"I like to say that Skinnytaste recipes are light on calories, but big on flavor.
They’re calorie conscious and made with real ingredients, and they are really super easy to make. I love fried chicken and all the things that are typically not good for you, and so I like to take that comfort food and find a way to make it lighter.
“I started Skinnytaste in 2008, when I was getting married, trying to lose weight for my wedding and looking for lighter recipes online. And at the time, there really weren’t a lot of healthy websites out there, and everything I did find was just ugly websites, no blogs, no pretty photos and they had recipes that I wouldn’t typically make in my home. So I started taking my recipes and making them lighter. I felt like there was a need for this type of thing out there on the web. I always loved cooking, always loved cooking magazines growing up. So starting this healthier blog was just part of me, something I enjoy doing. It was never planned to be a career.
“What really drove me and made me passionate about it was the comments and questions and responses I was getting from people who were losing weight with my recipes. I was either teaching them how to cook for the first time or changing their life. And that resonated with me because I love helping people. So for me to help people and be able to be there and answer their questions and be that connecting line to them through a website is important to me.
“I also love the creative process, coming up with new ideas and getting the responses when I post something new — seeing how people react to my new recipes. Sometimes I get requests from fans. Sometimes my husband will ask me to make something that’s super indulgent, and I’ll try to figure out a way to make it healthier. I love the challenge! But I test recipes several times because they don’t usually work on the first round, and I won‘t post it until it‘s perfect. If I can’t get it perfect, then I just don’t post it.
“My most popular recipe is the Skinnytaste bagel, made with yogurt. So many people have made it, it’s basically gone viral. For me, it’s just one of those things — we’re from New York, and my husband loves bagels. So when I messed around and put yogurt in my bagel recipe, he was skeptical! But he loved it and we shared it with the world, and now that dough has been turned into pizza and garlic knots and so many things. We make it all the time here, and it’s fun watching other people enjoy the recipe and make my bagels.”
