Sydney-based foodie, Taline Gabrielian, has made a global name for herself with her raw food empire, Hippie Lane.
The 37-year-old, whose business is made up of recipe E books, a wholesale food business and the world’s number one food app, is known for her eye-popping food creations and regularly shares her healthy rainbow treats on her Instagram page.
As a result, the mother-of-two’s following has grown to a staggering 520,000 people who simply can’t get enough of her mouthwatering Insta-worthy meals.
So how does she do it? Taking to her blog recently, Ms Gabrielian revealed how she transforms her healthy foods into the colourful creations her fans have come to know and love.
Sydney-based foodie Taline Gabrielian has made a global name for herself with her raw food empire, Hippie Lane
So how does she do it? Ms Gabrielian revealed how she transforms her healthy foods into the colourful creations her fans have come to know and love
For the famed blue hues she often uses for smoothie bowls, pancakes, cakes and chia puddings, Ms Gabrielian uses a supplement called ‘E3 Live’ – a blue spirulina.
Also known as Blue Majik, Ms Gabrielian describes it as ‘an extract from a sea botanical that is nutrient rich and dense’.
‘Similar to the sea plants and algae that are green, one of the main things that makes it different is this particular plant has a blue pigmented hue… a little goes a long way with this powder,’ she said.
For a yellow or orange colour, Ms Gabrielian uses turmeric – a spice known for its healing and anti-inflammatory properties.
For the famed blue hues she often uses for smoothie bowls, pancakes, cakes and chia puddings, Ms Gabrielian uses a supplement called ‘E3 Live’ – a blue spirulina
Also known as Blue Majik, Ms Gabrielian describes it as ‘an extract from a sea botanical that is nutrient rich and dense’
Specifically, Ms Gabrielian uses powdered turmeric to add colour to her ‘golden lattes’, coconut yoghurt and sweet dishes.
For purples, Ms Gabrielian uses an antioxidant-loaded powder derived from blueberries.
‘The powder is extracted straight from the antioxidant fruit and finely ground. It can be added to boiling water with a pinch of baking soda to thicken its consistency,’ she said.
Another alternative is boiling purple cabbage and using the syrup to colour food.
This is what Ms Gabrielian does with her rice noodles and buttercream icing.
For rice noodles, Ms Gabrielian uses the syrup of purple cabbage
For pink shades, Ms Gabrielian uses beetroot powder – a healthy alternative for cake icing – and for green hues, she uses Matcha green tea
‘With this divine green tea, there are no worries about ingesting traces of chemicals and additives in dye,’ she said of Matcha
For pink shades, Ms Gabrielian uses beetroot powder – a healthy alternative for cake icing – and for green hues, she uses Matcha green tea.
‘With this divine green tea, there are no worries about ingesting traces of chemicals and additives in dye,’ she said.
Finally, for greys and blacks, Ms Gabrielian uses activated charcoal.
‘Activated charcoal is great for the skin and teeth and is used to treat the symptoms of an upset stomach / food poisoning by absorbing the elements that cause the reaction,’ she said.
Hippie Lane has gone from strength to strength over the past few years, despite Ms Gabrielian having never used a recipe app before launching her now best-selling one.
Speaking to Whimn, she said she used the values and style of her Instagram page as inspiration, spoke to several developers and spent six months playing with and reworking the design.
Hippie Lane has gone from strength to strength over the past few years, despite Ms Gabrielian having never used a recipe app before launching her now best-selling one
Hippie Lane started from humble beginnings, with Ms Gabrielian getting into wholesome food while experimenting with recipes at home
‘We live in a busy world, we want access to things immediately, and we’re on our phones constantly,’ she said.
‘It was difficult. I had to get my head around a whole new set of language that I didn’t understand. It’s a new world. But you learn on the job.’
Her hard work paid off and now, the app has more than 100,000 downloads and is the number one food app in the world.
Hippie Lane started from humble beginnings, with Ms Gabrielian getting into wholesome food while experimenting with recipes at home.
Ms Gabrielian sold these treats to cafes around Sydney in 2011 and after her Instagram took off, the motivated entrepreneur simply couldn’t be stopped and her first cook book was released in 2017
And after finding out she was sensitive to gluten, egg, dairy and refined sugars, she made it her mission to come up with healthy and delicious recipes free of these things.
Ms Gabrielian sold these treats to cafes around Sydney in 2011 and after her Instagram took off, the motivated entrepreneur simply couldn’t be stopped and her first cook book was released in 2017.
Speaking to Daily Mail Australia previously, Ms Gabrielian shared some of her favourite healthy chocolate bar recreations, including the Mars Bar, Snickers, Bounty, Twix and Cherry Ripe and credited her success to these types of recipes.
‘I thought the best way to grow the business and inspire a healthy lifestyle was to offer people something they understand, that looks and tastes like the real deal,’ she said
Ms Gabrielian recently shared a snap of the inside of her fridge (pictured)
‘It was definitely my tactic. I thought the best way to grow the business and inspire a healthy lifestyle was to offer people something they understand, that looks and tastes like the real deal,’ she said.
Ms Gabrielian only realised the serious demand for her sweet treats when she reached 80,000 followers within just one year.
‘They just loved that I was portraying healthy versions of the chocolates they knew and loved. They were commenting saying “Does it really taste like a Mars Bar?” and basically just wanted a piece of the pie,’ she said.
While the chocolates are all classified as raw, vegan, refined sugar-free and dairy-free, Ms Gabrielian said that this in no way means ‘fun or taste-free’.
While the chocolates are all classified as raw, vegan, refined sugar-free and dairy-free, Ms Gabrielian said that this in no way means ‘fun or taste-free’
As a self-proclaimed chocoholic who grew up on a diet of Milo and Nutella, Ms Gabrielian knows what those with a sweet tooth expect, but ever since she converted to healthy versions, she’s never looked back.
‘I always crave something after lunch or dinner, I get a sugar rush – we all need it. But I still get the same feeling having one of my Twix bars,’ she explained.
‘Once in blue moon I will try a normal chocolate bar again and it’s sickly sweet. But once you cut all the bad sweets and find healthy replacements there’s no reason to go back.’