Teresa's interview

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Interview by Lydia

We interviewed Teresa!

Hello Teresa, so tell us...

When did you begin your blog, and what inspired you to start it?

I started blogging last September. I found out my book, "SkinnyTinis - All the Fun for Half the Calories" was coming out in paperback. It was originally published in April of 2009 and I had signed literally hundreds of books with the tag line "Eat, Drink and be Skinny" since then. With my enthusiasm to promote the new, lower cost version of my baby, I opted to launch a blog! It's evolved over time and low calorie cocktails are still a fun focus for content, but I'm finding readers really enjoy healthy recipes and fitness tips and challenge as well. Its most definitely a work in progress!

When did you first become interested in nutrition?

Since 1990 in high school when I took a Food and Fitness class. Our teacher would teach us how to cook, healthy for the most part. Then make us run around the track. It just resonated with me and I chose to study nutrition in college and have lead a successful career in weight loss ever since.

How many hours per week do you spend on your blog?

Ug - I hate this question. Far too much. I post 3-4 times per week and perhaps that's too much. I just find so many things interesting! Some of those posts look so short and easy. And the writing is the easy part. If all I had to do was type up my content I'd be golden. Hopefully someday I'll be able to hire an intern to load images, include links, plug in SEO and key words, and syndicate out through all my social media channels.

Are you involved in the blogging community - how do you attract new readers?

I could probably be better at this. One of my best practices has been to include links at the bottom of my posts. Say I do something on Summer Cocktails, I like to include a few links at the bottom for dishes from other bloggers than would go well with the menu. Then I shoot them an email that I'll be linking content and if it ever makes sense, I'm more than happy to feature guests posts or generate content for somebody else's readers as well. Again, the limiting factor here is time.

What is your earliest food memory?

My dad used to make these zucchini boats. He was a single father and so proud of himself when he figured out how to get us kids to eat vegetables. All he did was spoon out the insides, mix them up with breadcrumbs and maybe an egg then scoop the mixture back in the "boat" and cover it in cheese and bake. We loved those and he was so glad he figured out how to get us some veggies. Now I want to write a post on that...

Do you have a favorite dish?

I just love food. I get a real kick out of huge portions that are loaded with veggies and other high quality foods. I'm notorious for "kitchen sink" salads where I toss just about everything that's in the fridge in there. I just did quinoa, roasted beet, kale and garbanzo beans with parmesan. It's not so bad, and a nutrition powerhouse!

Is there any dish, ingredient or type of food you refuse to cook or eat?

Nothing that I'd refuse, but plenty I'd prefer not to work with. I try to stick with plant based, all natural, local ingredients for the most part.

Who inspires you?

I find certain types of people inspiring more so that having to pick one person. I like people who believe in themselves but are still humble. Have good hearts, and strong minds. Are willing to take risks, but aren't careless. Love to have fun, but are still responsible. It's hard to find that balance in life.

What are your goals for your blog? Where would you like to see it in the next year? Five years?

I would like to continue to produce quality, relevant, interesting content that people find of value. Whether it be information they didn't know or inspiration they needed. If anything I write can improve the quality of somebody else's life, than I'll be stoked!

Anything else you would like to share?

I love that you feature bloggers on your site! I'm really interested in learning how to make Eat. Drink & be Skinny even better so I welcome any feedback, comments or questions from your community! Thank you for the feature and Cheers!

Thank you Teresa for answering our questions and see you soon!
Published by Lydia - 07/31/2013

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