Sophia Bush on her dream dinner date(s!) and finding a work-life balance

Sophia Bush may be in the midst of filming for her hit series Chicago P.D. (which can often mean getting to work at 5am and not leaving until 9pm) but she also works hard to maintain her relationships with friends and family -- and herself.

"I still don't feel like I've quite figured it out!" she said, "It's really tough." But when she can see the light at the end of the tunnel, getting a brief respite for rest, she'll grab the chance to spend time with friends.

"If I know I'm going in late on Friday, either I can sleep as much as I need to, or I can meet Monica [Raymund] for brunch. So Monica and I got brunch this morning before work, just to have a little one-on-one time. To catch up with her made not getting my full hours worth it, because tomorrow's basically a Saturday — I know I can sleep in. And that's what it's about."

"I'm trying to prioritize my health," Sophia explained to us, "Make sure that I do sleep, and that I look out for myself a little bit, but also want to make sure the I don't just work, eat, sleep, repeat."

Another way she's trying to prioritize her health and her own well-being is by cooking more. She spends about 10 months of the year in Chicago working on her show, so she likes to be able to cook for herself. "It's nice to make soups, or for me to make my favorite Shepherd's Pie, and be able to bring food to work that's comforting in these 20-below temperatures!" she joked.

A few years ago, Sophia went on the show The Chew, and felt like she learned a lot from the chefs there. She maintained relationships with the chefs from the show, and when she heard Michael Symon was teaming up with Lipton for the Chef Fest (learn more at liptonbrightbites.com!), she decided she had to get involved.

"I just loved the idea, because I know personally it's something I know I need, and something a lot of people I know need. And so I said, 'Yeah I want to learn how to make cool stuff with you, and go surprise a bunch of people in New York City, take them out for lunch. Let's do it!'"

"It was really such a nice thing... just to be having a conversation around the reality that the world is go-go-go and we're on the hamster wheel all the time, unless we choose to get off of it. And what better way to get off than to sit and enjoy food that's good for you, with people that you love?"

Speaking of enjoying food -- we asked Sophia who she would love to have dinner with, whether living or not. Her dream dinner date. And her answer had us asking, "Can we come, too?"

It's not just one person, it's four incredible women.

"In March I did this panel at SXSW with the First Lady," Sophia told us, "and we talked about girls education access globally, and it was the First Lady and I, Diane Warren, Queen Latifah and Missy Elliot, and we had so much fun."

After the panel, they all talked about how they needed more time to talk about everything they'd just discussed, and so much more. They needed a full night!

"They're a group of women who are just incredible. The things that they do, the art that they make, the way they look at the world... I'd love to make that dinner happen."

We'd love to see it happen, too, and hear all of the brilliant ideas that come out of it.