Well with Arielle Lorre - 191: Creating More Than You Consume with Half Baked Harvest

Episode Date: August 17, 2022

In this episode, I chat with Tieghan Gerard from Half Baked Harvest about everything that's made her business so successful -including 4.5 million IG followers and some of the tastiest, most shared recipes online. We go into specifics about content: how she finds inspo for recipes, her daily shoot schedule, and how she's built such a large following and community. We also talk about boundaries and how Tiegan has created hers through time batching, work/life balance, creating more than she consumes, and her morning routine (that I need to copy - ASAP).   Visit granolabutter.com and use promo code BLONDE for 20% off your order.    Become the best version of yourself and get 15% off Ned products with code BLONDE. Go to helloned.com/BLONDE or enter code BLONDE at checkout.   Get 15% off your entire order at flybyjing.com/BLONDE or use code BLONDE at checkout.   Visit athleticgreens.com/blondefiles for a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D and 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase.   Produced by Dear Media.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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So foo-doer Sonderger Go to your Reisadviceor Orsoniccars. The following podcast is A Dear Media Production Hey, welcome to

the Blonde podcast. I'm your host Ariel Lori and I'm here to talk all things wellness. From how to achieve optimal health and well-being to the best beauty tips and everything in between, no topic is off limits and I'm bringing it to you real and unfiltered. I know there is so much information out there so I'm here to help you navigate it all. Thanks for listening. Let's get into it. Hi guys. Welcome to the show. today I am talking to somebody who I'm sure like 99% of you already are familiar with. That is Tegan Gerard. She is the creator of half-baked harvest.

I feel like anytime any of my friends or family or anybody sends me a recipe, it's almost always half-baked harvest. She started this brand 10 years ago and now she is a best-selling author of three cookbooks. She, like I says, has this massive brand over 4 million Instagram followers, but I have a feeling, she didn't say, but I have a feeling that pales in comparison to her website traffic. She is just a massively successful content creator, recipe developer, chef, all of the things. And I just loved this conversation so much. I loved talking to her.

We could have kept going for hours, whether you are into food and, and recipes and cooking, or if you have an online business or not, this is just a really fascinating conversation. She's really kind of mastered the craft of creating more than she's consuming. And I feel like right now we are just in this time where it feels like we're constantly consuming other people's content. And everybody is just trying to recreate what's trending and it's really like drained the individuality and uniqueness out of everybody and out of the online experience, at least in my opinion. I was really inspired by her perspective on that and by her boundaries around work and her personal life and her work ethic and how she does it all.

She talks about time batching and like her work life balance and her morning routine and so much more So I think you guys are really going to love this episode. So please enjoy Tegan Gerard. Welcome. I'm so excited to have you here. Thank you. I am so excited to be here. It's so much fun. Yeah. There's so many different things that I want to talk to you about and so many like angles that I feel like we could approach this from. But to start, I really just want to hear about how you started half baked harvest. I know you've been doing it for like 10 years now, right? Or longer. know about 10 years, which is just crazy, right? Like, that's just so long, I feel like. But yeah, so I got started early. Like, I mean, I actually, so I growing up, have always just been a very creative person, like really love to use my hands and just kind of like always be doing something versus say, like reading something and or like, you know, learning something in a school setting was always so

hard for me. And so I always really struggled with school. I had a lot of school anxiety. Like I really didn't like school. So I think I found outside outlets outside of school that were like a creative release for me that like I could go and like it was very easy for me that was like a stress reliever, right? Because I had so much anxiety. Like I was like such like as a kid. I was just like the most anxious kid. And so but growing up really like I was so into fashion. I would dress my grandma's mannequin. She had this mannequin in her closet like and she had the nicest clothes. You know, she was a very designer ask. I loved it so much.

So I would like spend my weekends shopping with her and like dressing her mannequins and all of these things. So I always said I really wanted to go into fashion. I really wanted to be like a stylist. And I am one of, you know, now I'm one of gosh, eight kids. It's crazy. So I have six brothers and one little sister. Yeah.

So we're, there's eight kids in total. But so, you know. Dinner was really chaotic when I was growing up. So just like out of a need, I helped, I started to help cook dinner. And then eventually I just like cooked dinner for everybody every single night because like it was something creative that I could do with my hands that I really, I guess, enjoyed. So that's kind of how I got started cooking as I was cooking for my family. But at the same time, I always said like, you know, like during the day, I'd be like doing something for,

I'd be like making collages or like reading fashion magazines or shopping online, like all of those things. So it always said I wanted to go to school for fashion. I actually moved to L.A. when I was 18 and was going to go to school at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. Got a job out here, was here for three months. And I kind of was like, no, I cannot do L.A. It was basically just, I mean, like, homesick at 18, like had never been away from home. And home is Colorado, right? Yeah, home is Colorado.

