Back to reality! Kristin Cavallari has come a long way since her days on The Hills and Laguna Beach. The MTV alum has retired her former "bitch" status and is replacing it with an executive producer title on her new E! reality series Very Cavallari. The Hills vet sat down exclusively with Us Weekly and dished on her return to television. Watch the video above to hear how she convinced hubby Jay Cutler to be on board with the show, and which areas of her life are totally off limits! And, for more on Cavallari and her new show, pick up the new issue of Us Weekly, on newsstands now.

Tell Us how this show will be different from The Hills and Laguna Beach.
This time around, it’s really nice for me because I am an executive producer, I sort of have that security blanket, and it allows me to just film freely and not have to worry about things I was saying. I have gotten a few things taken out. Just to be honest. I think as a mom, sometimes I need to watch myself a little bit more and so, I left a few things in that will probably get me in trouble. But at the same time, I am trying to make a good show, and I understand what goes into it. But yes, having some creative control and really working with a team of people that respect my decisions was really great. It was a really enjoyable experience for me.

Will your kids make cameos on the show?
My kids are not on it. Jay and I really, we just don’t want to rob them of that decision to have their lives blasted all over the place, but you still get to see me as a mom in some sense –Facetiming my kids or talking about my kids or whatever. But yeah, so I’m excited. It’s just my life in Nashville. It’s nice to be in one place now. We used to go back and forth between Chicago and Nashville, so just to be in one spot, and with Jay being done with football, I just felt it was a good time for me to get back on TV.

Did you have to convince Jay to do it?
Yeah. I did. He just told me I had to convince him to still do it. Jay is a very private person. And even though he played football, he really only wanted to play football, and he didn’t really like the whole media aspect of it all, so it was very new for him, but we were … we just talked beforehand about what we wanted to talk about and what we didn’t want to talk about, areas in the house that we wanted to show, and we didn’t want to show. I just wanted to make sure that he was comfortable. Obviously, my family is way more important to me than filming a show, so as long as he was cool, I was cool.

What areas are off limits?
Master bedroom. Off limits. You do see the master bathroom, but not the master bedroom!

Is there conflict between you and Jay on the show?
Well, no, because Jay and I really talked about what we were comfortable putting out there, and we let you into our relationship, but we still kind of keep you here, which is the only way that either one of use would do it. You see us battling about moving, moving houses and stuff like that, but it’s all in good fun, there’s no … we’re not really airing our dirty laundry on the show.

Why did you decide to settle down in Nashville?
Jay went to Vanderbilt. One of the first times we ever hung out, we came to Nashville for 24 hours and I completely fell in love. And we just decided that this was where we wanted to be when he was done with football. We just always knew this is where we wanted to raise our family.

Tell us about your role as executive producer of Very Cavallari.
I’ve seen seven of the eight episodes, and I really do think it’s good. I think this is the first show that I can really get behind and say this is in fact me. Even though coming from reality TV, I could never really say that. So that’s nice for me. It’s the grown-up Kristin, and you get to see me as a boss now, and sort of handing the torch over to everybody else to allow to take the lead on the drama front. It’s not necessarily about my personal drama, which is very nice.

She may have gotten her start as a lead cast member of MTV reality shows Laguna Beach and The Hills, but these days Kristin Cavallari is up to something a little different. Her new cookbook True Roots comes packed with different recipes that don't contain many common allergens like gluten and refined sugar, but are still full of flavor. The one ingredient she says she will never give up? Sheep's milk Manchego cheese.

I just love cheese. I always have. It's one thing that I could never give up — but I have a sensitivity to cow's milk that just makes me feel awful when I eat it. Sheep's milk, though, is easier on the digestive system, and this Manchego cheese is very mild and similar to Parmesan, so it's a great alternative that's really easy to incorporate in so many different ways into so many different dishes. It's very versatile.

I have known about my sensitivity for eight years or so, but I only discovered this cheese three or four years ago. I went to my grocery store and I just tried every single kind of sheep and goat milk cheese that they had to offer, and this was my favorite.

My dad is full Italian, and I grew up with my full Italian grandma always making pizza fritte, the best apple pie on the planet, and just pasta and meatballs — all that really great stuff. Her apple pie recipe is actually in my cookbook. I cooked a lot with both of my parents while I was growing up, too, and my mom made dinner for us every night. I used to bake with my mom a lot too, and I always knew that that was the kind of mom that I wanted to be: I wanted to be the mom that cooked dinner for her children every night.

So, once I had kids, I really just started cooking all the time, and I wanted to cook healthy, but I wanted it to be good, too. I think there's a stigma that eating healthy means being boring and like you're missing out on stuff. I eat everything: I eat pasta, I eat cheese, I eat sweets. And that's why I like the sheep's milk Manchego cheese — it's so versatile, but also healthy.

