Just over 10 years ago, Giada De Laurentiis was roaring into her 40s and had already tasted impressive success. She’d won an Emmy for her first Food Network series, Everyday Italian (followed by two more for Giada Entertains last year), and penned five bestselling cookbooks.

“I started getting really busy,” says De Laurentiis. American audiences couldn’t get enough of the petite Roman-born, American-raised chef’s sunny passport to authentic Italian fare. As one of Food Network’s brightest stars, over the next decade she’d add a slew of new shows to her schedule (including Giada Entertains, Giada in Italy and Giada on the Beach) and open three restaurants (Giada and Pronto by Giada on the Las Vegas Strip and GDL Italian in Baltimore) while also turning out another five cookbooks. Her latest, Eat Better, Feel Better, was published this month and, in many ways, it’s her most personal yet.