When thinking of college students’ diets, ramen is usually the first word that comes to mind, but not for mass communication senior Emilie Hebert. Through her business, Emilie Eats, Hebert is redefining the way students think about eating — one blog post at a time.
Upon starting college, Hebert — known among her friends for her culinary prowess — received numerous queries from friends seeking cooking advice or new recipes, she said. Wanting to further share her passions to others with similar questions, she launched Emilie Eats in 2015.
“I really never imagined it would be where it is now,” Hebert said.
While Emilie Eats expands over various social media platforms, its main component is a website which features original vegan recipes like pineapple fried rice and dark chocolate cherry coconut butter cups and are accompanied by tantalizing, bright photographs.
In launching the site, Hebert wanted to create a fun, non-judgmental approach to healthy eating.
“There’s a lot of forceful and dogmatic messages out there, and I just want to be a voice of reason,” she said.
Hebert’s passion for healthy eating stemmed from her mother back home in Houma, who always made sure the family had a home-cooked meal with fruits and vegetables, she said. Before long, Hebert was making recipes of her own.
Hebert has a large social media presence, with over 50,000 followers on Instagram alone — a feat not accomplished overnight. Over the past two years she has consistently posted quality content to help people, she said.
While the extent of most people’s food posts is a picture they snapped on their iPhone, Hebert’s process is more extensive. She creates and cooks the recipe until perfection, then photographs it and uploads it to her blog.
Mastering food photography involved plenty of research and years of practice, she said. Hebert uses the mood she wants to convey in her photograph to stage it and select garnishes. Winter posts exhibit cooler colors and more shadows to create a cozier feel, while summer posts have brighter, warmer colors.
Of course several weekly trips to the grocery store are also involved. Hebert’s favorite places to shop are Southside Produce Market and the Red Stick Farmers Market for produce and Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods for specialty items.
Hebert’s passion for health and wellness will soon transcend into her academic life, as she plans to attend graduate school next year and pursue her dream of becoming a registered dietitian. She hopes to use this added knowledge to expand her business to incorporate online nutrition counseling.
“I know that what I’ll be able to offer when I become a dietitian will be even greater,” Hebert said. “I want to be the one-stop-shop for realistic, approachable information about plant-based nutrition — not someone who’s going to preach extremes to you.”
