Chocolate and kale and lentils are lovely, but they’re not always my reality.
pumpkin pie smoothie with spinach, Vega protein, and cacao nibs
In the first episode of Confessions of a Food Blogger, I told you that your nice comments make my day, my month, my year. That has never been more true.
I try to perpetually smile when I write my blog posts. Your heartfelt comments really do help. The sweet potatoes may be burning, the post may not be funny, the pictures may suck, and Alchemy may be out of chickpeas, but life will go on. It all happens. More often than you’d think. I try to keep the smile on. For you! And for me, too.
There’s a time and a place for negativity, and it is not this blog. That said, you are all my friends, and when I feel so inclined to speak my mind, I know I can do so comfortably here. I think that’s important.
I am not a jar of almond butter. I am a real person with real feelings living a very real life. I have good times and I have bad times. I remind myself that it’s okay to cry.
curried chickpea salad + kale and quinoa salad + apple with cinnamon
Posting every morsel of food I put in my mouth throughout the course of a day is…a lot of things.
It’s eye-opening. It’s funny. It’s sometimes a little annoying. It’s inspiring. It’s engaging. It’s exhausting. It’s entertaining. It’s encouraging. It’s positive. It’s educational.
It’s also very, very personal. Have you ever thought what it would be like to post on the internet everything you eat in a day and invite hundreds of thousands of people to scrutinize it?
Most bloggers participate in “What I Ate Wednesday” (WIAW) to show readers what their typical diet consists of. But we also do it to let you in. To give you perspective and to illustrate via food pictures that we are far from perfect. To show you that some days we eat a lot of kale and no cookies, and some days we eat a lot of cookies and no kale. So is life. So is life for you as a normal person, and so is life for me as a crazy food blogger.
pumpkin bars + pumpkin cookies
What WIAW is not is a place for judgement.
It is not a place for you to critique how I choose to fuel myself.
It is not a place to demoralize me for eating lobster and it is most certainly not a place to call me anorexic.
As a dietitian, I work with people who suffer from eating disorders on a regular basis. I can tell you from experience that calling anyone scrawny, a skeleton, or anorexic is incredibly offensive, not to mention rude, disrespectful, and hurtful. I strive to paint a realistic picture of balance because if you know me at all, you know that balance is what my life is all about. Balance with healthy food and treat food. Balance with Green Glow juice and vodka sodas. Balance with my career and my social life. The list goes on. I know I’m not perfect.
roasted sweet potatoes
Negative comments such as these really make me second-guess myself. At the end of the day, I don’t honestly care that a reader called me anorexic. The issue here is that I would NEVER, EVER want to set a poor example for healthy eating. And when I say healthy, I mean balanced. I would never want you to read what I eat in a day and think a stroke of anything negative or discouraging.
spinach and artichoke pasta + roasted broccoli
Many bloggers have stopped posting their daily eats for these exact reasons and I don’t blame them for a second. Readers were judging their choices and falling into the comparison trap, the exact opposite of what these seemingly inspirational posts were intended to do. I have kept posting because more often than not, I get very positive feedback. I know you all enjoy these posts and are I pray that they inspire you, not discourage you.
scrambled eggs, salsa, sweet potatoes + another pumpkin cookie
Remember that bloggers are not robots behind a screen. While starting Hummusapien was one of the best decisions I ever made, don’t think that for a second it’s easy. I promise that it is always worth it but never easy.
Let’s all respect our differences and learn to grow from them. I promise to love you no matter what you eat.
[Tweet “Confessions of a Food Blogger and A Real Person, Too via @TheHummusapien”]
This.
Seriously, you are epic. Although you totally had THREE.
