Eloise Head Of Fitwaffle On What She Typically Eats In A Day - Exclusive

Mention the word "fitness," and chances are, one of the first words that will come to mind is "diet." It's no secret that a good diet — lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein — is a central part of staying fit, especially for serious athletes. Mention the word "baker," on the other hand, and a totally different set of images come to mind: rich cakes and pastries, lots of sugar and butter, and perhaps a creator more interested in happy culinary experiences than optimizing muscle mass.

It's natural to conclude that being serious about fitness and serious about making sweets would be mutually exclusive. But Eloise Head, the creator of sweet treats behind Fitwaffle Kitchen, is proving this wrong. A former personal trainer, she's still serious about fitness and mindful of her own nutrition. But she also loves making and eating sweets and believes they can be part of a healthy lifestyle. 

"It's important to be able to enjoy high-calorie foods such as desserts and sweets in moderation, alongside a highly nutritious diet, without any feelings of guilt around these certain foods," she told The List. In her exclusive interview, she also shared what she typically eats in a day.

Eloise Head has attracted a huge online following for Fitwaffle Kitchen in part because her recipes are so simple — usually requiring fewer than five ingredients. Her typical meals are similarly simple. "Because I'm in the kitchen cooking all the time, I generally want something that's nice and quick and easy and that doesn't involve too much cooking," she said. "For breakfast, I'll generally have something like Greek yogurt with fruit and honey on it. It'll be quite light in the morning."

Protein is also a big component of her meals. "I try and eat a good amount of protein with each of my meals," she said. "For lunch, I'll generally have something like a sandwich, with some sort of protein filling ... I also might have a salad or some fruit on the side of that. I tend to snack on something like chicken bites, marinated chicken, or protein bars." 

Dinners for her are also protein-forward. "For dinner, I'll usually have some sort of protein, chicken or fish. I'll have a carbohydrate, a potato or rice, and some sort of vegetable," she said. "Nice and quick and easy, and gets in all my main food groups."

Eloise Head also likes to punctuate her day with bites of sweet treats, and she does so without apology. This wasn't always easy for her. "When I was in college, I had quite a poor relationship with food, and I was restricted with what I ate," she recalled. "I would give foods such a moral value. Some foods I would put on a pedestal, and others I would demonize, which is not a very healthy way of looking at food."

Today, she regularly enjoys sweets, but in moderation. "I'll also usually — almost always — have some sort of dessert after my main meal," she said. "That will be something small, sometimes a couple of chunks of chocolate, or it'll be a bake from today, or yesterday, or whatever I baked. I might have a small ice cream ... I do tend to snack on what I'm baking throughout the day as well." 

But while she's always creating new treats — which means a lot of sweets can quickly accumulate in her kitchen — she's careful to resist the temptation to eat everything she makes. "I try and give it away as much as possible, and I try and freeze it as well," she said.

Follow Eloise Head and Fitwaffle Kitchen on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok, and pre-order "Baking It Easy" here.