I’m pooped!
Lugging around a SLR camera to photograph every morsel I eat is tiring.
The biggest and most welcome surprise with food blogging has been that it has prevented me from snacking so much. Having to take a picture with a SLR camera is a big production, so the thought of dragging out the camera to snap a picture of a few crackers is daunting.
Food blogging gives me a structure to adhere to- 3 meals and 2-3 snacks a day.
Working from home is hard because food is available 24/7 and is lurking around every corner! I think structure is a great thing for me and is a habit I hope will continue after the food blogging ends.
Food blogging has changed the way I eat slightly. It really has made me think about two things 1) Variety, and 2) Nutritional quality.
Now, I have always thought about these things before, but it just seems more heightened when I am taking pictures of everything I eat. I have started to look deeper into my cupboards to see what we can use up and my creativity has been spinning more than usual.
Eric and I also didn’t get groceries this week to save some money. I wanted to use up all the stuff we had pushed away in the back of our cupboards. As a result of this, I have used up many great items- frozen veggies, canned tomatoes, tabouli, produce (that might have otherwise gone bad), sauces, and soups. It is amazing how long we can last just off the food in our cupboards, isn’t it?
This has been fun and I think it is nice to be able to show you what I eat over the course of a few days or more. I like showing that yes, I do eat a lot of food, and I am damn proud of it. Long gone are the days when I would eat a measly iceberg salad for my lunch. I like to show you that you can eat a lot of delicious and healthy foods and not have to deprive yourself.
When I was deep into disordered eating I never would have dreamed that I could eat this much food (and feel ok about it). My life has done a complete 180 and for that I have food blogs to thank and a lot of daily persistence.
Taking the time to nurture my body with good food has really given me a richer, more enjoyable life.
I’m curious, how has food blogging (or food blogs) affected the way you eat?
See you tomorrow for everything I ate today + 2 new delicious meal and snack ideas!
Aside from feeling a part of a community (and all the trends and other things that come with it) I have really learned a lot about portion control thanks to food blogs generally, Kath in particular.
The visual impact is the biggest for me. Now i know what a reasonable portion looks like :)
I have been blogging daily since April. The biggest impact it has had for me is an increased awareness of nutritional quality. It really inspires me to make sure I’m getting a variety of fruits and vegetables especially.
And, I love your point…I love showing that eating healthy can mean eating a much larger volume of foods than many people think…I like sharing that eating well is not about deprivation, but about nourishing our bodies with healthy, filling, and delicious foods.
it makes me choose smarter snacks… i don’t want to show anyone that i ate frosting out of the can :-)
and, really, i like fruit just as much as the frosting…
These are all the same reasons I have loved food blogging! While not every morsel of food I consume ends up on the blog it definitely forces me to get more creative with my meal.
Like this week I also didn’t hit the grocery store to save money and boy was it tough!!! I really had to get creative to come up with somewhat balanced meals. I tried, but after last nights dinner (http://healthyhotthousewife.blogspot.com/2009/09/dont-judge-me.html) I knew I had to get some produce :)
i learned exactly what you said in your last point – that it’s ok, healthy, and even normal to eat a lot of food all day long and still maintain your weight. like you, i am also proud of it – but it took a long, long, long time get here.
i’ve also become much more open-minded to different lifestyles (vegan, raw, etc), aware of the carbon footprint left by certain foods, have tried things i never thought i would (chia seeds anyone?), and have been inspired to make many things in my own kitchen (which helps the grocery bill). it’s crazy what an effect an internet community can have!
I do think that I read food blogs a bit too often. Now I try and balance out my blog reading habits, but don’t want to cut it out completely because of everything I’ve learned that has made such a positive impact on my life. Now I no longer fear the nut butters and mixed nuts–healthy fats are a great thing! I’ve also learned about the importance of a filling breakfast and gotten great inspiration to make my meals more creative. I never knew oatmeal is so versatile! I’ve also learned some great salad ideas and learned about lots of new products (Cliff bars, larabars, PB&CO, Maranatha, Kashi cereals, wraps, etc.) While it is a bit time consuming to read the blogs I do I think the benefits outweigh the few cons.
Oh yes, it is such a big production, but it is something I look forward to. I enjoy trying to get the best shot of my food with the surrounding objects and the lighting that I have.
