Welcome! I’m Ellen Whitney and with this site, I hope to show you that Health Tastes Good; but not only does health taste good, it feels good too!
Let’s get one thing out of the way first- I love food. Whether it’s a plate of roasted brussel sprouts, or a brownie smothered in caramel sauce, I love it. I’ll admit, I do like food that is not-so-good-for-me too. As a self-proclaimed “foodie” I adore going to new restaurants and sampling everything on the menu.
Your diet isn’t just the food you eat- it impacts every aspect of your life. Way beyond how you look and feel (although both of those things are utterly important) the food we eat impacts every cell in our body and their ability to keep the intricate systems of our bodies functioning properly. Our bodies work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to keep us alive, isn’t it the least we can do to fuel it properly?
Even more than a life force, food is the integral centerpiece around which many memories are made. Be it your holiday dinners with Grandma’s apple pie, birthday cakes filled with nostalgia of your childhood, or the chips & guac you shovel in on Girls’ Night Out, food helps shape these moments. Would you give up these memories to simply remain “compliant” to a restrictive diet?
In my mission to prove Health Tastes Good, I aim to combine my last two points- using food that nourishes the body and gives it the strength it needs to keep our body’s thriving, while also tasting delicious, even indulgent at times, as it continues to bring friends and family together as they make everlasting memories.
In August 2015, I adopted a plant-based diet. So many of the recipes on this site will be vegan, however, I’m also a personal chef and recognize that not everyone eats this way, so recipes including organic meats will sometimes make an appearance as well!
In addition to food and nutrition, my other passion is fitness. My favorite way to start each day is with movement. It’s so energizing to my body and soul that I call it my caffeine.
My style has changed throughout the years- I grew up a competitive swimmer and distance runner. Then I dabbled in Crossfit before taking up a strict bodybuilding type routine in college, which cut out all cardio, a foreign concept to me at the time. But after a year or two, I started to miss the heart-pumping rush from my long runs. Lifting also started to take a toll on my body, as I suffered from some lingering hamstring and back injuries.
Now my fitness style is sort of move-how-I-feel-like-it (as it should be, right?) I have developed a deep appreciation for hot yoga, and try to practice 3-5 days a week. I still love to pick up heavy things, then put them down again, and the ability of these movements to shape my body in new ways. When I feel like doing cardio, I do it. And when I don’t- yep, you guessed it! I don’t do it. No more rules and restrictions. I’m just training for life right now and doing what feels good.
Officially I am a Certified Personal Trainer and Fitness Nutrition Specialist through the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), I have my 300-hour Modo yoga teacher certification, and have a marketing degree from the University of Georgia.
