graduating from high school she packed up her Mercury Tracer and drove to Los Angeles to make it big.

"I can't say my parents weren't worried, but they were still very supportive," Wilson-Sampras says. "This was back in the day when there were no cell phones, but I had a pager so my parents could page me if they wanted to talk, and I'd go to a phone and call them."

Attractive and talented, Wilson-Sampras found steady work, and then, in 2000, she married legendary tennis champion Pete Sampras. They went on to have two children, Christian Charles, in 2002, and Ryan Nikolaos, in 2005.

Determined to raise her children much as she'd been raised, Wilson-Sampras has always tried to keep to the idea of the family dinner. She also wants her children to eat a variety of foods, so she's got some tips and tricks she uses to give them a sense of ownership of the family meal. Wilson-Sampras suggests:

• Take kids shopping: Let them pick out a few ingredients and look for kid-friendly options.
• Assign kids small tasks when you're preparing the meal: You can have kids mix and stir or garnish a dish.
• Stick to a schedule: Try to serve dinner at the same time a few days a week or create a family dinner night for the same day each week so family mealtime becomes part of your routine.

"My boys are great eaters, and I think part of the reason is that I do involve them in the process," Wilson-Sampras says. "I'll let them come to the store with me and they'll pick out ingredients, and when I cook I let them measure and stir things up. It seems if they're a part of the process food tastes better to them."

Wilson-Sampras, like many parents, also walks a fine line between "kid food" and "adult food." That's why she loves Barilla's new piccolini pastas, because they come in smaller sizes, so the kids think they're for them, but they have the traditional shapes and taste that adults are accustomed to.

Even when she's off doing a movie, Wilson-Sampras tries to put family first. She says she and husband, Pete, do a lot of prioritizing to keep the family together as much as possible. She also travels with the kids; recently she took her mom along when she was working on a movie – keeping that tradition of extended, but close, family alive.

Photo credit Adam Pietrala