But I'm originally from Ohio. Okay. So I was, I grew up in Ohio until about ninth grade. And then ninth married out in Colorado. So I basically had like a freak out moment. And I was like, no, I don't. You know, school is so expensive. So so expensive.

He's like no. And especially like a fashion design school like here in L.A. I don't want to spend all of this money on something I'm not sure I want to do anymore or in a place I'm not sure I can be. So I turned around, went back to Colorado. And it was actually my mom that encouraged me to start HACBECD harvest. because I must have been like reading like this was back when blogs were kind of starting to become a thing. It's funny because now they're like not a thing, but you know, blogs were becoming a thing. And I must have been reading some food blogs. And you know,

she was the one that really encouraged me to start something. And I was very lucky in the fact that like I was able to start it from living at home. So, you know, I didn't have any bills that I needed to pay and things like that. So I was really able to start it and jump right in. And like full force and the day that I put up that first recipe, like I am no, like, I just kept working on it 24-7 and I still work on it 24-7. And that's kind of like how it got started. So yeah, I was like cooking as a kid for my family, didn't really think anything of it. L.A. changed me. And then I'm like, nope, I'm going to do a, I'm going to go a different route and cook. So, yeah. So funny. Did you ever watch The Hills? Of course. I, since I've been recovering, I've been watching

the hills. I'm on like season four, but they go to fit them. Yeah. And yeah, it's a very specific thing. I did like a little stint in fashion school too. And you have to, it is expensive and you have to really love it. It's very niche. And I think a lot of people get there and realize like, ooh, I don't know if this is for me. Like that was my experience. Like just the people. I was like, this is not. Yeah. Not my jam. I just, I was just like homesick mainly more than But because I do love fashion. I don't know that I could do it as a career. Yeah. But I absolutely love it.

And I have so much fun with it. It is a way for you to like be creative. And I love that. But you know, I think that doing what I'm doing now and just like looking at where things are within the industry as a whole, this is such a better route. So I'm very happy with it.

I have so many questions for you as a content creator about like just the volume of content that you put out and especially with the nature of it. So like I'll throw in a recipe here or there. But I get maybe two or three recipe ideas a week. And granted, we're like in different fields of the, you know, but you put out how many recipes a week, six or seven? No. I mean, well, it's sometimes I will do six at the most. But like right now, you know, like summer months are usually people are traveling and stuff like that. So it's a little bit slower. I was like, I don't know how you guys, but like it's kind of like the slow world. It's like slow time.

Everybody's in Europe. I didn't get the Europe memo. Okay. But so five recipes, but a lot of times like in the fall, I always do cocktail Saturday, which is fun. And like, I just have fun with it because I like, I do up the drinks. Like they can be mocktails too. Like I'll do up the drinks and like have a lot of fun with them.

But they're like themed to the holidays. So I'll do like six then. But usually it's just like five Monday through Friday. And then. Which is still. So much, though. And from, I mean, if you, from like idea to execution, I'm sure there's so much work. Like, where do you get the inspiration for your recipes? Especially with, I mean, there's a lot of food content creators out there. And I've heard you in other interviews before say, like, you really don't consume that much content.

And that's how you stay original because like you're bound to be inspired. If you're just constantly consuming other people's content, you're going to like, that's going to seep into your own creativity a little bit. Walk us through the process of like a recipe. Yeah, yeah, for sure. So I mean, my, the original like recipe idea can come from so many places. It could come from a friend, a family member, like a restaurant that I went to or something like that, you know. I also get a lot of inspiration from the seasons. I really love to cook with things that are in season. So like right now it's a lot of peaches and really great berries and stuff like that. So I love to incorporate that into like whatever that seasonal produce is, incorporate that into the recipe.

Maybe in a new way that like that recipe say is a winter recipe, but let's make it a summer recipe. Just like thinking in that way creatively. But also I find a lot of inspiration through for instance, and I haven't even shared it yet. I just did. You know how Barbie is like this very a thing and it's like all the pink right now? I was like, okay, I'm not even someone that like loves pink by any means at all. like you wouldn't catch me in pink, especially neon pink. But I was like, I don't know.

I love this. This is so fun. And it just like inspired this really fun. I did a really, really fun. I don't even know what I'm calling it yet. But it's just like it's like a pink cocktail essentially. And I actually, I was like, I am going to go all off for this. I got to get the Valentino shoes.

I was just going to say the Valentino pink. Valentino pink. I went all out for it. And I was like, so the whole drink, though, was just inspired by this one color because of a Valentino show. So I can get things like that too, but, but mainly I would say that a lot of it does come from my family and the seasons and like what people really want to be eating during that time of year because I really think that the way that we eat is so much based off of, you know, like how we're feeling inside. So like if it's a dreary day, we might be feeling

like we want something cozier or if it's like a cold ball day or whatever, you really want that like steaming cup of matcha, right? And so I really think that there's, so much of our emotions that plan to eating and food and all of that. So I really love to play up the seasons and play up like the seasonal produce and stuff like that and incorporate that into my recipes and just really get people excited about. I think you're going to be more excited about eating something if you're in the mood to eat it. You know what I mean? So that's why there's like lighter recipes in the summer, cozy recipes in the fall, that type of thing. You guys know that I have been going through a lot lately.

