Welcome to Haute & Healthy Living! My name is Elysia Cartlidge and I’m a Registered Dietitian with a Masters in Nutrition and the recipe developer, food photographer, taste tester and content creator at Haute & Healthy Living. I’ve been passionately developing and sharing tried-and-true recipes since 2015, and it has now grown into a trusted recipe website enjoyed by millions.
The site focuses primarily on nutritious, easy and delicious recipes for busy individuals made with wholesome foods and minimally processed ingredients.
Because I’m also a mom to two super active boys, I tend to include lots of recipes that require minimal time and simple ingredients. I also like to feature kid-friendly recipes that are always tested and approved first by own little taste testers!
Due to the popularity of these recipes, in 2023, I started a second site called Little Healthy Bites which focuses on kid-friendly recipes, meal ideas and practical feeding tips!
Professional Background
I’m so grateful that I’m able to live out my dream of being a full-time recipe developer, food photographer, content creator and foodie. Although I’m a trained Registered Dietitian and worked in a dietetic setting for over 10 years, I always had a more creative side that didn’t quite fit into the more traditional dietetic roles.
I never imagined that I would be able to combine my passion for nutrition with my love for cooking and call it my full-time job. I can’t thank you enough for supporting my passion and this overall site!
How I Got Started Cooking
Back in high school and university, when I still lived at home, I would always find joy in trying out new recipes and preparing them for my family. I then took some culinary courses after university where I was able to further develop my culinary knowledge and skills.
Prior to completing my Masters, I worked as an intern at a professional test kitchen and was able to get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of how to properly test recipes, style and photograph them for major media outlets.
I later got a job working as a retail dietitian and conducted weekly food demonstrations and cooking classes, where I taught culinary skills, shared my nutritional knowledge and prepared and served healthier recipes to thousands of individuals.
I then got married, had kids and had to learn how to cook for my family of four with limited time (and energy), all the while balancing work, extra curricular activities and managing the household. This was the true test!
Together, all of these experiences have equipped me to learn the skills of recipe testing and development that I share on the site today with hundreds of tried and true recipes!
Haute & Healthy Living Today
I started this food and lifestyle blog in 2015 as a way to share favorite recipes, DIY projects, fitness and motherhood tips and have since niched down to focus on easy and healthy recipes for busy families. The site has grown much larger than I could have imagined with over 500 recipes and millions of visitors per year.
We’ve been featured on:
- Forbes
- Fox News
- Women’s Health
- Men’s Health
- Shape Magazine
- Eating Well
- Southern Living
- Country Living
- And many more (see Press page for more)
My goal with Haute & Healthy Living is for you to fall in love with cooking and realize that healthier eating doesn’t have to be bland, boring or complicated. I always aim to feature flavor-packed recipes that are also nutrient-dense and easy to prepare. My hope is that you’ll discover some new family favorites as you try out the recipes!
Although I do the majority of the recipe development and photography myself, I’m so blessed to partner with a team of individuals who work behind the scenes to help me keep Haute & Healthy Living running smoothly. I’m incredibly grateful for their contributions—and for you, our wonderful readers—who make this dream all possible.
Haute & Healthy Living Recipes
When it comes to recipe development, I always strive to enhance the overall nutritional value of the recipes that I’m sharing by incorporating additional fiber, protein, and healthy fats, along with an extra boost of vitamins and minerals. So that means, wherever possible, I aim to ramp up those nutrients!
I love to feature vibrant salad recipes, lightened up family-favorites (like this Healthy Marry Me Chicken), in addition to quick and easy dinners and healthier copycat recipes.Â
I don’t prescribe to any particular diet as I believe eating is all about finding that healthy balance – it’s not about restriction and deprivation.
That being said, I do include different dietary labels on recipes to help those who do choose to follow a particular way of eating identify suitable recipes.
It’s important to me that the recipes work for individuals at a variety of skill levels, so each recipe undergoes several rounds of testing and are first approved by family and friends before appearing on the site.
“You always have the best recipes and I love that they are HEALTHY!!” – Elvira
Additional Resources
Along with all the free resources available on the site, I also have a number of digital cookbooks and meal plans filled with easy-to-follow and nutritious recipes for the whole family. With thousands of copies now in the hands of readers, it brings me so much joy knowing they’re being enjoyed by families all around the world!
Keep In Touch
If you have any questions at all, would like to collaborate or just want to say hi, please feel free to leave a comment, connect with me on Facebook, Pinterest, or Instagram or email me at [email protected]. I’ll do my best to get back to you as soon as possible!
Also, don’t forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get my latest recipes and updates to your inbox!
Thanks so much for reading and following along!
