Daina Trout
In college at Georgetown University Daina Trout, (then Daina Slekys), discovered a love for holistic and fermented foods. She went on to receive her Master’s in Nutrition and Public Health from Tufts University and developed her own recipe for kombucha. She’d brew it herself, out of her house. After graduating she got a job in corporate America but knew she wanted to make a more substantial mark on the world. She formed an entrepreneur club with her now-husband, Justin and best friend, Vanessa. As they would sit together trying to come up with ideas that they could capitalize on they would sip her home-brewed kombucha. Suddenly, they realized they had their idea, sitting there on the table, all along. They formed Health-Ade Kombucha. With a goal to supply America with “real food,” Daina took position as head brewer, Vanessa handled sales, and Justin marketing. Now the team supplies their loyal fanbase with the highest quality kombucha you can buy. And it's pretty much sold everywhere!Being huge fans of her delicious and healthy recipes we were excited to ask Daina to share with us the seven things making her life better at the moment. This is what she said:1 | My treadmill desk-- I just had a baby (a human one) and paired with being CEO at my very demanding business there’s not a lot of time for exercise. Now, all I have to do is take my conference calls while walking (3.5 MPH is fast enough to feel like you’re moving, and slow enough where no one on the the other end can tell). It makes it so I get at least some movement in every day. Bonus: it doubles as a stand-up desk and has all the relevant outlets so you can do computer work too! #nomoreofficeASS2 | Green Chef-- I love to cook, but don’t have the time (see reasons above). Also, I love real food and need to eat “well” to keep me feeling good. Green Chef gives me semi-prepared organic meals delivered to my door that are high in veggies and low in starches and take me about 30 minutes to make, with no shopping involved! Even my husband can make them (which I’m kind of taking advantage of right now).3 | Living Proof Perfect Hair Day dry shampoo-- I do a lot of travel, and (now with my treadmill desk) a lot of movement, so I need to keep my hair “spirited.” This is the best dry shampoo I’ve tried-- it doesn’t make your scalp itch and it comes in a convenient travel size.4 | Women Who Run with Wolves, audio book-- It’s an amazingly up-lifting book for women. Anytime I need inspiration (which lately has been a lot) I can pop it on for some “nutrition.”5 | My iPhone-- I actually don’t know where I’d be without it. Quick videos of the baby, calendars, emails, music, books-- it’s all at my fingertips and fits perfectly in my pocket. It’s kind of like having my own personal assistant. 6 | Hip Hop dance class-- On the weekends I almost always try to start my day at LA Dancefit in Westwood (try one of Franki’s hip hop classes). I’m not particularly coordinated, but I love to dance and listen to music super loud. Do this for an hour and the rest of your day feels gooooood. 7 | Kombucha-- I think you’d expect this one from me, but I had to put it in. I can’t go through a day if I don’t have my 3pm “lift” from Health-Ade. It’s totally (still) an obsession.