And while all of the things like meditation and journaling and therapy and seeing friends and exercise, all of these help when life gets hard. But I do have some other tools in my toolkit that just help to keep my nervous system from kind of going haywire. So I love all of Ned's products and they are chock full of premium CBD. Their full spectrum hemp oil nourishes your body's endocannabinoid system to offer. functional support for stress, sleep, inflammation, and balance, and their CBD is cold extracted from the world's purest USDA certified organic hemp in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. So I love their de-stress blend and their sleep oil, but really what I have been loving lately that I notice just helps me so much is their mellow magnesium.

So this actually doesn't have CBD in it. It is a powerful daily magnesium supplement with a meat. amino acids and trace minerals that propel memory, mood, brain function, stress response, nerve, and muscle health, and sleep. And I take it before bed. I have since last year. And I noticed that on nights that I don't take it, I don't have as restful of a sleep. I don't have that like deep relaxation feeling. In fact, 75% of American adults are deficient in magnesium and it's essential to hundreds of functions in the body. So I highly recommend incorporating this into your routine. Give it some time. Be consistent and you will definitely start to notice

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Hi, I'm Caroline Stamberry and I am divorced, not dead. Fresh off the back of my divorce, I'm bringing real stories, real life, real talk on all things that aren't said. Why do we put so much pressure on ourselves for the happily ever after? Does our love story really have to be one great lengthy novel? Or can we be happy with a book of short but exciting love stories? I guess we'll find out on divorce not dead. And lucky me, you'll be joining me for the journey. So buckle up. I also, the way that I actually create the recipe is it starts in my head. So I don't like write it down on a piece of paper, anything like that, I visualize it first. I'm such a visual

person. So I visualize it first and like I visualize how I want to photograph it. Because one of the things I cook the recipe, I photograph the recipe, I style the recipe. So like I'm doing all of the things. And with a lot of like recipe creators or, you know, people that are doing cookbooks and stuff like that, they're just creating the recipe and then they have a stylist to do the food and then they have a photographer to shoot the food. But I've always done it just because like from, you know, you're scratchy in the beginning of your business. Like I've always done it myself. And it's really played in a huge part in my recipe development because I picture the recipe first in my head and how I want it to look, how I want to plate it, how I want like what the mood is,

what the color tones are, all of those things. And that's really how I kind of work backwards. And that's really how I build the recipe. So I have the picture. And like, I obviously know the general flavor I want the recipe to have, but like I really start with the picture of my head. So I have the picture of my head. And then I kind of work backwards and build the ingredient list. And then I write it down. And as I'm shooting, I'm all like shooting the photo or doing the video because I'm like literally

doing solely reels now. Instagram, because you make me work any harder, but or TikTok all of these things. But it's crazy. But yeah. So that's kind of how I work. And so as I'm as I'm also then creating. that content, I'm adjusting because I want it to look a certain way. So that's either adding or subtracting to the recipe. And more times than not, it makes the recipe better. It just adds

either a visual appeal or a texture or another layer of flavor that makes that recipe even more unique. It's a complicated process. What are some things that you've noticed, like, resonate with people the most with your recipes? So I think what it is so much is that, like, yes, I can have a long ingredient list, but the actual process of it is simple. It's easy, straightforward. And with like a lot of the feedback that I get, it's that my recipes are kind of, they're like very aspirational, but yet they're attainable. Like, and like, I love that. So like they're like, oh my gosh, I make people want to make this food and they can go and they can actually, it's doable, right? So I think with a lot of recipes, people will see a photo and they can't actually recreate that

photo. And they, but in my community might not be able to recreate the photo that I'm making exactly, but they can recreate that dish and the flavors and to a point the way that it looks, you know, I think there's a lot of satisfaction in that. And then, you know, they just, they're very relatable people say. I don't, I don't really know what makes it click, you know, but they're just like, I always say, like, I just made good food that people really want to eat. I try to make it really good. I feel like the fact that you still do it all yourself too, like that that probably resonates with people through the recipe somehow. Like, I know for me, when I've tried to offload certain tasks like on my social media, because it is a lot. Like, I have a

smaller community than yours, but between TikTok and Instagram and newsletter and website and podcast and whatever else, Pinterest, like to know, all of the things. There's so many things. When I tried to like delegate and like I had someone take over my TikTok for a while, it was like just not happening. Like people. know when it's you and people connect to you first and foremost, I think. And I'm sure that comes through with like your recipes and how you write your captions and how you take the pictures and how you do their take the video for the reels and your stories and everything. So I'm sure that's part of it. I'm sure it's part of it. But it's also that's like my best worst enemy.