Alexis, having just hit publish on my latest wiaw with anxiety in my heart about how many sweets/chocolate I ate today, I can totally relate. We make ourselves vulnerable by allowing readers IN, but we do it to show balance and perspective and real life!! Our food is our food and our bodies are our bodies… but as Claire mentioned above, haters gonna hate. Too true! Just keep in mind that for every hater out there, there are a million readers who are completely inspired by you and what you do. Keep on with it, girl, you got what it takes! xo
beautifully said, as a therapist who works with clients with eating disorders I sometimes get feedback such as “you eat so many vegetables and sometimes you turn down cookies, are you taking after your clients?” while giggles follow. And you’re extremely right, it is so offensive; eating disorders are a lot more than eating healthy and sometimes ordering a salad instead of a sandwich. You’re a really great role model and it saddens me that some people are so insensitive and ignorant to eating disorders. Keep living your life and eating whatever feels good for your body! 🙂
Um, I like live for your WIAWs because they’re so exciting and inspiring. (I also love that you actually eat & remake your own recipes all the time? Not everyone does that) I’ve been poring over your site so much lately and I think I’m slowly getting out of my cooking/healthy eating slump. It’s disheartening as a reader too (dareisayfangirl?) that people can be so crummy. But you’re such an inspiration to so many people, so thank you for all you do!!
Maybe we should slather their keyboards in hummus. That’d quiet them! >:-)
In the infamous words of T Swifty, haters gonna hate. But you’re going to acknowledge it, tell them it’s not cool, and then shake it off! Props. You are a wonderful human being.
Bravo, Alexis! You said what really needed to be said and I hope ALL of your readers will take this to heart. As we know, one purposely hurtful and careless comment can have a big impact on us as bloggers–because we ARE actual people behind the keyboards. You obviously have a big fan base that is inspired by you, that’s clear from the comments. Keep doing what you’re doing and don’t let the haters get you down.
The timing of this post could not be MORE perfect as I just hopped on the WIAW bandwagon to give readers a better idea of what I eat, hoping to show that it’s balanced and real and healthy too. Keep doing what you do girl because I know it inspires me every week!
Well said. I had blogged on and off from being an intern in 2008 until the past year. It can be fun and a great way to network but in the last year the internet trolls really took the fun out of it (that and I realized writing for “free” for other nutrition publications wasn’t much fun if it’s not making you $ ha!).
Let’s move on to a pint of Jeni’s 🙂
Hi Alexis. As someone who HAS lived the life of an ED, I can tell you that you have been a wonderful, true inspiration and motivation for me in my journey to recovery. Your posts DO glow with balance and true “health” – in every meaning of the word. I, and many, really do need people like you to keep them striving towards a life of balance…for proof that kale AND cookies are possible. And that it is all okay, and normal, and human. You are this proof! I’m sorry you’ve been receiving negative comments, but I hope you know that you are great, and you are really helping many others. I’ve been following your blog for a long time and will keep on doing so…. and not just because your cookie recipes are my favvvvouuuurrriiiteee (#flourless chocolate cranberry cookies #zucchini black bean cookies in my kitchen forever and always please). Thank you thank you!!!
I think you’re perfect 🙂 I relate to your love of hummus, I too am not above scraping the goodness up with the my finger. keep it up
You ALWAYS inspire me! Thank you so much for your honest, often hilarious posts and recipes. Don’t let the haters get you down…you’re awesome!
Lovely post! I can’t believe when people are seriously SO rude. But most of the time it is a reflection of their own insecurities. So you just keep on keepin’ on and doing your thing. Obviously you’re pretty darn good at it or you wouldn’t be here!! <3
I love when you write posts like this–they’re so incredibly relatable, especially to fellow bloggers. I stopped posting WIAW mostly because I kept forgetting to take photos, but it is true that WIAW allows outside readers to judge away. People can be so, so rude I don’t even understand it. Keep posting and keep inspiring lady!
UGH I hate when people try to police what I eat because I’m a dietitian- I’m human too and I certainly do not police what you eat! I’m sorry to hear about people bringing negativity in your life- that’s not something you need or deserve- your WIAW are nothing short of inspirational, I cant wait to go make those pumpkin bars!
In my opinion, your posts exemplify balanced, healthy living. You’re inspiring and I do hope you continue to post and share your knowledge/experience! Down with haters.