17 Year Old Entrepreneur, EJ Naylor, Makes Tasty Healthy Treats
Springfield, MA — While some high school students are focused on exams, sports, and prom, junior Elijah Naylor also has nearly 300 alkaline desserts to bake and deliver to local restaurants each week.
The young entrepreneur started EJ’s Alkaline Tour with a goal to promote healthy sweets.
“It gives people a better, healthy option to what they’re eating now,” Elijah said. “Most people probably don’t realize there’s a healthy dessert alternative.”
His enterprise began last year starting with vegan meal prep that evolved into alkaline-based recipes including desserts.
The alkaline diet reduces the number of acid-forming foods with the intent of adapting the body’s pH levels. The diet promotes fruits, legumes and vegetables with fewer fats, sugars, grains and meats.
“ Most people probably don’t realize there’s a healthy dessert alternative.”
While banana bread is the most popular dessert - and Elijah’s personal favorite - he also makes sea moss pudding, coconut cream pie, brownie cake, strawberry cheesecake and blueberry cake among others.
“They’re completely healthy,” Elijah said. “Someone with diabetes could enjoy this dessert.”
EJ’s Alkaline Tour desserts are available at four Springfield locations: Cellf Juices, Our Journey, Socialite Coffee Bar and Garden of Eat’n. It was the latter’s owner that elevated Elijah’s knowledge of alkaline and healthy eating.
“I thought I was at the limit but I didn’t know how far you could take it,” he said. “It was like there was another level to the game.”
Elijah also has created a line of herb capsules used to address health conditions. He researches the benefits of herbs and the impact that they have on specific ailments such as diabetes and arthritis, then combines those herbs and fills them into vegetable capsules. The capsules are available at the Garden of Eat’n and he’s been able to see the impact on customers first-hand.
“What I enjoy is how fast you see results,” Elijah said. “When you hear that you helped somebody, it just makes you feel good.”
His ultimate goal is to expand his desserts to more stores to be enjoyed by more people, and someday he would like to franchise.
Elijah, a vegan, learned to cook from his mother. He began his enterprise last year preparing vegan meals for friends and family. This expanded into a small business that included alkaline-based recipes, delivering up to 60 meals per week. His meal-preparation is on hiatus until the summer so he can focus primarily on baking, plus school and wrestling.
He previously took a high school business class and found it challenging. Now Elijah is able to use that knowledge every day. “I had no idea I would have a business at that time,” he said. “When I started my business, I had to know how to do things I learned. It gave me a jump start.”
Desserts from EJ’s Alkaline Tour can be found at:
Garden of Eat’n
439 White Street
Cellf Juices
1026 Bay Street
Our Journey
321 Albany Street
Socialite Coffee Bar
1516 Allen St, Springfield, MA
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