What happens when you get 15,000 kids sugared up? Kelly Rowland's about to find out. The 34-year-old singer is in Newark, NJ, to hand out M&Ms and Halloween costumes to children in need. It's a fitting collaboration, given Rowland's unabashed love of the candy—and because it represents an issue she could relate to.
"I was one of those kids. My mom made my costumes growing up, and she made it work," Rowland explains. "When your kid comes up to you and wants a Halloween costume, and it's not in the budget, what do you do? Here's M&M's to the rescue. It's so special to be a part of that."
It's a rare break from the studio for Rowland, who's been working on a new album—she quietly dropped her single "Dumb," without any fanfare three days ago, much like her former Destiny's Child co-star, Beyoncé, did with her last album. Most days, she's there until midnight or 1 a.m., stopping only to shower, work out, and spend some quality time with her 11-month-old son, Titan.
In the minutes before she headed to M&Ms Family Fun Zone party, she caught up with Delish to talk about her ultimate snack obsessions, typical food day—and the one recipe she's dying to master.
She has the world's weirdest Chick-Fil-A order.
"Waffle fries and ice cream are just—whaaaat?! Amazing. You've got the salt with the potato and the sugar; it's just so good," Rowland says, who first discovered the flavor combination when she snuck a waffle fry into her mom's vanilla ice cream while they were leaving the drive thru. "I had one bite, and then I realized I'm going to eat the rest of her ice cream before we even get home."
If you love Frosty's with fries, you've got to try this combination, Rowland says. "It's even better with vanilla ice cream."
She's pretty health-conscious.
Rowland's typical food day looks like this:
- Breakfast: The dream would be bacon, sunnyside-up eggs and toast, though in reality, it's often yogurt with chia and pumpkin seeds and "a jug of water."
- Post-Workout Snack: After Soulcycle or a round with her personal trainer, Rowland has some egg whites with spinach.
- Lunch: Fish or salmon
- Afternoon Snack: "Fruit. I like a nice, big apple or mango."
- Dinner: Vegan soup or salad.
She hates shrimp.
It's the one food she can't stand, but she has a legitimate excuse: "I get sick if I eat it, so I can't have it."
She's obsessed with cheese.
Queso, specifically. "I'm a Texas girl, and I love queso with chips," she says, though she's still perfecting her recipe. "It doesn't taste better than Papasito's or Lupe Tortilla in Houston, so I'm working on that."
She can't get enough Banoffee Pie.
"I had it in London, and I want to learn how to make it, since nobody knows about it here [in the U.S.]," Rowland says. "It's high in calories, but it just makes you feel happy all day."
(The version Rowland tried had a graham cracker crust, but you could try this recipe to sample the chocolate, banana and dulce de leche-filled pie for yourself.)
Her salty-sweet tooth is next-level.
In addition to loving waffle fries with ice cream, Rowland loves mixing M&Ms with popcorn at the movie theater, and when she's eating the candy on its own, she reaches for the pretzel-packed kind.
Call us crazy, but we're sensing a trend here.
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