I’m all about a game plan. Eric is likely rolling his eyes right now if he’s reading this blog because this often annoys him. Everything must have a plan… from the weekly menus, monthly budget, workout schedules, to how we’ll spend our weekend. I’m not saying I don’t like to be spontaneous, I just know that plans are the way I function to get stuff done. Since we’ve been married, he has sure taught me how to be calm and relax. I’m a work in progress, but at least there is progress.
If you have followed this blog for a while you might have noticed that things have recently changed around here. Yes, there is a new look but I’m also trying to get more on a schedule with posting recipes. All 3 years that I have been blogging, I’ve worked full time so the blog hasn’t been my BIGGEST focus.
My friends often ask… “I don’t know how you do it all”. To this I can say that I know full well the struggles that “employed” food bloggers face. I’ve learned a few tips along the way that might shed light and help answer the question about how I make it work, but I’m also hoping that YOU will teach me your ways! Because I’m always tweaking my plan and figuring out how to answer my question, “How do I write a food blog when I’m working full time!?”
So here’s what I’ve learned so far…
- Learn to take pictures of cold food. The cat is out of the bag kids… not all of the recipes on this blog are piping hot. Sometimes when I cook in the evening I’ll do a photo shoot in the morning when the lighting is just right. Eric is very thankful that I’ve learned this trick because there have been many-o-nights that I was snapping away (in the dark of course so the pictures would not look very appetizing) and then he’d FINALLY get to eat post-photo shoot… sadly cold. Now a days he just has to use some self control because I’ll set aside a portion labeled “do not eat”. Confessions from a food blogger’s husband.
- Don’t feel like you have to blog start to finish all in one day. This will wear you out! FAST. Putting together a post can take at least 3-5+ hours… if you add up the time it takes for grocery shopping, developing the recipe, retesting the recipe, food styling, doing the photo shoot, editing the photos, and writing a blog post… all while timing it right to have the perfect lighting for taking food pictures. I’ve done this in the past and it’s just not sustainable. I often develop recipes on the weekend; possibly take pics if the lighting is right… and edit the pictures another day. I’ve also found that writing the post the day of or night before it goes live allows for thoughts to flow and keeps the content fresh.
- Create an editorial calendar and get ahead! I do this monthly, so that I can stay inspired and I am by no means a pro at this but it helps me to stay focused on what type of recipes I want to share. Before you plan look at the food holidays, calendar holidays, seasonal ingredients and recipes, and your personal schedule. Are you going out of town one week? Can you tie in a recipe that relates to your trip? I keep a running list of recipe ideas by category that I want to develop to help with brainstorming. Then, I fill up my editorial calendar on the days I like to blog (Monday, Wednesday, Friday). Start to stock pile recipes and pics so that it makes it easier to get the blog up.
- Work your blog daily. This is for sure an aspect that I’m continuing to get better at. I’m such a work in progress when it comes to blogging, but daily commitment is necessary with anything that you want to do well. Working day in day out helps with dividing up your time and makes blogging with a full time job more manageable. Work your blog by sharing, engaging, developing, writing, photographing, or planning because if you want your blog to fulfill its mission and purpose, you must work at it consistently.
So really, how do you make blogging work with a full-time job? Or maybe you’re now a full-time blogger but had a full time job while you were building your blog. Please share your experience and strategies in the comments or on social media so we can learn from each other. Pretty please? Thanks bunches!
Today is the last day of National Grilled Cheese Month. So if you don’t have dinner plans, go make yourself a grilled cheese sandwich. Aye, Chipotle Bacon Avocado might be nice 😉
Also– a big thank you to Cabot Creamery for sending me some yummy cheese for this recipe!
Print
Chipotle Bacon Avocado Grilled Cheese
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Yield: 2 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
Melty chipotle cheddar and gouda, warm avocado, and bacon sandwiched between crispy sourdough bread. Comfort food ready in 10 minutes flat.
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon butter
- 2 slices bakery sourdough bread
- 1 slice gouda cheese
- 1/4 cup shredded chipotle cheddar cheese
- 1/4 avocado, sliced
- 2 slices precooked bacon
Instructions
- Heat butter on non stick skillet over medium heat.
- Place bread on skillet and add cheese to both sides of bread.
- Layer with avocado and bacon; cook for about 3-4 minutes until browned on both sides and cheese is melted.
- Fold bread together to form sandwich and press down firmly so cheese melts together.
- Slice in half and serve warm with a bowl of tomato soup, if desired.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/2 sandwich
- Calories: 274
- Sugar: 3
- Sodium: 403
- Fat: 16
- Saturated Fat: 7
- Unsaturated Fat: 9
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 22
- Fiber: 2
- Protein: 10
- Cholesterol: 31
Hi I’m Kristina LaRue, RD (registered dietitian nutritionist), Peloton addict and mama to two active and hungry boys. On Love & Zest, you’ll find healthy-ish recipes that fuel the whole family. I’m all about veggie-filled breakfast, meal prep recipes, healthier sweets, and easy weeknight dinners made in the Instant Pot or sheet pan.
Did you make one of my recipes?? Leave a review in the comments and tag @loveandzest #loveandzest on Instagram!
If you’re a modern mama– I’d love for you to join my Facebook group A Modern Motherhood Collective!
Great tips to start a food blog, I am not a blogger but I am thinking to start doing something as a side project along with my job. Blogging is also one of the thing in my list and your tips will help me a lot to start my own blog.
Thank you for sharing your food related blogging tips. I am a relatively new blogger and having some with experience share their insights is always appreciated.
Thank you so much. Good article!
I don’t work full time yet, but I’m full-time in grad school (for nutrition!) with two part-time jobs and volunteering so blogging is often last (sadly) on my list. I love it so much though that it often becomes a priority on weekends and then I’ll invite friends over so it’s also social. I’m still trying to figure it out too and loved your honesty. I start my dietetic internship in the fall and know that’s going to bring a whole other set of challenges, so I plan on making Thanksgiving recipes this summer (ha)! Planning goes a long way!
Hey Chelsey, it’s good to hear from you and thanks for the comment because selfishly, I totally needed to reread this post since I’m currently finding it hard to balance the blog with working and life. Best wishes as you begin your internship!!
I’m not a food blogger but am a FT working mom who is also a blogger and I have a few recipes that I want to post (have posted 1-2). I find it time consuming but rewarding. Other non-food posts take several hours each also, but at least I can work on those in my spare time and just deal with the photos when I can – if I can get ahead with the photos I find that writing the post is often the easy part for me.
Yes, it’s amazing how long it takes to put all the components together for a blog… so more than just writing!
These are wonderful tips – especially the cold food pictures idea! I’ve been blogging on and off for a few years, but have never really been able to get into a good routine with it. If you use WordPress, there is an editorial calendar plugin that I love. You can schedule drafts right on the calendar and move them around to different days. I love jotting down ideas there because I can access them at home or at work on my lunch break.
I use my mac calendar for everything and just put my posts in there too. That editorial calendar plug in sounds really helpful… thanks for letting me know about it.
I’m a new blogger so I’m still working on developing it on what I really want it to be so I’m not so great with the advice there. But I’m eager to hear what more established bloggers have to say. Your husband sounds like mine… I always have a plan for everything, he teases me for being such a “planner” but it is a great balance because he is much more laid back/ go with the flow than I am.
That balance is so needed!