Join me for something new 📝
An exploration of intentional living through our plates + beyond.
Today is a big day in the TNB universe because I am starting something new. Something I’ve been mulling over and, frankly, downright daydreaming about for over a year: a brand-new newsletter about intentional living through our plates and beyond.
Some background: I’ve been blogging about food since 2009. Back then, there was no Instagram, certainly no TikTok, and even Facebook was in its infancy. In a way, blogs were what Instagram is today - personal, journal-like, a chronicle of one’s interests and projects. (Well, maybe blogs were in ~2009 what Instagram was in ~2017?)
In the past 10+ years, recipe blogging has changed dramatically. In the beginning, recipes were not tested, there was no structure, and the photography - by way of pocket-size point-and-shoot cameras and yellow kitchen lighting - was truly heinous. Posting a recipe on a blog was the equivalent of emailing a friend a description of last night’s dinner, with some life updates peppered throughout.
Today, recipe sites (mine included) are full-blown digital magazines. Professional photos, a standardized format, they’re almost all but stripped of the person behind the recipe, rendering them nearly identical. And there’s a reason for it.
The success of a recipe site today relies on one metric: traffic. And the number one way to grow traffic - and its subsequent ad revenue (the main way online publishers make money) - is to optimize recipes for search engines. Meaning, publish what and how Google expects you to. Although necessary for monetization, it’s quite limiting.
Don’t get me wrong. I love sharing recipes on my site exactly how I am now. I love the testing, the writing, the photography. But over the past several years, my interests have expanded into neighboring areas of wellbeing - other facets of intentional eating and living that go beyond the recipe. Because there’s much more to feeling good than eating beans and kale. (Although, it’s a great start.) But there’s just no room for these topics on my site.
Furthermore, social media has become a major factor in the whole operation. And success there relies on 60-second videos that are sure to keep your followers scrolling. But my mission isn’t to push social media addiction. It’s the very opposite: to promote wellbeing. While Instagram still feels like a necessary evil, in an ideal world, I would not be contributing to it. My goal is to reach you directly, rather than hoping to catch you mid-scroll.
The TL;DR version: I’ve been craving a place to say what I want, how I want, for the people who want to hear it. A place that’s more personal and intimate, where I can connect with you, not Google. And that place is right here!
I’ve realized that in the sea of content I’m overwhelmed by daily, my inbox has become the place I’m most excited to visit (not social media). It’s where I get to catch up with my favorite writers and creators - like
, , and to name a few - and learn something new without being bombarded with ads or getting stuck in the doom scroll. And I’m so excited to join them in this space!So, what am I launching?
A reader-supported community. For $5/month (less than one oat milk latte!), you’ll get two ad-free newsletters per month on all topics pertaining to intentional eating and living, as well as behind-the-scenes content, personal updates and recommendations, and exclusive recipes. PLUS, the gratification of directly supporting a creator whose work you enjoy.
On social media, you pay for “free” content with your attention - i.e. your willingness to see ads and interact with sponsored posts. By now I think we all understand the addictive nature of this exchange.
I’ve long considered my newsletter the most valuable channel to reach my core audience - you. You are who I think about when I write and you are who I hope to be useful for. This newsletter will cut out the middleman and allow me to focus on what actually matters, rather than chasing algorithms.
Is The New Baguette going away?
No. Everything on the site will stay free and I’ll continue publishing recipes at the same rate as now.
Sticking around as a free subscriber?
Awesome - thank you for being here! You’ll continue receiving new recipe notifications from The New Baguette, as well as “The Weekly 5”, just as before.
What is Substack?
Substack is an email delivery service. But more importantly, it allows writers and creators to be supported directly by their community instead of advertisers/freelance contracts. It’s now home to writers like David Lebovitz, Ruth Reichl, Mark Bittman, Sohla El-Waylly, and many, many others. It’s easy to use and subscriptions can be canceled at any time.
Newsletters will be published every other Wednesday. Issue #1 is slated for this Wednesday, January 25. Ready to join?
