I get a lot of food blogging FAQs, so I created this page to help! People usually have a lot of questions about food blogging when I tell them it’s what I do for a living, especially about how I make money doing it. Readers also have a lot of questions about the recipes on Bowl of Delicious, regarding nutrition, how to substitute ingredients, etc. Here are some common FAQs about Food Blogging and the recipes you’ll find on bowlofdelicious.com!
Where do your recipes come from?
Most of my recipes are original and made up completely by me. Some of them are adapted from or inspired by recipes I find from other blogs, magazines, or cookbooks (in which case, I’ll link to them). Sometimes, my recipes come from perusing my fridge or pantry and seeing what I have to use up and creating something from those ingredients. I spend a LOT of time looking at recipes and experimenting in the kitchen, and reading up on cooking techniques and trends. There is so much inspiration out there. When I started this blog, I thought that I’d run out of ideas, but that hasn’t been an issue at all! There is SO much to cook and write about.
How many calories are in this recipe/what is the nutrition information?
I’m in the process of updating my recipes to reflect nutrition information (to my best estimate). In the meantime, here’s a handy dandy nutrition calculator that will give you approximate information for any recipe you find online- just copy and paste the ingredients and designate the servings and you’re good to go!
Do you have any gluten-free/dairy-free/vegetarian/(fill-in-the-blank) recipes on Bowl of Delicious?
Yes! Plenty of recipes in all kinds of categories. You can search and browse my recipes by category, by keyword, or by date on my recipe archive page.
How do I adjust the recipe ingredients for different serving amounts?
You can use the slider bar in the recipe card by hovering over the serving amounts to adjust the ingredients based on desired servings! This makes it easy to cut a recipe in half or a quarter, or double or triple for a crowd.
Keep in mind, you’ll need to use your best judgement- some ingredients are hard to divide, such as eggs- and cooking times may need to be adjusted. It’s impossible for me to anticipate all different scenarios for this, so please reach out in the recipe comments if you have specific questions.
You labeled this recipe as vegan, but it has cheese in it. What gives?
This is something I struggle with, but stand by. I often post recipes that *almost* meet the requirements of a category, and write a note in the recipe card about how to substitute or omit ingredients to meet the requirements completely. For example, these Chicken and Spinach Enchiladas Verdes are made with flour tortillas, but I added them to the gluten-free category with instructions to substitute the flour tortillas for corn in order to make it gluten-free. I wouldn’t want anyone to miss out on the deliciousness due to an easy substitution or omission!
Do you have a cookbook?
I don’t have a cookbook at the present time. It’s something I would love to do someday! If you have any topics or recipes you’d like to see in a cookbook, I’m all ears, and would love to know what you think :-) You can always email me at elizabeth@bowlofdelicious.com with suggestions or feedback!
I left you a comment but you edited it or didn’t approve it to be posted. Why?
I LOVE getting comments and reviews on my recipes! Whether you loved or hated the recipe, I’d be happy to know. I read each and every one and respond almost always. However, there are a few times I’ve had to delete or edit comments. Here’s why:
- The comment has glaring errors or typos. Autocorrect gets me all the time, and sometimes there will be a word I know is wrong, or something spelled completely incorrectly. I do my best to edit them before they are posted just to avoid any confusion!
- The comment is rude or disrespectful to me or other commenters. I once had to edit a comment that was a reply to another person in which she called her “lazy” and “pathetic” for wanting to take a shortcut in the recipe. Then, she was mad that I edited the comment and deleted that part. Seriously everyone- be nice! If you wouldn’t say something to someone in person, DON’T post it online.
- If you give the recipe a low rating and haven’t actually made it. Or, if you give the recipe a low rating and changed the process or ingredients significantly. My recipe ratings are visible on google, pinterest, and other search engines, and they influence who visits my site and makes my recipes (and by way of this, my income and livelihood!). I had someone give one of my recipes one star once because he didn’t make it because he “didn’t like parsley.” Nope, deleted. That’s not fair to me or to the people who want to make the recipe. And FYI- you can always leave a comment without rating the recipe!
- If you use profanity, vulgar, or offensive language. For obvious reasons.
- If you are spamming my readers. Because no one likes spam (unless you are eating it).
If you have any questions about my comment policy, please feel free to contact me!
Is blogging your full-time job?
As of June 2016, YES! I used to be a high school art teacher. But when my husband and I decided we wanted to start having kids and I realized I could make just as much money, or more, blogging as I did when I was teaching, I decided to change careers. It gives me the flexibility to work from home and care for our baby, and since I’m my own boss, I can decide how much to work and what my hours will be.
Why did you start Bowl of Delicious?
Before I became a full-time blogger, I worked for 7 years as a high school art teacher in charter schools serving primarily low-income students. The days were long (7-5:30) and the line of work was extremely stressful in so many ways. It demanded large amounts of physical, emotional, and spiritual energy in order to be successful, or even just to get through each day.
