Simple Bites turns Ten!

February 5, 2020

Aimee

by Aimee

This week we celebrate the 10 year blogiversary of Simple Bites.

Remarkably, I’ve been a content creator, publishing on this platform, for an entire decade. Far more wonderful is that YOU are still here, ten years later.

For your readership, I am forever grateful. Your encouragement has inspired me and your feedback has propelled me, post after post, recipe by recipe.

This small community has meant so much and continues to be a central part of my life. How could it not? It’s been an incredible journey…

Simple Bites: Then and Now

Readers, when I started in February 2010, Instagram didn’t yet exist and Pinterest was a month old; I didn’t even own a cell phone. We bloggers had no idea what social media was about to do for our work (and procrastination!).

But Simple Bites launched and a community was built, reader by reader. We landed upon an audience hungry for simple family recipes, DIY tutorials, and a steady movement away from processed foods.

The first post was Welcome to Simple Bites and I’m proud to say I’ve stayed pretty close to what I promised to bring to the new platform:

Our desire is to inspire you in your day-to-day efforts to put wholesome, delicious food on the table for your family. We will provide you with an encouraging perspective as well as practical application on how to manage your kitchen and provide the best for your family. Along the way we’ll bring you tutorials, tips and tricks on every subject from preserving food to menu planning, and provide inspiration for both daily meals and holiday menus.
Simple Bites 2010

Ten years later, I’m still delivering in this niche with posts such as:

And friends, I’m having just as much fun as I ever was – I hope it shows!

Simple Bites: The Backstory

A few years earlier, in September 2006, I started blogging at Under the High Chair (don’t Google it), my hobby blog, a creative outlet for my life as a stay-at-home mom.

With that step into the online world I discovered a warm community of food bloggers, many who would become friends and mentors. UtHC was a personal journal where I published top ten lists, family updates and the odd recipe.

In 2009, Tsh Oxenrieder of The Art of Simple (then Simple Mom) extended the invitation to become the editor of a new online food channel she was launching as part of a network. And Simple Bites was born.

With the singular goal of making every post insanely useful, I dedicated myself to a newfound career, focusing on food writing and recipe development.

I had a lot of fantastic contributors in the early years, hence the ‘we’ in many of the earlier posts. We published three times a week and built a recipe index of over FIVE HUNDRED recipes and tutorials. I know you’ve got a few favourites in there!

Simple Bites: What Followed Hard Work

Well, web traffic climbed and the press was kind, but it was the reaction from my readers that brought me the most fulfillment.

They wrote to tell me they had made jam for the first time and felt like a domestic goddess. A woman with terminal cancer rediscovered her holiday spirit while following my gingerbread house tutorial. And using my recipe, a newly widowed dad roasted a turkey on Thanksgiving for his kids – with great success.

Their words lifted me up and encouraged me to keep publishing year after year.

Astonishingly, the food magazine Saveur named Simple Bites ‘Best Kids Cooking Blog’ in its 2013 Best Food Blog Awards. It was so very meaningful to me in my career. And who can forget that trip to Las Vegas?

An offer from Penguin Random House landed in my inbox literally as soon as I was wheels down from Vegas. Shortly afterward, I signed a double book deal with the biggest publisher in the world. What a thrill to share that news with you!

My first book was Brown Eggs and Jam Jars. It hit the bestseller list in Canada within a few weeks of being released. The Simple Bites Kitchen cookbook followed two years later and won a 2018 Silver Taste Canada Award for best general cookbook in Canada.

My work had expanded to the print world and I was using my voice to encourage readers to embrace simple food. I tackled subjects such as food waste, seasonal eating and sustainable food choices. Additionally, I challenged readers to be conscientious cooks and to bring kids into the kitchen, too.

In another transition of growth, Simple Bites officially became my own space in January 2016 when I took over the website from Tsh of Simple Mom/Art of Simple.

Here’s a recent note from Tsh. In a different turn, she has announced that 2020 will be the last year for The Art of Simple. We’re all wishing her the absolute best in her new chapter.

It’s been a delight knowing Aimee this past decade-plus of camaraderie. Her food writing was one of the first I never missed, and to this day, she continually inspires me with her recipes, her photography, and most of all, her life choices and values. I’m so glad for all of us that she does what she does — here’s to another decade of living well, my friend!
Tsh Oxenreider

Simple Bites: Dreaming Big

As I look back on a decade of blogging, I see that it taught me to dream big. I learned to never doubt my capability or underestimate my reach. Truly, anything is possible with hard work and determination.

Over the years, I came to care little about what people though of me and instead, found happiness within myself. As creatives, both online and off, we’re constantly putting ourselves out there for others to judge.

It’s essential to let go of it all and learn not to put your self worth in the opinions of others.

The latest chapter in our story has to be titled: The Big Move. Our recent lifestyle change was a conscious effort to slow down.

We wanted to be closer to nature and anchor ourselves in a friendly coastal community where families are cherished.

This was the first step of the dream: From Homestead to Seashore
And many months later….A New Home for the Holidays
And most recently…From Homestead to Lakeshore: One Year Later

Thank you for following our journey as we chased a big dream! Your many messages, emails and comments are cherished. We are so happy in our new life in beautiful Nova Scotia.

Today, my little family and I are truly living in the moment. We’re enjoying the simple things in life like morning coffee on our dock, Saturday pancakes and oceanside hikes.

Oh, and I haven’t stopped dreaming big. Danny and I are currently pursuing the idea of a kitchen makeover…building the Simple Bites dream kitchen….finally. Because why not?

Simple Bites: The Modern Era

Today, I use my platforms to create conversations around food every single day. Sometimes they are playful, like when I throw a sunset picnic on the dock, but most often they have deeper meaning.

Through my blog and socials, I curate conversations around topics like food waste, nutritious lunches, preserving harvest and food education for children. It’s never boring!

Here are a few of my favourites:

It’s World Food Day ~ Act. Influence. Advocate. One woman in a Canadian kitchen is not exactly a world-changing platform. But I have a voice and I am using my power to create conversations around food every single day.
How to Move Towards a Zero-Waste Kitchen ~ Simple tips for going zero-waste in the kitchen – with a goal of progress, not perfection. Every day is earth day.
How to Host a Modern Dinner Party ~ I have realized that the act of gathering is much more important than a styled table or fancy food. Welcome to hospitality in 2020.

It’s been a fantastic ten years of Simple Bites and I’m so honoured that you joined me along the way. Here’s to the next decade; there are so many exciting things in store. Stay tuned!

Readers, I want to hear from YOU, just like the good old days. What is your favourite Simple Bites recipe, one that you keep coming back for and making again and again?

Original article: Simple Bites turns Ten!.