Ahhhh, dessert, the sweet end to a delicious meal. Unfortunately, it can also be the button-popping end to a healthy waistline. That’s why we’re excited to feature Katie from Chocolate Covered Katie as this week’s foodie! Her blog’s motto is “This isn’t just any dessert blog, it’s a healthy dessert blog.” By using low-fat, fresh ingredients, Katie shows how to make delicious, healthier versions of high calorie favorites and some goodies you’ve probably never even thought of.
Chocolate Covered Katie is so vibrant you might wonder if it’s in 3D. I dare you not to try and lick the chocolate dripping from the cone in the Secretly Healthy Red Velvet Ice Cream picture. The site is full of easy to follow recipes but you’ll also enjoy following Katie, as well, since her posts are often accompanied by a personal story or anecdote. Here’s what Katie has to say about her popular blog.
Why did you start your food blog: It actually wasn’t a food blog initially. When I went away to college, my high school friends and I thought it would be fun to all start blogs as a way of keeping in touch. But other food bloggers began to leave comments on my site, and I made friends with them…I moved to Blogger and then WordPress. And somewhere along the way, I realized I enjoyed writing and photographing desserts much more than anything else!
How would you describe your approach to eating/healthy: I try to eat balanced meals and strive for variety, but I don’t stress out about it and will never eat a food just because it’s supposedly good for me. Worrying about eating a “perfect” diet seems more detrimental to one’s health than a few grams of trans fat or white flour every now and then. Luckily the foods I crave are usually pretty healthy. I probably eat not-so-healty foods about 10% of the time (more when I’m on vacation!).
Have you always had an interest in healthy food or did it come later in life: I’ve always been a vegetable lover. The standard joke in my family was that if my grandma was making a meal, there would surely be at least 10 different vegetable dishes on the table. So, growing up, I was a healthy eater simply because that’s the type of food I was served. However, I was skinny as a teenager and decided to go on a “high junk food diet” in college to gain some weight. All it really did was completely drain me of energy, and it was only after this period in my life that I really started learning about healthy eating.
What is your favorite ingredient to use in the kitchen: Chocolate. Is that even a question?
Has blogging changed the way you view food and cooking? If so, how: Yes, definitely. Before starting the blog, my cooking skills were very basic–I could use a microwave, boil pasta, follow a recipe, but I didn’t know why certain ingredients were called for in recipes, such as vinegar in cakes or baking soda in cookies. All of the cooking experiments I’ve done over the past six years have not only taught me why, but also how to make up my own recipes completely from scratch–which ingredients to use and how much, for best results. It’s been a fun learning experience.
Favorite recipe to date: Lately I’ve been experimenting with different Homemade Protein Bars. But I have a lot of favorites, and they are always changing!
Which three recipes would you like to share with our readers?
Katie is featured in our series of spotlights on healthy food bloggers. Be sure to check back next Sunday to meet another healthy blogger in our midst.
Also Read:
Food Blogger Spotlight: Kelsey Brown of Happyolks
Food Blogger Spotlight: Ashley McLaughlin of Edible Perspective