Right. It's like you also have to, you know, with growth, you also have to delegate. I'm experienced all of these things. And you're like, wait, what do I give up and what do I not. Yes, like you said, I think that has been a key to my success is that I've really, I've really worked and done so much of it myself and been and still am to this day, the person that people interact with and see and but is also doing what I preach kind of thing. So, yeah, it's, it's a hard balance. How do you do all of that and not burnout? Like I feel like this is such a big thing with people right now, especially as there are more platforms popping up. And you do kind of have to

like diversify across a lot of them in order to grow arguably. And I mean, video content is king now. And video content is way more time consuming. And there are so many different elements to it. And I know a lot of people are feeling frustrated and you do have to be more consistent. Whereas like before you could post a photo every couple days maybe and then like beyond stories. Like there's just so much. And this is something that I. struggle with too. So how do you stay consistent and do all of those things and not want to go, like, throw your phone in the ocean and go hide in a cave for a month? I have my days. Trust me. Because it is so much. It is a lot. It is a lot. Things are constantly

changing. And you do, you do it to be consistent. I think that also one of the keys is consistency and really being consistent and like letting your community to basically know. Like, yeah, I'm going to be posting like once a day or you know whatever it is once a week like just being consistent with whatever the content is I think is really really important so that your community knows like this is when I'm going to get something new. Since we are talking about food and recipes I am just thinking of all the different ways that we can use this next product especially this fall. I feel like this is so good for fall recipes. Of course I'm talking about Oat House. They have the best granola butter. I've been eating it since the very beginning. It's truly the

greatest. You've probably seen me make cookies with it. I use it on my morning protein blob. But there are so many ways to eat it. So if you're wondering, what exactly is granola butter? Oat House is actually the world's first oat-based spread. It's nut-free, gluten-free, vegan, organic, and top-eight allergen free. So think the consistency of a nut butter, but it tastes like liquid teddy grams. It's also so good on toast. It's really good in smoothies or on smoothie bowls, on fruit. You can just eat it straight from the jar. They have so many delicious flavors. I feel like I need to ask Tegan, like how she would use this or, I don't know, use it in some of her recipes because I feel like that would just be mind-blowing. So of their flavors, I would have to say cookie dough is one of my favorites.

They also have birthday cake, which is really good. Vanilla is like the OG favorite of mine. I use it all the time. The chocolate tastes like brownie batter. It's really hard to choose just one. So you guys can actually build a box on their site so that you can try a variety of flavors. And you can also find them at retailers. They're at Whole Foods, Fresh Market, Airwans, routes, Harris, Teeter, and more. And right now for a limited time only, you can get 20% off your first order by visiting granola butter.com. That's granola, G-R-A-N-O-L-A, butter, B-U-T-E-R-T-E-R-com, and use the code, blonde, B-L-O-N-D-E. Again, that's blonde for 20% off your first order at granola butter.com. You guys are going to be hooked. Send me a DM and

let me know what your favorite flavor is. If you are like me, you probably have some of your favorite recipes that you just make on repeat and you might be getting a little bit bored with them. That's kind of how I feel I have the same like bowls and dishes that I really like to make, but they get a little bit redundant. So I don't know if you guys remember I shared on Instagram this sauce that I am obsessed with. It's the Sishwan chili crisp sauce by Fly by Jing. It's this spicy, chili crisp. It's so good on everything. I like to put it on this like egg and vegetable and rice bowl that I make.

But you can also put it on sweet things to get that like sweet, spicy kind of flavor. And Fly By Jing is actually the first modern Chinese food company in America that has put spicy chili crisp on the map. It's such an easy way to bring restaurant quality flavors to your home and spice up whatever you're eating. And Fly By Jing is on a mission. to bring premium Chinese flavors to every table. They make the highest quality Sishuan sauces and pantry essentials that literally taste good on everything, like I said, whether you're making something sweet or savory. This is another thing that I would love Tegan to incorporate in some of her recipes.

So Tegan, if you're listening, I think we would all love to see how you incorporate this into your recipes. So the triple threat is Fly By Jeng's best-selling trio of addictive Sishwan sauces. It's the chili crisp, the Zhang sauce, and mala spice mix. You will definitely find yourself putting them on everything. They also make these amazing dumplings that are really easy to prepare, and you can eat them with all of their sauces. And also, everything is 100% vegan, all natural, non-GMO.

So definitely go check them out. If you are ready to step up your game and elevate your favorite recipes, you can get 15% off your entire order at Flag. by jing.com slash blonde or use the code blonde at checkout. That's flyby jing, F-L-Y-B-Y-J-I-N-G dot com slash blonde for 15% off your first order. You can also find Fly-By-Jing in over 2,500 locations across the country, including Costco, Whole Foods, Target, and Wegmans. I think that for me, I mean, I am like an interesting. I feel like a lot of content creators, especially these new ones that are up and coming that have really kind of taken off on TikTok and things like that.

