My daughter asked me the other day, what does Edible Monster mean, mom? I’m sure you may have wondered too.
That is a good, succinct question with a long, not so succinct answer.
In the beginning Edible Monster looked like a lifestyle blog devoted to food & nutrition, kids and living well. I enjoy writing and I enjoy cooking and I also live with a chronic illness, multiple sclerosis. The progression of my MS had taken a sharp detour a few years ago and my mobility was declining fast. I wanted desperately to heal so I started reading and researching alternative, holistic ways of healing the body. Many arrows pointed to food and changing the way we eat. I wanted to express my passion for food and nourishing our bodies with simple, real ingredients, less sugar, and less processed. I wanted to make it a family affair, to model a positive and healthy, whole lifestyle with my children and husband along for the ride. I wanted to put my life in a giant hand drawn heart and live as fully as possible with a chronic illness and model that for anyone struggling, thinking they aren’t able to do the same.
Edible Monster felt youthful and cute and fun. My vision for the logo was a happy little red beet with a face and arms and legs. Although the irony is I hate beets. With a cringe, I do agree that they are good for you and as a member of a local CSA, beets are on regular rotation in my farm box all summer long. Not a fan of wasting food, I hesitantly make them and they inspired my What’s In The Box! series which gives cooking & recipe ideas for vegetables that are typically available at farmer’s markets. And mostly because I was desperate to find a recipe that included beets, but masked their flavor…in case you were wondering how I really feel about beets.
I started this blog as I was finding myself. The blog has ebbed and flowed with my personal triumphs and struggles and has become a mirror image of what I am living presently. I stopped viewing it as something I had to do with perfect form and structure and strategies to gain followers and started to let my pen flow a little more loosely. Edible Monster took on a new path which maybe didn’t match the original intention. I realized I needed to write from my heart because ultimately that’s where my passion, and all of our real truth lies. In order to heal, at least for me, it was more than experimenting in the kitchen, doing research, and crafting the perfect wellness plan. I needed to reach inside first and sort out how I was feeling. How I am feeling.
I toyed with changing the name of my blog but wanted to hold off and just see where my writing would take me. That might be against the grain of traditional blogging, or may cost me the size of my platform, whatever that really means. All I know is that when I tried to follow the rules, I felt inhibited and stuck. When I vowed to open my heart and let the words flow, I felt set free. If you build it, they will come. I stand strongly with my feet rooted to the earth to continue Edible Monster as a lifestyle blog with a little bit of everything I’m doing and where my mind is. I love writing, I love cooking, I love being involved with my kids and I love sharing my journey and inspiring others.
Focus on what you can do, instead of what you can’t. I can, and you can too. My hope is that if you’re curious enough, you’ll join me in this whimsical journey of self-discovery. Every single day is a new chance to live your best life, to be healthy, to try something new, to push the borders of your box.
So, maybe Edible Monster is simply an abstract metaphor for living life without fear; eating, digesting, and enjoying something that’s a little less scary. What are your thoughts? I would love to hear.
xo, Jodi