I found that when I fed my body with healthy, nutrient-dense, real foods, I felt better equipped to handle the demands of the job. And I found that when I spent as little time as possible on cooking without going broke, I kept up with the healthy eating much more than I had in the past. I started learning how to cook and eat healthy, whole foods, and realized that it helped relieve my stress in so many ways, and I was a better teacher because of it. I saw my coworkers, time and again, eat junk food for lunch because they didn’t have time to pack something healthy, or eat take-out for dinner more often than not.
Ever the teacher, I realized there was a need for education about healthy eating and cooking for busy, stressed-out people, so I took to the internet.
It’s my belief that eating healthy should help relieve a stressful lifestyle, not contribute to it. I began Bowl of Delicious in 2013, documenting my favorite quick and easy/slow cooker/make-ahead recipes, and the rest is history!
You can read more about me on my about page.
How are you able to make money from your blog?
There are three main ways I make money:
- Advertising. I always try to make my advertising as non-invasive as possible to provide a pleasant user experience.
- Affiliate linking. Sometimes, I provide a link to a product I recommend on Amazon or another page (like on the link to the camera below). If someone clicks to that page and purchases something (anything- not just the recommended product), I get a sales commission for referring the customer, with no extra cost to the consumer. In fact, this is an easy way YOU can support your favorite blogs- by clicking over to Amazon through their site next time you need to make a purchase!
- Brand sponsorship. Occasionally, I’ll write a recipe and post using a specific product, and I’ll get paid for writing about the product by that company. I never work with any product I don’t truly love and endorse, and all opinions are always my own.
I used to document my income in quarterly revenue reports, but I don’t anymore (mostly because they are extremely time consuming and tedious to write, and when I got pregnant, all of a sudden didn’t have the time or energy to do it anymore!). If you’re interested in viewing these archives, you can do so here. Since then, my income has increased to an average of $7-8k per month (as of August 2018, when I am writing this, with a goal of increasing to six figures for the year of 2019). Please feel free to contact me if you have more questions about this!
Why are food blog posts so long?
I get it- sometimes you want a recipe, and you want it now, without having to scroll! But there are multiple reasons why posts are long, and I promise… it’s not to annoy you.
You can read more about why food blog posts are long here. It’s part of running a blog as a business, and it’s the way I make money and reach the most people.
What kind of camera do you use?
When I first started blogging, I used a Canon EOS Rebel SL1 with a EF 50mm f/1.8 lens. This combo is perfect for beginners who don’t want to spend a ton of money. The lens provides a shallow depth of field (which makes the food in focus, lets lots of light in, and makes the background/foreground blurry). I highly recommend this camera and lens as a budget-friendly DSLR camera perfect for food photography!
Now, I use a Canon 6D Mark ii camera body with a 100mm macro lens. It comes with a bigger price tag but it’s taken my food photography to the next level! If you’re looking for more professional camera and lens for food photography, these come highly recommended.
Can I publish your recipe on another website?
The short answer is no. The long answer is that Bowl of Delicious is a business, and my recipes are my own personal creations for my business. The success of Bowl of Delicious is contingent on visitors coming to my website, and if my recipes are elsewhere on the internet, I will lose visitors. A google search for one of my recipes may send potential visitors to another site for the exact same recipe.
You are more than welcome to link to my recipe from your website– in fact, I would be eternally grateful if you did! But please do not copy and paste my recipe to your site. You can see some great examples of this on my press page.
Can I use your photos on another website?
You are more than welcome to use my photos on your website if you link back to my page for the original recipe/post. Let me know if you do, and I’ll try my best to promote it on my social media as well! You can see some great examples of this on my press page.
Will you promote my product or website on your blog?
I’d love to! At this time, I am only accepting paid sponsorships for product promotions. Bowl of Delicious reaches a large audience with hundreds of thousands of views per month and a social media/email subscriber reach of over 30,000 people. If you think your product would be a good fit for a sponsored post on Bowl of Delicious, please contact me and I’d be happy to discuss it further!
I want to start my own blog! How should I start? Any advice?
First of all, GO YOU! I never thought about or considered blogging as a career or hobby, but once I started, I fell in love with it. I love that blogging provides a means for a less stressful lifestyle and the ability to work from home at your own pace. It’s an almost risk-free way to start your own business, since there is very little to purchase up-front. I want more people to know about it and start their own blogs!
Here’s a quick tutorial on how to start a blog through WordPress using a host (which is how most blogs are set up).
Once you get set up, here’s my advice:
- It’s going to take a LONG time to gain an audience and make money. Don’t be frustrated if you don’t get visitors right away.
- There is LOTS to learn, especially when you don’t know where to start. I’m still learning things every day. Don’t rush it- focus on one or two things a month or week so you don’t feel overwhelmed.
- Join Facebook groups for blogging support- they are the best resources when you have a question.
- Once you have the name for your blog, register the name on all social media channels, even if you aren’t using them yet.
- Make friends with other bloggers. Visit their sites, comment on their stuff, subscribe to their emails, follow them on social media, and don’t be afraid to contact them. It’s networking, and it helps build relationships within the blogging community.
Finally, I LOVE to hear about new blogs. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have questions or just want some feedback- I’d be happy to try and help you, or at least send you in the right direction.