They like a lot of these TikTokers too, I feel like had a really quick growth where all of a sudden they've like literally gone viral overnight. And it's like, oh my God, what do I do? Right. It's a complete shock. But I mean like I've been working at this for 10 years. So like I'm really strongly building this community. And like I have the strongest community. like the kindest, kindest people. And they are seen, you know, they're like invested. They've

really grown up with me from 18 to 28. So like it's, they really know me. And they like know my family. They know my, they know everything, you know. So I think they can really relate to that. But also like in terms of, you know, just not burning out for me, it's a community that really keeps me going because like I love to see their excitement, right? I love to see that they're still enjoying the content that I share. And I'm doing it in a way that isn't like, I mean, like, I don't know how these TikTokers do it where they're posting like three or four videos a day. I can't do that because I always say quality over quantity. But with TikTok, it's just so different. TikTok is a different thing. The videos that you're like, you're like watching it,

you're like, why is this a viral video? Like, it's five seconds to me, you know? So it's interesting to take the same piece of content and see how it performs on TikTok versus Instagram. It's so different. Totally different, right? It's crazy. So, but I mean, I just, it's like the excitement of the community that really helps keep me going. And then I also have my things. Like, I get up and I go for a hike every morning. Like my morning routine is so important to me. You know, my nighttime routine is so important to me. Like, lately, though, I've been really trying to spend more time like with family and traveling, doing more things outside of the business because it can be a lot and like not I don't like look at Instagram all day long like all of those things. I kind of keep my mind away from like everything

outside world and I just focus on what I'm doing like the things that I want to be doing. And that really helps with all of that burnout. So I'm curious to hear like a day in your life. Like walk us through when you wake up, your morning routine, your work day, your night routine. including your phone use. So I'm curious about this. Yeah. Because I know, because for somebody who's so active on social, like, I know that you don't actually spend that much time on your phone. I never scroll. I know. Which I think can really get to people's minds. And like when I do, I know everybody says this, but like when I do, I'm always comparing. I'm always comparing, you know. So it's like not that much fun. But yeah, my day. So I'm up. I love like an early morning. I'm usually up at like 6.30 or so.

And then I am really lucky that like also to remember that I don't live in L.A. And I don't live in New York. I live in Colorado in the middle of the mountains where like I don't even have like my neighbors are like a football field away. Like there's just it's very different. So there's a lot of space. And so I wake up and literally, I mean, I tug a glass of water and I'm like out the door to go for a hike.

That is like my thing that has saved me my whole life is like getting out, being outside. my mom always taught me from me like a very young age, like get outside. And with all my anxiety that I had as a kid, it was super helpful. Like we would go for really long walks together. And that would always help. But so I'll get up and I'll go for a hike. And it's like the best part of the day. I love it. It's so pretty. The sun's always rising. Like it's a great way to start the day. And I'm not like an intense worker outer by any means. Like that's my thing. And I'm good. Come home. Do my warm lemon water. Do all my like vitamins. and all of the things. I make breakfast and then I'll go, I have a separate studio space so that I'm not working out of my home, which I think is another key for not burning out. I'm very lucky in that we were able,

I was able to build a studio space to solely cook and photograph and film out of, which has been game changer. Like, I still work at night, but there's just something about coming home and leaving work elsewhere. Mm-hmm. I love that.

And then if it's a cooking, day. So I really try to bulk my days between calls and like, you know, Zoom meetings and calls versus like creative cooking days. I need to take time to do more like computer days. Honestly, that's like why my inbox is so full because I don't prioritize that. I prioritize the content. But yeah. So I if it's like if it's a cooking day, for example. So if I'm cooking, I'll come home do my morning routine or whatever, get all that done. And then I usually start like I'll usually be over at the studio by like, you know, 8.30 or so. And then I'm usually like, pretty get started, like working on new. And I'm like the type of person, too, that my days aren't, like, when I go into the studio, I don't know what I'm making that day. I need to like feel inspired

on whatever the weather is outside, like, whatever's like happening in my head. And that's really like how I think I've also really stayed like fresh with my recipes is because I, I'm not over planned with any of it. It's hard. It's really hard to do it this way. But I think it's a way that like a lot of people, especially when they get into the habit of, you know, they're two years in, they're three years and they're 10 years in. They are basically on this routine of like a hamster wheel of doing and doing and their very, their content is a very planned out. And that can become a little boring. I don't know, you know, that's just not how I can do it. And I just get bored really, really easily. So I walk in.

I don't know what I'm doing that day. I usually do anywhere from sometimes they can just be one recipe to or sometimes I don't even get it done to two recipes or three, but never any more than three. And that's a lot, honestly. Like two is pretty much my like average number. And I'm literally cooking from sun up to sundown because I'm cooking, doing the reels, doing the photographs all like at the same. time, all while testing the recipe, like I have to do that portion first. So it's like a lot.

