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Author:
Rachel Renée Russell

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Dork Diaries Book 14

Dork Diaries

#1 New York Times Bestselling Series

It's the Valentines Dance! And the girls ask the guys! EEEEK!!

Nikki wants to ask Brandon

But Mackenzie
has other ideas!

March 2, 2020

SPOTLIGHT ON… Haile Thomas!

When Haile Thomas was ten years old, her dad was diagnosed with an illness called Type 2 diabetes. The illness can be really serious, with a lot of complications. But Haile and her family were determined to turn things around. They started changing how they cooked and ate completely!

Haile’s Jamaican-American family was already into cooking – her mom had taught her when she was five, and when she was nine she started a YouTube channel called Kids Can Cook. But her father’s health issues kicked her cooking passion into a whole other gear!

Her family’s healthy choices helped completely reverse her dad’s diabetes, but Haile wasn’t going to stop there. She had learned that kids were getting diagnosed with diabetes too, as well as heart disease and obesity—all conditions that can be improved with nutrition. At TWELVE YEAR OLD, she became the founder and CEO of HAPPY (Healthy Active Positive Purposeful Youth), an organization that offers fun, youth-led programs that help educate kids about healthy choices. HAPPY offers summer camps, classroom visits, and are currently developing online lessons for kids 8 – 12.

Running a whole organization seems like it would keep a girl busy, right? Well Haile still somehow found time for a few other activities. Here are some things she’s done:

  • Her recipe for black bean and corn quinoa won a White House competition in 2012 and she cooked for Michelle Obama! 
  • She worked for two years as the Junior Chef Advisor for Hyatt Hotel’s “For Kids By Kids” Menu, and her kids menu recipes were cooked and served at Hyatt Resorts across the country! 
  • She was featured on Rachael vs. Guy Kids Cook-Off and on Cupcake Wars Kids.
  • She wrote a COOKBOOK called Blessed by the Bowl: 15 Easy Vegan Bowl Recipes
  • She hosts a podcast called Girl Empowered, in which she interviews inspiring women.
  • She has a YouTube Channel called Plant-Powered Haile, where she shares lifestyle and vegan recipe videos.
  • And at 18, she’s recently become the youngest Certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach in the US. 

Here’s where you can find Haile. I don’t know about you, but I am going to give some of her recipes a try! 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hailethomas/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/hailevthomas

Do you like to cook? Have you ever made up a recipe? How did it turn out? Tell us in the comments! 

Category: My Diary Tags: Spotlightnikki

Comment Guidelines

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  • All comments MUST be on topic!
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Comments

  1. Suchadork says

    March 29, 2020 at 5:21 pm

    Wow my uncle’s vegan I wonder if he’s ever yoused her cookbook

  2. WAFFLEZ4LIFE says

    March 27, 2020 at 12:47 pm

    Awww. That is very generous 🙂

  3. Mad coder says

    March 26, 2020 at 3:25 pm

    There is a website called scratch and I make projects on inspiring people I guess halie will be next <3

  4. Dork dream says

    March 26, 2020 at 12:32 pm

    I once added marshmallows into cupcakes,but when they came out,they had burnt bits EXACTLY where the marshmallows where!don’t worry,they where good overall.

  5. Dorky fan says

    March 23, 2020 at 2:26 am

    OMG sooooooooooo sad

  6. Keep up the good work!! :)))) says

    March 23, 2020 at 2:04 am

    These spotlights r such an inspiration to the dork diary website and it gives off such a good look to it. Please continue to make more based on spotlight! I have a suggestion for spotlight, maybe write an entry about Higgy bears! Higgy bears are teddy bears that come with back braces to comfort those with scoliosis and to not be ashamed or feel alone having scoliosis! Higgy bears also have a story and were created from a woman who has had scoliosis and wants to help other children in need of comforting, i find her story very interesting, i myself have scoliosis and it would mean a a lot for Nikki to write an entry based on Higgy bears or Lauren Higgison!

    • SGE8 says

      March 25, 2020 at 6:29 pm

      I have scoliosis as well! Higgy bears sound ingenious and comforting and Lauren Higginson sounds admirable and interesting! Thank you for sharing this.

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