Oh, hi, hello! Welcome. It has been a minute. Turns out trying to write a blog whilst also making videos, going to school, working, etc. etc. etc… gets a little busy. So, if you haven’t popped over to TikTok or Instagram to check out the videos, let me give you my top 5 takeaways from diving headfirst into making recipe videos – as someone who doesn’t know the first thing about making recipe videos.
1. First and foremost, enjoy a delicious adventure.
There is a wild, wild world of recipes out there and you can drown in that never-ending ocean of ideas without a life raft of logic. I figured out a few months in that I needed a way to organize my interests. I started looking for five ways to use an ingredient because it was more economic to experiment with one main ingredient every week. The 'x5' was typically sourced from five different cultures/groups/countries, since that tended to ensure I had some variety. I wasn’t the first person to think of this approach (shocking, I know,) which makes the searches easier. I can't speak for others, but I decided that there are billions of people on this planet and bell peppers still exist. So, I probably just need to look at what other people have done with bell peppers and I should/could/might find something I liked.
Fortunately, I was right, and I am now a happy bell-pepper-eater if it comes in the form of a bread and cheese salad (see image), Romesco sauce, or even stuffed. Did I know Romania could throw down in the stuffed bell pepper ring? Nope. Did I know that Romesco sauce was originally developed by fisherman? Hard no. Do I know that now -- and randomly share this information with people who probably didn’t want to know? YES!
2. Don’t panic and follow your instincts.
It is intimidating to put yourself on blast on social media. It is even worse when no one gives a crap and you get 5 views on a video that took you hours to make.
I definitely panicked, cried, ranted, and toiled over what to do in the early part of 2022 (and maybe once or twice since then.) I thought I was failing. After a while, I noticed that when I started to panic I tried too hard to look like an amazing tiktoker (how do I spell that?) who gains 1M followers overnight without trying. In other words, what I **should** be. But you know what they say, you don't should where you eat. So, I went back to the numbers. I did some research on the tiktokers I loved and realized they too had gone through, and still are going through, the same journey of figuring out what works for them. Understanding I'm not alone on the journey helped me relax and follow my instincts towards what felt fun, manageable, and delicious to me. My following is strong but mighty at around 3,500 followers at the mo, but I feel so much more myself and comfortable with what I put out there.
3. Be your authentic self.
Uh, what IS authentic if we're always changing!? Everyone says 'be authentic' but what does it actually mean! I thought about 'authentic' a lot in 2022 and really found the answer in the people I listen to and watch most via podcasts, tiktok, IG, you name it.
The people I love the most are not the ones who are perfect; the people I love are the ones who share when they are struggling and show how they dealt with it. They are the ones who screw up pronunciations, are passionately incorrect at times, and have the courage to say they failed. I used to cut out my not-perfect expressions, when I misspoke, or when I screwed up. Now, I tend to share it. I figure that if I share what I find difficult, others can either relate (which feels good), can give advice (when I am ready to hear or accept it), or can help me laugh about it (laughing is my favorite.) Creating a community of people who want to explore together with empathy and a sense of humor is the world I want to live in. So, I gotta do the hard work of being vulnerable as much as I enjoy it from others. That’s not a chore anymore, it’s a sense of freedom.
4. Haters gonna hate.
Let's face it, some people are just jerks. Many are hurt or scared. That doesn’t excuse them or make them okay, but it makes it easier to say, ‘there’s the door – see ya!’ if they’re not the right fit for what you’re makin’. I decided that I am not going to beg. I am here as myself and that’s the best and hardest thing I’ve ever done. It’s also the most wonderful. So, if you don’t like it, thank you and goodbye. It takes me a couple days to get over negativity when someone says something mean or 'gotcha!', but it gets easier and easier to let it go. After all, life is short and I would rather watch 'I Survived' reruns than chase down Mr. or Ms. Poopy-pants who don’t like the way I say ‘gorg’…. Kbyeanddon'tletthedoorsmackyouonthebutt.
5. Welcome feedback, and don’t make assumptions.
I just got done saying SEE YA LATER ALLIGATOR for them haters but I want to preface that I learned to assume the best before confirming the worst. I am a privileged white woman diving into many different cultural recipes without background on 99.9% of them. That’s part of the plan for me because I don’t want to be biased or get tied up in trying to be perfect. Frankly, I also don’t have time to do a dissertation of research on every recipe, and I don’t always know the best sources of data.
What I do know is that people can get passionate and want to be seen. How I respond to their comments makes all the difference. I decided to respond with an open mind and heart, and always try to acknowledge what the person is saying and invite further dialogue.
For example, if someone says, ‘That’s not how you do it…’, I have a choice. I choose to say ‘how would you do it? Do you recommend a different recipe?’ 70% of the time they don’t answer, but 30% of the time people are excited to share how they’d do it and give excellent tips, recipe ideas, or encouragement (like the time I made fry bread and then remade fry bread). I live for the 30%. I can’t know everything, but I can be open to it. My goal in cooking diverse recipes is to invite dialogue, exploration, joy, vulnerability, and patience. Asking someone to elaborate can make that possible. Every time someone says something to me, I remind myself that they might be asking for dialogue but don’t know how to say so.
Now that I have finished school I am planning to do a bit more blogging and a bit more recipe collection-making. Beyond the fun of cooking, getting through school allowed me to read a lot of research papers, particularly on people like me - people who have survived eating disorders and are figuring out how to connect with food. Based on research I read, I am more convinced than ever that we can build beautiful futures one meal at a time. I'm especially convinced that it starts by what we model to the children in our lives. After all, they can see right through our BS, particularly regarding how we see ourselves. That's why I am making recipe guides to encourage a positive start to the food journey in the kitchen.
I invite you to check out the first recipe collection I made called WORRY ABOUT PERFECT LATER, where I share my favorite recipes from 2022 that are well-suited to be cooked with children. The collection includes fun facts, questions to ask each other, and fun alternative ingredients. The goal is to give people a fun framework for cooking, to invite in more than just calories and nutrition, and instead talk about experiences and create great memories. I plan to make more collections, so if you have any ideas on what you’d like to see, let me know! Until then, much love, stay dry and warm, and hug your pets. <3
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