It's a lot. And so it's like an all day process. That's why I really hate to be interrupted during it. So that's why I really try to bulk my calls and all of those things. And I like don't get notifications on my phone. People like can't get a hold of me. It's like my dream life, by the way. Yeah. Well, it's like it's grueling though. It can be on my feet all day long. Yeah. You know, and it can be. hard creating day in and day out. You definitely do. That's why I have to switch it up. That's why I have to like not know what I'm necessarily doing that day and like really feel like excited to be creating what I'm creating. Because if I'm not excited, I will never love the content and I will never share

the content. I think that's also been one of my things like I've just never shared anything that I just really don't love and fully stand behind. When it comes to wellness, non-negotiables and like, non-negotiables in my morning routine. Athletic Greens is at the top of that list. I have been taking it consistently since last year and it's really something that I've come to crave in the morning, both for the taste and for how it makes me feel. So basically with one scoop of AG1 from Athletic Greens, you're absorbing 75 high quality vitamins, minerals, whole food sourced, superfoods, probiotics, and adaptogens to just help you start your day right. This special blend of ingredients supports your gut health, your nervous system, your immune system, your energy, recovery,

focus, aging, all of the things. So the way that I take it is I do it on an empty stomach first thing in the morning. I mix it with like eight ounces of water. Sometimes I put some ice cubes in there. I shake it up and it just has this kind of like pineapple vanilla flavor, I would almost say. And it gives me a little bit of a buzz of energy. The thing that I love most about athletic greens is that It's kind of this small micro habit that has so many benefits. It's like this one thing that you can do every single day to take care of yourself that affects so many different things. And it's also super convenient.

So I love it when I'm traveling. I bring the travel packs. And I just know that wherever I am, no matter what I'm doing, no matter what I'm eating, no matter what my lifestyle is in that moment, I'm starting off my day. Right. So now to make it easy, Athletic Greens is going to give you a free one-year supply of immune-supporting vitamin D and five free travel packs with your first purchase. All you have to do is visit athletic greens.com slash blonde files.

Again, that's athletic greens.com slash blonde files to take ownership over your health and pick up the ultimate daily nutritional insurance. So if it's a cooking day, there are really long days in the kitchen. Like right now because it's the light is sting. And I only use natural light. So no studio lights or anything. I'm like cooking until 8 p.m. And then like you got to clean it up and all of the things.

And so and then are you eating everything after? Like are you bringing it back to your house and your family is eating everything and trying it? Like my, yes, exactly. So my, I have a very dream set up. Well, some people would say this is a miserable setup. But I am literally next door neighbors with my parents. So they are just like they're a football field away from me, which I love because I'm such a family person and it's great to have them around.

And they are both, both my mom and dad are a part of the business. So, you know, it's just like all intertwined basically. But yeah, so they'll, they'll get a lot of like leftovers. I always say, though, like it's such a bummer because they're getting the food after it's literally just been sometimes like manhandled because I've been photographing it and things like that. I mean, it's still edible. Don't get me wrong.

We never waste anything to, but like. Yeah, they're not getting it like its best stage because there's a lot of dishes, like for instance, you know, a carbure pasta that you really want to eat right off the stove. So they're getting it a little bit leftover, but it works out. And yeah, so yeah, we are, we eat leftovers. We eat all of the things. People always ask that. I'm like, no, I'm not like going and making separate dinners other than what I'm making. So we definitely eat it all. And that's kind of like, that's the bulk of the day. And then I still have computer. Like I call it computer work.

I still work to do like when I get home. So it really can be like long nights or whatever. You know, between, I neglect email, but between getting my content up on Instagram is the big thing and like TikTok and all of my, all of the channels and also creating the website content. That's really what I'm doing. I'm doing the bulk of that really at night. And that's why people always like, why do you post your stories at night?

I'm like, because it's when I have time to do it. So I mean, it's definitely. it's definitely a lot. They're like long days. And then so my nighttime routine is like very, very easy and simple. Like I just always like like I either shower skincare is huge for me like do all my skincare routines, all the products and do that. Like I sit down eat dinner. I don't eat dinner in front of like the like the phone or anything. It's like a time like relax. Right. And then it's bed basically. It's very simple. But I always have to shower. Showering is my thing. And not like, I wouldn't sing my hair, but just like get my body. So like wash the day away. How many days a week are you doing that? Like in the kitchen? Anywhere between like sometimes like if I'm working on a cookbook, it can literally be like six days a week. And it's just so much. But for like just website stuff, it's probably between four or five. And then, you know, so that's like manageable. And I'll throw in. I usually do one day for calls.

And I try to bulk all of my calls. Those are honestly worse. than like hardcore cookie days. I'm sure you can like understand and relate to this, but you're just like, oh my God, I've been on back-to-back zooms for 12 hours. And you're just like, what in the world?

It's a really unique kind of exhaustion, uniquely terrible kind of exhaustion. So weird. You're like I, you would think that it's like being on your feet all day. You would be exhausted. But a lot of times I'm like, I have so much energy.

