The problem with Instagram is that I constantly get the feeling that I want to share more, while simultaneously feeling like I’ve probably shared too much. (HI, 1,361 PHOTOS AND COUNTING).
Here’s the thing: I don’t just use the photo-sharing app for food, or fashion, or cute babies, or selfies, or pretty landscapes, or night’s out with my friends. I USE IT FOR ALL OF THAT. And then some. So for those who follow me on Instagram and don’t quite grasp the frequency of my uploads: I have no answer for you. Other than, I just love it. I love it more than Twitter because GOD STOP RETWEETING STUFF I DON’T WANT TO READ, more than Facebook (I mean, screw you Facebook, who even likes you anymore?) more than Pinterest, because really we’re all just going to end up with identical weddings and white home offices, and definitely more than this new Vine app that I may actually delete soon because if I can’t look at it at work, then WHAT GOOD IS IT?
Viva la Instagram.
As a blogger, I feel like there’s a lot of opportunity to brand yourself through social media, and finding that thing that is so uniquely you, and sharing that, and having people respond positively to it, well, it’s extremely fulfilling in a strange-social-media-makes-me-happier-than-human-interaction-sometimes kind of way.
Chalkboard Paleo began because I stopped creating recipes for the blog. You probably noticed. I didn’t plan it, it just sort of happened. I don’t have the time or the resources or the lighting to take beautiful food photos during the week – and I got to a point where I thought, if I can’t put out really good-quality food photography, I don’t want to put out any at all. So I stopped. But then I felt this strange emptiness because the blog is called The Paleo Project and eating clean is a huge, if not vital, part of my life.
Enter: Chalkboard Paleo.
Essentially, whenever I create a recipe that isn’t too intense as far as instructions go, I “Chalkboard Paleo” the crap out of it. First, I write the name of the dish on the chalkboard. I arrange the food and chalkboard up in my kitchen where I have this white counter top and beige wall. It makes a nice clean backdrop. I snap a photo, add a filter, then, in the caption part, I detail the instructions. I find it to be a happy medium because I’m able to share Paleo food creations, but not have to spend hours cooking/photographing/blogging about a simple recipe. I hope you find it useful, if not refreshing from the abundance of selfies I’m commonly guilty of taking.
For the above ‘recipes’, and more where those came from, search:
Username: @ThePaleoProject *
Hashtags: #chalkboardpaleo #showusyourpaleo
I changed my Instagram username from @Jentonelli to @ThePaleoProject to match the branding of this blog, my Facebook and Twitter handles, and any other app that might come out in the near future.
