I Cooked From Tia Mowry's Whole New You — & It Was Magical

PSA: Tia Mowry is food gal goals. The former teen star of ABC's Sister, Sister has slid out from under the acting spotlight and into life as busy mom who can seriously move and shake it in the kitchen, literally. She whips up homemade meals on her very own Cooking Channel show, Tia Mowry at Home, and just came out with a brand new cookbook.

Whole New You marks Mowry's first published book of recipes, and they are good. Centered on a healthy and practical approach to comfort food dishes, there is no shortage of passion in these pages — from fried chicken to crispy chocolatey sweets. Each recipe contains a tweak or a twist for particular dietary restrictions (be it vegan or gluten-free), so there's something for everyone. And the best part of all? Everything promises to be incredibly easy to make at home.

I have a confession, though; All of that intimidates me. Because I am not the type of person who follows recipes (the thought of doing so makes me feel encumbered and claustrophobic). I also do not take on major cooking projects during the week (fried chicken going up on a Tuesday? I don't think so). But I've had the pleasure of meeting Mowry in person (yes, it was amazing), and something about her radiating halo of foodie goddess warmth, energy, and ease pushed me to believe in this book of easy, tasty, fast, and healthy recipes — and believe in myself. So I felt inspired to take the plunge into Whole New You, in hopes of bottling up some of Mowry's culinary prowess and conquering my recipe-following fears. Could I do it? Would I sparkle afterwards like she does, complete with a halo of foodie goddess warmth? (I hoped so.)

Join me ahead in my journey, as I follow recipes from an actual cookbook. And stick around for a potential guest appearance from Tia Mowry herself — where we may or may not whip up a smoothie together in celebration.