Only Roxanna Nowrouzi can make pizza-loving college students fall in love with cauliflower fried rice and beet juice. When she’s not in class here at American University, Roxanna is running her own health and nutrition blog, Skinny Betch Bowl (SBB).
Roxanna started SBB during her freshman year of college after struggling with food allergies. “I was always the health guru amongst my friends, however I realized that college students needed direction when it came to living a healthy lifestyle,” said Roxanna. She created the Skinny Betch Bowl Instagram account in March 2014; by August she had her own website.
“In the 21st century where everyone is constantly on their phones, I found the need to take SBB to the next level and create an app,” Roxanna said. Now, you can easily access SBB on mobile devices with the newly-launched app. The app features delicious and healthy recipes that any collegiette can whip up. “I wanted to provide healthy recipes and nutrition articles to my viewers in a user-friendly way,” said Roxanna.
From carrot cake oatmeal to fresh Pad Thai and black bean brownies, each recipe is Roxanna’s own. She takes your favorite recipes – banana bread or chocolate chip banana pancakes – and puts a healthy spin on them. “The usual banana bread ingredients include bananas, eggs, flour, vanilla extract and sugar. So I’ll transform it, using almond flour, almond milk or coconut milk,” said Roxanna in an interview with Her Campus American back in 2015. The app even allows users to interact with Roxanna through the “Send Us Pics” feature and “Ask SBB” page.
Just like her sweet potato fries, Roxanna’s app launch party did not disappoint. Guests enjoyed a sampling of some of Roxanna’s most popular recipes – toasted crostini topped with creamy avocado slices, hummus served with veggie sticks and Kalamata olives, celery juice, almond meal pancakes glazed with honey and a plethora of guilt-free desserts. Guests sipped made-to-order smoothies while enjoying a photo booth and Georgetown views atop the Graham Hotel’s rooftop. Roxanna has been working with an app developer since August 2016 to bring the SBB app to life. “It’s been a long, but well-worth it process,” she said.
So what’s next for SBB? “I am extremely passionate about SBB. I love empowering and helping others become the best versions of themselves,” said Roxanna. “I eventually would like to create something of value for my users such as a diet plan, [but] not the trendy type you are thinking of.” But for now, Roxanna plans to use a much needed Winter break to calculate her next big move.
All photos by Aidan Fox