The Creator of a Gut-Friendly, Prebiotic Candy Bar Shares Her Go-To Healthy Snacks

The Expert Edit features interviews with specialists about the products they swear by in their chosen field. For the latest installment, we spoke with founder of Harken Sweets and food science researcher Katie Lefkowitz about her tips for healthy snacking and her top product recommendations in food and lifestyle.

Katie Lefkowitz began her career in the biopharma space, where she helped to launch drugs specifically aimed at treating chronic diseases, until she had a personal health scare in 2018 related to colon cancer. "That moment made me realize that while pharmaceuticals play a pivotal role in our health, we often overlook an equally powerful tool for health: what we eat," she tells PS. "I dove deeper into nutrition, looking at how food can help prevent and even treat chronic conditions."

Her journey ultimately led her to focus on the power of better-for-you foods, which Lefkowitz believes have the ability to transform bodily health. First, she operated as COO at Caulipower, where she engineered the world's first cauliflower-based pizza crust. Then in 2022, Lefkowitz turned her expertise to a passion project: candy bars. Lefkowitz wanted to invent a formulation that could be considered a gut-friendly product, pushing past manufacturers and retailers who shut down her initial ideas. "Building something from the ground up that's so personal in such a competitive industry and staying true to my mission has been so fulfilling. I'm helping people make better choices and giving them an option that sparks joy — that's the ultimate win for me," she says.

Today, Harken Sweets is a small but agile company that offers a transformed, plant-based prebiotic candy bar that utilizes the superfood power and natural sweetness of the date, rather than refined sugar. It also gives Lefkowitz a platform to continue educating people on how food can play a key role in their overall health journey. Ahead, she shares some of her favorite everyday products that she relies on in the kitchen and the home, including everything from her favorite Harken Sweets flavor to pantry staples to dinnerware and glassware that makes serving food easy and more enjoyable.