I initially read food blogs because they taught me that eating what I thought at the time was a lot, is actually okay and that doing so is necessary. Food blogging myself has encouraged me to make sure my eating environment is beautiful–because that’s how it should be! It has also gotten me to take the time to present my food well and learn to take pretty photos. No more throwing food on a plate and scarfing it down! As a result, I feel like I appreciate my food a lot and eat more mindfully.
I agree with you, it definitely gets me to vary my meals so I am not photographing the same foods over and over again.
Food blogging has taught me that I used to eat too much of the same boring foods. In the past, every time I went out to eat I would always order chicken tenders or some bland salad — now, I’m all about the variety like you said. :) It spices things up!
I applaud you and all the other bloggers out there who literally photograph every bite…for me, that’s not realistic. I dont have the time to upload it, some of it aint pretty nor pic-worthy, not to mention, I just dont think anyone cares if I eat 2 dates. But the singular biggest reason I dont photograph and post every single thing I eat is b/c I have heard about and witnessed huge backlash against certain bloggers for whom their readers think they are either eating too much, not enough, not the right foods, etc and frankly, I dont think anyone should have sh*t to say about what someone else eats…it’s your mouth, your body, your choices, and putting every last thing out there for public scruntiny is more than my little heart can take. I applaud you for doing it!!!
I’m the biggest avocate for food blogs. In my darkest times when I had a ED food blogs helped me get through it. I constantly compared my eating habits to yours and Eatliverun.com to guide me back to eating normal. I really owe yall a huge thank you for that!! Now I’ve found my own passion, food blogging! Call me a regular foodie now :)
Maggie
I am not a food blogger. Reading how its helping you to stay on track does slightly interest me in becoming one, but I just don’t think its the direction I want to take my blog in. I did think about snapping pictures of what I eat just for myself.
Great post!
Food blogging has made me think more about the nutritional value of my food. I’m a recovering calorie counter and it’s interesting to know think of WHAT FOOD CAN DO FOR ME vs. WHAT FOOD DOES TO ME. You know what I mean?
The only downside to food blogging I have found so far is that sometimes I fall into the comparison game. I just really have to concentrate on feeding my body what it wants, regardless of if it’s more or less than what others eat!
I honestly don’t photograph everything I eat, so the thought of photography doesn’t stop me from grabbing a handful of cereals or crackers. Although it should. However, I try and eat different things for my meals now. I feel “bad” if I have leftovers, and my readers see the same thing 3 days in a row. So I try and do something different with my leftovers. I also try not to have frozen meals as much anymore, because how boring!!!
I recently started a food blog and have been struggling with documenting EVERYTHING I eat. I sometimes feel guilty about my food choices if I choose to have a cookie or something not deemed as healthy and don’t want to share it with the world!But I have been trying to be completely honest with what I am eating and have found that it is helping me think more about why I want to eat something. Do I really want it or am I just bored. I think it’s a great tool that everyone who should try at some point because it just slows you down a bit!
I think food blogging has shown me that we are all people and we all like different things. I love tortilla chips and cake! But I don’t eat them all the time, and I think that food blogs are great for showing that everything is okay in moderation :-)
Food blogging has opened my eyes up to a whole new way of eating. Prior to reading food blog’s I was an extremely picky eater but now I try new things I see on the blogs. My mom even made a comment tonight about how my eating has changed so much!
I am not a food blogger b/c I think it would be a bit triggering for me to record everything I eat to that degree. However, I love food blogs b/c I love to see people enjoying their healthy eats. It makes me happy about my healthy choices too, and inspires me to try new things in the kitchen.
My blog is about the recipes that I cook, and it has definitely inspired me to try a ton of new recipes and new foods. I always enjoyed cooking, and now I do it even more. It has been a good influence on my life.
I think food blogging has definitely made me increase the variety and visual appeal in my meals. It’s weird that I think about posting what I eat before eating it. However, I only post the cool(er) meals on my blogs. I usually don’t post pics of a kashi bar or something like that.
Honestly, it’s made me want to make my food more aesthetic. Presentation is so important now, and I try to add flair to my food when I can. I have also tried some new foods I wasn’t so interested in (okra) and loved them!