Kate Mulling’s Grocery Staples Include Fermented Foods and Paleo Cake

As a co-founder of The Chalkboard Mag (Pressed Juicery's pretty online magazine), as well as an editor for Who What Wear and Refinery 29, Kate Mulling has made a career out of spotting health and beauty trends.

So it's no surprise that she picked up on the need for healthy food at not-insane prices, and in 2014, co-founded Thrive Market, an online shopping club for non-perishable organic foods, non-toxic bath and body products, and green cleaning supplies—all at 30 to 50 percent off. Members pay an annual fee ($59.95) for access to a curated selection of natural products and foods, which they can easily search for using categories like gluten-free and Paleo—eliminating a whole lot of label-related sleuthing.

"Our larger goal is to go back to making it easy to find food that is good and healthy," Mulling says. "Right now, so many people are blocked because of price, access, and education."

At home, Mulling eats a ton of foods from Thrive, obviously, as well as veggies she grows in her Venice, California, backyard. Here's what else the healthy food crusader is stocking up on now. —Jamie McKillop

Kate's Shopping List
Sauerkraut and kimchi (1)
Mustard
Farmers market sausage
Grain-free Coco Paleo cake
Grass-fed butter (2)
Almond butter
Almond milk (3)
Coconut milk ice cream
Kale
Eggs

You're super into healthy eating. Do you subscribe to a general food philosophy? You can't be too strict—it's all about balance. I like to eat food that makes me feel food and gives me energy, because I really believe that the food I eat impacts the way I feel. But if I'm traveling, I'm going to eat that incredible bowl of pasta.

I see sauerkraut in there. How do you eat it? I love the taste of sauerkraut—and kimchi. Sometimes I just eat it on its own, or with mustard. (I have so many mustards!) I'll also put it in a salad, or cook some up with an incredible sausage from the farmer's market.

What's that loaf on the top right? That's this super delicious Paleo, grain-free cake by a local baker, Coco Bakes. She sells her stuff at my local farmer's market, and it's really delicious and sugar-free.

What's your go-to, energy-boosting breakfast? I actually don't eat a big breakfast. There's a bunch of almond butter in the fridge door that you can't see, and I'll have that with an apple for some energy and protein. Almond butter is also really good drizzled on top of a bowl of coconut milk ice cream.

And what's typical dinner for you? I love making breakfast for dinner, like eggs with kale and some onions over gluten-free toast.

What's the grass-fed butter for? That's for Bulletproof Coffee. I have that in the morning. I don't do it every day, but if it's going to be a marathon day of meetings, I'll do the Bulletproof.

Is anything in here from your garden? There's a bowl of tomatoes and cucumbers from my garden in the bottom of my fridge, and a bowl of strawberries behind the eggs. Right now, we're planting for fall, but I have a lot of chives and parsley and cilantro. I love the cilantro in salsa—with the garden tomatoes.

What's in the glass carafe? Milk? It's actually almond milk—I'm big on almond milk. I tried to make my own, but it's a bit of a production. It was fun to try, but it's usually something I buy from the store. —Jamie McKillop

For more information, visit thrivemarket.com

(Photo: Thrive Market)