Hello! My name is Natalie. I am the writer, photographer, and recipe creator behind Feasting on Fruit. I love creating and sharing my own sweet take on traditional treats with an unconventional healthier twist. I grew up baking cookies with my mom from before I was tall enough to reach the counter, went vegan following my older sister in high school, and combined all of that to start a hobby blog in college that slowly grew into the brand Feasting on Fruit is today. I always try to emphasize approachable ingredients, minimal prep work, and maximum chocolate. There is a balanced mix of breakfast-approved recipes to straight-up decadence, so anyone with a sweet tooth is welcome here and sure to find something enticing.
What does wellness mean to you?
Wellness to me is not forcing myself to do anything for the sake of “health” but making choices driven by trying to feel my best both emotionally and physically. Wellness is soft and nurturing, wellness is taking care of yourself with compassion and without judgment. It’s taken me many years and many diets (hello veganism, raw veganism, paleo, etc.) to realize it’s not about what or how, it’s about why, and my why is to feel good and feel able to live a big life full of the things and people and experiences that make me happy.
What advice would you give your younger self around wellness?
Relax. Don’t try so hard. Think about the long-term effects not just the short-term. Because one day you’ll have to spend years undoing all the “wellness” rules you are putting on yourself now, and it’s going to be a lot harder than just never getting sucked into these beliefs in the first place. As much as you can approach eating and movement like a child would, listen inward and ignore the rest.
Do you have any guilty pleasures or is it important for you to live this life 24/7? How do you view “guilty pleasures”?
I eat dessert day. I’ll have a cocktail or two on the weekends. I love nothing more than going out for tacos and I don’t feel guilty about any of it. Sure I may not feel my best the next day physically, but mentally it’s worth it to not freak out about these little things. Fifty years from now I won’t remember feeling a little meh the next morning, I’ll remember that night my husband and I devoured a whole tub of cookie dough with two spoons on the couch. So no, no guilt about pleasures for me!