I'm by no means a chef, I'm just a mom who likes to cook healthy. So, I worked with a private chef, Mike Kubiesa, in Chicago, who helped me with the cookbook — he gave me a ton of private lessons and I truly credit all of my food knowledge to him. He is a food genius, and he really helped me a lot, and helped elevate me as a cook.

One of my favorite ways to use the sheep's milk Manchego cheese is in the cookbook: It's a cashew ricotta cheese that I make a veal braciole with. While I don't use milk or cream — I make the ricotta with cashews — I do put some of this cheese in there, and it gives it a great flavor. It's so good, I could eat the ricotta with a spoon.

My kids and husband also enjoy it — they eat the same way I do, so the cookbook is a very good representation of how my family eats on a daily basis. I frequently make most of the recipes for them, and they love it.

The home for sale at 39 Bancroft Place in Nashville is a beautiful Mediterranean-style 19,000-square-foot, seven-bedroom home situated on just over eight acres in the Bancroft community. But its biggest selling point probably isn’t any of the above. It’s the current homeowners that bring the real cache to this property. Former Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler and his wife, television personality and fashion entrepreneur Kristin Cavallari bought the home in 2012.

The relatively new Nashvillians aren't moving away from Middle Tennessee, just relocating within the Nashville area. Cutler said there are a lot of things to love about this home. "I think one of the most appealing things is the location," he said. “We loved the privacy of the neighborhood, but being so close to town."

The home also features seven full bathrooms, three half baths and a full basement that Cutler and Cavallari built out. "We finished the basement a few years ago and it’s a space we spent a lot of time in," he said.

The home, built in 2007, also houses a seven-car garage and five working fireplaces. "This house has a lot to offer," he said. “We have a lot of memories in that house and we will miss it. We got married and had three children since we have owned that house, so it’s been a huge part of our life and hopefully someone will enjoy it as much as we have." Co-listing agent Tim Thompson said this is a great family home that is also well equipped for entertaining.

"It's very welcoming with high ceilings and nice, big rooms to entertain in," Thompson said. "The master is on first floor and on the second floor the kids’ rooms are all down one hallway and adjoin a shared playroom."

Sapling Child is excited to announce a new design collaboration with author, TV host, designer and mother, Kristin Cavallari.

Launching in July 2018, the stunning new range uses the softest, most luxurious 100% organic cotton available. Kristin’s super sweet designs are printed with organic water based dyes, free from toxic chemicals and heavy metals, a safer choice for babies, "I discovered Sapling after the birth of my son Jaxon, and I fell in love with their soft-as-butter fabrics, super sweet prints, incredible quality and their commitment to organic cotton", and explains her decision to collaborate.

"In my own home, our family does our best to make a positive impact for the environment, so joining the Sapling team for the season was a perfect fit, both creatively and environmentally," Sapling Child is a rapidly growing organic baby apparel company, with head offices now located in Australia, Canada and the US. Peta Stinson, the Creative Director, says Kristin Cavallari was a perfect fit for their collaboration, "She really was a stand out choice for us. She is an incredible creative force. Her ideas and work ethic pushed us and inspired our team this season. Some of our best prints have come out under Kristin's tutelage."

The Kristin Cavallari x Sapling range will be available in July 2018 at www.saplingchild.com and selected Australian, US, Canadian and International stores.

When did you first discover Sapling? How did this collaboration begin?
The owner sent me clothes when my kids were babies, and I completely fell in love with the brand. Not only are the designs adorable but I love that they are organic.

What made collaborating with Sapling a perfect fit?
I was honestly fan of the line, so when they asked me to be a part of it, I couldn't have been more excited.

What inspired the styles and patterns in this collection?
Sapling Child was so amazing about holding my hand through my first clothing design process (which is a different beast than accessories) and we landed on designing my collection around my favorite hotel: Bongo San Pietro in Tuscany, Italy.

If you could describe this collection in just three words, what would they be?
Soft, special, sweet.

What is the biggest difference between designing your lifestyle brand Uncommon James and working with kids wear?
There are way more details in clothing! I also don't sit down and think of different ideas to inspire me for each Uncommon James collection; I'm not thinking of a story to tell before having samples made. Uncommon James is more about what I'm currently loving mixed with trends- then the story and inspiration come when I'm putting collections together. I get a ton of jewelry and home good samples made before bunching them together to make a collection.

What Sapling staple could you never go without?
The heart pants!

What is your favorite piece from the collaboration?
I'm obsessed with the fox onesie; the fox is my absolute favorite.

What is the biggest challenge of balancing motherhood and business?
Trying to find that perfect balance. It continuously changes for me, so I just try to go with the flow. I'm home every night (unless I'm travelling) by 5pm or earlier to have dinner with the family. I try not to get on my phone until the kids go to bed around 7:15pm (sometimes I'm better at that than others). I'm really working on being present, especially with my family. I hate when I'm distracted by work, so I make a serious effort to give them 100% of me.