Drew Barrymore Shares Her Journey to Becoming an 'Obsessed Foodie'—and Hints at an Upcoming Cookbook

Drew Barrymore often shares her love of cooking by showcasing her favorite chefs on her namesake talk show, but the actress says it was a long road for her to become comfortable in her own kitchen.

"My mom, who I only lived with until a certain early time in my life, was a California vegetarian from the 70s," Barrymore tells PEOPLE. "She was very into that crunchy granola, vegetables, clean eating kind of stuff, and I still eat that way predominantly today."

Barrymore, 46, has been open about the struggles she faced during her teen years, though, and admits she ate "a lot of crap" during that time. "When I moved out at 14, I just did not cook, it wasn't my thing," she says.

The host of the Drew Barrymore Show later became an "obsessed foodie" as she gained more life experiences in her twenties. "I started traveling the world, educating myself about food, learning who my favorite chefs were, and trying different restaurants. And that inspired me to then eventually start cooking in my 30s and 40s," she says.

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Now, she has a whole closet devoted to cookbooks, and even hinted that she "might be" working on one of her own alongside her chef friend Pilar Valdes. "Cookbooks are like schoolbooks for me, and I read them front to back," she says. "I love the stories. I love learning a technique."

She's passing the skills she's developed in the kitchen on to her own daughters, Olive, 8, and Frankie, 6, whom she shares with ex-husband Will Kopelman, 42.

"[Olive] makes incredible breakfast," she says. "She makes eggs, and veggie sausages, and toast. I recently posted an Instagram where I showed a breakfast she made for me when I was sick. She did it a hundred percent on her own, and it meant so much to me."

Barrymore also says her family's weekday breakfast routine "always involves cereal," and has partnered with Kellogg's for their new "Fiber Challenge," where fans can enter to win a free box of Raisin Bran or Frosted Mini Wheats (Barrymore's favorite) for themselves and a friend.

"Ironically, I did a Kellogg's commercial when I was five years old, so I feel like I'm coming home," says Barrymore.

The company will be giving out 1,000 boxes of the cereal every day during National Breakfast Week from March 8 through March 12.