Writing Process Blog Tour

 

Hi loves! I have a fun post for you today 🙂

I’m feeling a lot better than I was on Monday. If you are going through a detox or have in the past, you know that you just feel off.. I was exhausted and had a major headache for days.. so I kept fueling my body with lots of fruits, veggies, water (and of course E3Live!) and yesterday I woke up feeling much better! It’s amazing what happens during a detox and what the body is capable of. And kinda crazy to think about how going vegan has awakened my body and all of the nasty toxic waste from meat and dairy, cheese etc. that has accumulated all my life.. I’ve learned that the cleansing process never ends. Our body constantly works to remove the toxic build up, if we provide it with the right nutrients (lots of minerals, vitamins and enzymes) through organic, whole plant based foods. Anyway, just a little update! Have you considered E3Live? I would love to hear your thoughts or experiences.

Last week I was nominated to participate in the Writing Process Blog Tour which allows me to answer some questions and share a behind the scenes look into blogging and what I am working on. Thank you to the lovely and kind Michele from Two Raspberries for nominating me! She is transitioning her blog to vegan, exciting! 🙂 you must check out her recipe for a Vegan, GF, Soy-free Peanut Butter Cake – um, yes please.

 

So, here are the questions!

 

What am I working on now?

Currently, I’m working on lots of projects! Aside from the usual hustle of trying to improve my writing skills as well as learning as much as I can about food photography, all while creating yummy recipes, I am putting together a special guide about the vegan lifestyle and what it entails. The guide will include recipes/meal plans and tons on information that I’ve been researching the past few months. The guide takes up all of my time right now and is taking me a while to complete because I want it to be informational, reasonable, motivational and delicious all at the same time! Originally I just wanted to create a recipe ebook but it has turned into so much more. There is always work to be done on the backend of the blog with updates, improvements, new designs and all the fancy stuff that comes along with running a blog.

 

 

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

The Glowing Fridge is unique from other health blogs in that I share 100% vegan, healthy, plant based recipes, with the occasional dessert recipe (because we all need to indulge!) as well as my favorite vegan products. I love my pictures to be large, bright, yummy and full of life. With recipes, I try to make them as simple and for the most part, quick as possible with ingredients that people are likely to have on hand. Who wants to run to the store to pick up crazy ingredients every time they want to create a yummy recipe?! I’ve done this many times… ha but it’s nice to use what you have instead and get creative.

This blog is such a nice outlet because I can connect with all of my readers who share the same beliefs and feelings about this lifestyle. The only people I know who are vegan are my readers and other bloggers, most of whom I’ve never met so it’s important for me to have a community like this. And boy is it growing! I am amazed at how supportive this community is. One nice comment or message is sometimes all you need to keep moving forward if you are having a rough day. 

 

 

Why do I write what I do?

I write about all things vegan because I feel the need to spread the love about this lifestyle and show people it’s not as difficult as it’s made out to be. I constantly mention how living cruelty free without animals products has transformed my life into one filled with positivity and overall happiness. I also share what I do because I love to create food, period! Cooking is like therapy and I have learned a great deal this past year about what works and what doesn’t work from trial and error. Being in the kitchen is comforting and is where I feel most at home. Sharing is caring, right?! If I can brighten up someone’s day, make them laugh, or make them smile, then that makes me happy. 

Writing can be so therapeutic and scary at the same time! Sometimes I feel this immediate urge to write so I take full advantage of that and I write until I have no words left (or until my hands start to ache haha). This feeling happens at all hours of the day. I LOVE when that happens though! Other times I have no clue where to start. Connecting real life stories with recipes can be challenging but it’s a new way of thinking and relaying information, which I find interesting. There are a handful of blogs that I truly look up to just because of their writing “voice” and how they make me feel while reading it… at home. I am working towards creating that feeling for my readers and finding my writing style.

 

I wish my work desk/life was as glamorous as this pic.

Rach Parcell’s Office/Closet

 

How does my writing process work?

Still trying to figure this one out… I need to get more organized because I have about 5 different notebooks with recipes, recipe ideas, and all kinds of inspiration. My recipes stem from my cravings. If I’m feeling stuck, I turn to Pinterest and FoodGawker but most of the time, the recipes aren’t vegan so I have to “veganize” it (new word) 🙂 I always keep a pen and paper in the car because while driving, new recipe/post ideas pop up in my head like crazy and if I don’t jot them down, they will sadly be forgotten. Sometimes I find myself flipping through all of my notebooks for that one special recipe which is not ideal ha so I need to figure out a more efficient way but as of now, my writing process goes something like this:

1) Cook while jotting down the recipe as I go
2) Taste test
3) Style the food
4) Snap the pictures
5) Upload the pictures
6) Edit the pictures
7) Add my favorite pictures to the blog post
8) Grab a cup of hot coffee
9) Get in the zone
10) Get to writing!

Usually, I don’t have a concrete idea as to how I will tie the recipe and my writing together, it just happens to be in the moment and what first comes to mind whether it be a story or information about the ingredients or a memory etc. I seem to write out the actual recipe at the end as it gives me that feeling of completion. The whole process can take hours or it can take days, depending on how the recipe turned out, how the photos turned out (sometimes the lighting isn’t right that day) and how my writing is panning out (aka if I have my writing pants on that day) 😉 it’s quite the process! Lastly, it’s time to publish and then share your new post everywhere which always takes longer than I think it does (Isn’t there a widget for that? I need to get it) Hitting the publish button is rejuvenating/makes me nervous/gets my heart pumping.

 

That’s it! Now, I am nominating 3 other bloggers to participate in this Writing Process Blog Tour.

 

1) Lindsay from Lindsay Living Vegan – Lindsay and I have been friends since day one when we connected through instagram and she might be moving to chicago in the near future which would be so fun! (fingers crossed!) We think alike and share similarities – love her. Be sure to check out her new post for Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies – mmm!

2) Lauren from Blonde Vegan Hippie – Lauren lights up my day with her positivity and outlook on life! She is motivating, kind and has the biggest heart! She also inspired me to repeat my positive affirmations everyday through her instagram challenge. Check out her new yummy Vegan and GF Buckwheat Pancake recipe!

3) Kristi from The Glow Life – I will always look up to Kristi and she has a special place in my heart because she was the first blogger to reach out to me, answer my blogging questions, allow me to be featured as a guest on her blog and just be a great friend! You have to check out her new post on GMO’s!

 

Hope you are having a wonderful week and a new recipe is coming Friday!