And I... Because you're doing something that's like stimulating and creative and you're moving your body. When you're just, like, sitting there looking at a screen, it's like, the screen, like your eyes hurt too. Yes. Yeah. It's a different kind of exhausting.

Yeah. But, I mean, it's like all great. The other thing, too, about me is like, I'm so excited about everything that I'm doing and, like, the community that we've created and, like, the things that we have coming up are just awesome. So it's really a lot of it is going off of all of that and, like, this momentum and this excitement of all. I think you really need that.

and I think you need to have a strong community, I think that the social media influencer space is really hard. And if you're not like, you know, I'm not in it like a lot of these, like a lot of everybody that lives in LA and New York, I'm so far removed from it. It's actually, I think, a blessing for me because I am not necessarily like immersed in it day to day. It's like really just what I'm doing and what I'm creating. So I think that allows my brain to really be able to do like, I love to come to L.A. for work and do things. But like, I also love where I live and that I can just, like, really decompress at the end of the day and that I don't feel pressure to, like, sit there and be scrolling and seeing what everybody else is doing. Like, I just, all the only thing I care about is

posting for my community, you know. Well, even though your days are like so full and you're doing so much, you really do have that balance that I feel like everybody strives for because you are creating more than you're consuming and you're not comparing yourself to everybody else. And like that's where it gets, I feel like that's where it gets really tricky. I think that's the key where it's you're creating more than you're consuming. I think a lot of people can consume so much. And it just really messes with your with your mind and your creativity. And I just think it's like, well, one, I want to give more content to my community.

So I don't have time to sit there. It'd be scrolling. So, but I do think it's really, really helpful. And yeah, I mean, it's somehow it's not, I wouldn't say it's balanced, but it's, it works, at least for right now. I feel like a lot of people say this, but kind of like a phase in your life where you're super busy and you're just kind of rolling with it. And then you have different phases where it's like, you know, but I'm definitely in a phase where I'm like kind of taking a step back though too. And like, I need to have more time for just like to twiddle my thumbs. Yeah.

Well, maybe it's not balanced, but it sounds like. you have boundaries at least, like healthy boundaries. I feel like that's. Yeah, I'm really good with my boundaries. I will say that. Really good with my boundaries. If you were to start now, is there anything that you would do differently? I mean, it's totally different. Like, the landscape is different now than it was 10 years ago. But would you do anything differently? And like, I guess it's a two-part question. Do you have advice for people who are trying to break in now, whether it's with food content creation or fashion or, you know, wellness or whatever their niches. Yeah. If I was starting, well, like I, when I look back, I wouldn't do anything

differently. Like, I am really happy that like I actually have taken a while to build the community. I think that's why my community is so strong and invested. But I think if you're starting now, I hate that people say it's saturated because, I mean, it is saturated, but like you can still find your, It's all about finding what makes you really unique and what makes you really click with your audience, I think. And I think, but if you're starting now, I mean, and I said this even back, you know, 10 years ago, I think you really, especially if you are in a fashion or food space, you really do need to focus on the visuals. And I mean, you see that now with reels and TikTok. Like, everything is so video focused and really working to make your content create like really, really, focusing and honing in on that content and sharing good content because quality content will always rule over everything else, like always, like sharing things that people really want to be watching or viewing it or cooking or wearing is like what that's the key, right? That's the key to success. So really focusing on that and really focusing on what makes you unique. I think that you definitely

need to, if you're starting now, you need to focus on video content. Like there is no, I heard a very scary thing that like Instagram is basically going to be switching to completely all videos now. And so I think that that is something you really need to focus and lean in on. I think that the most important thing is building your community. And whether it's a small, you know, 100,000 community or a million, like those are your people. So build them, listen to them, hear them, communicate with them, you know, interact with them. Like they, it's like so many people on, in the influencers.

space or on the online space. I feel like they don't give enough time to their to their audience and really like show them like, okay, well, these people are giving me my, their time. I need to give them as well, like some back. Like I need to show them that I also really care and not just be like a face. That's what I've always done it. I've always been really interactive with my community. And I think that's really, really important and builds a strong, strong audience. And that's just kind of always been my thing. So I would say really focus on your community. building your community, listening to them, you know, doing fun Q&As with them, all of those things. And then also really focusing on the content that you're creating and making sure it's really

great content and getting those videos up there is important too. The video, the bane of my existence. I've talked so much about social media though, but like you also need to, I really feel it's so important to have your own platform, one that you want because the social media space is changing daily. And so I always say like your email list, that is everything to you. Like if you have a great email list, those are your people that you're sending direct content to every single day that are willingly opening those, opening that and like engaging with you.

