Opening My Mouth

Blogging is tricky.

For the past few days, I really had no desire whatsoever to write a rebuttal post in regards to the recent Marie-Claire article.

I didn’t want to fuel the fire and I like to think my blog speaks for itself. You all, my readers, know by now where I stand in terms of how I view food and I find no need to defend myself or my past actions in a public manner.

That being said, I’d like to get a few things off my chest.

1. This is not healthy living blog. This is a food blog. I’m not going to give you exercise tips and low fat recipes, but I will teach you how to make some pretty darn good cupcakes and buttercream. My blog is very different than it was when I started, almost three years ago, and I like to think I’ve gone back to my culinary roots a little bit. Do I consider myself healthy? Sure I do. But I don’t want to be put on a pedestal. My main goal is just to inspire others to get back in their kitchens and have a little fun doing so!

2. The Marie-Claire article portrayed a very one-sided look at food bloggers. We all know this. When I saw the article on Sunday evening I couldn’t have been more shocked. Even though I seemed to get off the easiest,  I trusted Katie Drummond’s professionalism and intent after working closely with her for almost two years at True/Slant. When I agreed to do the interview last Spring, Katie assured me that the article would be positive and that I had “nothing to worry about”. After reading it, I felt betrayed and blindsided….sort of like how you would feel if you caught a good friend talking about you behind your back.

3. I do believe that there are some “healthy living blogs” out there that fit the bill for what Katie wrote about…and there’s nothing “healthy” about them. If you are going to call yourself a healthy living blogger, I believe you have some form of responsibility to portray a true healthy message. Does that mean you are totally responsible for someone else? No. People can choose to read or not to read and that’s their personal decision. But, I think it’s important to keep in mind that when you hit publish, anyone can read your words. After that, it’s out of your control.

4. I am in love with the blogging community. I’ve made best friends here and get to do my dream job, every day. This community is so filled with love and support that it blows my mind. When I think just how many girls that Caitlin’s Operation Beautiful campaign has helped, I’m in awe. The girls that were featured in the article with me are some of the healthiest people that I know, inside and out. They love life and love food and work hard to help others every day. Even though I have stepped down from the Healthy Living Summit (and the “Big 6″), I still very much respect what they do. It’s unfortunate that Marie-Claire chose to spin the article in such a negative manner when it could have shed so much positive light on the hundreds of girls helped by blogs.

5. At the end of the day, I just want to eat. I’m not here to tell you how to eat or to win some popularity contest. I’m here because I genuinely love everything about food and the blogging community. Food should be celebrated and I hope I portray that daily in my posts.

Oh, and my final last words?

Bacon makes everything better.

There. I said it.