And it's not controlled by anybody else, but you. You own it. So I think that's so important, especially with all of the changes that have been happening in this in social space. So yeah, it's crazy. And I feel like a lot of people are getting kind of like fed up with the social media, at least on Instagram. Like I feel like people are, I don't know. Yeah, it is just changing so fast. And it can be scary when you're fully reliant on that. So that's good advice. Like website. Yeah. I mean, email. Even if it's not a website, even if it's just email, a lot of people are just doing newsletters now. And I think it's so genius creating a really awesome newsletters.

is such a valuable piece of content for people and you're sending it directly to them. So, like, you don't have to worry about the algorithm or whatever, you know, it's a really nice thing. I love that. Okay, I want to ask you some quick ones. Okay, what are your daily wellness non-negotiables? My daily wellness, non-negotiables. Movement is huge. You've got to move your body, like, every day.

I just feel like it's not only good for your body, but mentally, like, you're going to feel so much better. So movement is huge. I had this is so I love my lemon water like in the morning. I got to do lemon water in the morning with then coffee to follow. It's just the best. And daily wellness or chills. I'm pretty, pretty simple. I would just say movement. I love the lemon, lemon water. I think it's great for digestion. Taking your vitamins, taking my, I'm big on my, I have take the symbioticca vitamins, huge fan. And also taking time, I think it's really important. I think that people don't take enough time to eat their meals. And taking time to sit down and eat your meals is so important, like, not in front of your phone. So taking those breaks from,

like, your phone is important to me. I feel like that helps with your digestion too. Like so many people are like, my gut health, it's terrible. And it's like you're eating on your phone, scrolling, Instagram with the TV on and whatever else happening. Like, you're not even like aware that you're eating. Yeah, everybody just like, I feel like there's just so much happening now that people are always just doing so many things all at once. And like, you forget that like eating is supposed to be like a calm thing and like you're supposed to sit there and enjoy it. And like, you also, you can tend to eat really, really fast if you're doing a million other things and then you don't feel full. So it's just a whole thing. Yeah. Okay. Well, I'm sure this is your most asked question. But what is

your favorite thing to eat. I'm going to ask favorite thing to cook and favorite thing to eat. Maybe they're different. Okay. So I have a lot of fun cooking pizzas for some reason. I have a lot of fun cooking pizzas. I think because it's a little bit of a challenge, I want to get the crust just perfect. And I still haven't gotten it yet. Like the beautiful pizzeria crust. I love to cook pizza. I love to eat pizza too. But I actually, this is, I love roasted vegetables. I'm actually, I like a simple, like big like grain style bowl is so my thing. Throw some rice or chemo in there. Roasted vegetables.

Give it a really good sauce though. Got to have a good sauce. I'm all about sauce. Some like crumbled cheese on top. And I love that. But I mean, I also love bowl pasta and pizza for sure. You know.

Yeah. We're kind of the same in that way though. I'm like, I'm the same way with roasted vegetables. People are probably like, oh, that's so annoying. When I was in Italy and May, and I mean, all of the food was incredible, but everyone's like, the pasta, like the risotto.

And I'm like, the vegetables are so good. I just think that people underestimate them so much. And they really like a roasted, a roasted like anything, be, carrot, Brussels, soft. Like they can always. Yeah, like all the root veggies too. Yeah. So I always try to incorporate those into recipes because I just feel like people can tend to forget about them and they're so good and they add so much color. And I think too, like eating food

that is visually pretty, I think makes it taste better. Like giving them, I love, I just love that. So. Yeah. What's your favorite season to cook in? Like your favorite seasonal inspired foods. Fall, 100%. I'm fall girl. I love fall. Yeah, me too. Okay. Well, I like to ask everybody, one thing we should stop doing today and one thing we should start doing can have to do with anything. Oh gosh. I think that we should definitely stop all those scrolling since we've talked so much about this. I will say like it has been one of my things like that I've just kind of always set that boundary and I think it's really really been helpful. And the one thing that you should start doing. Gosh, I don't know. There's so many things that we could all start doing. I feel like, you know. But you know what? Actually, no. The one thing that we should all start doing is just like one nice thing for somebody else that day. I just think especially with COVID and everything that people almost have so much anger right now. And it's so sad to see that the amount of like anger and hate in the world. So I just would say do something nice for someone else.

Like once a day, we could just be pick up their, you know, they drop their car keys on the at the grocery store. Like pick them up for them. Just something super simple like that. And I think that that's, you know, my mom always says just like treat everybody else with a lot of kindness. And I think that if we can start to do that, the world would be a much happier place. I love that. Well, I'm sure everybody already follows you half-baked harvest. Is there anything coming up that we should know about or should we just stay tuned? Really fun launch in the fall that I'm so excited about that is coming up here. So I'm amazing. Yeah. All right. Well, thank you. Thanks, guys. I hope you enjoyed that episode. If you liked it and if you like the show in general, please take a second to rate, review, and subscribe. It goes a long.

way and it's actually the best way to support the show. Also, if you want to see more about each episode, you can head over to The Blonde Files podcast on Instagram. I'm always posting about each episode there or over on my personal page at Ariel Laurie.