Today we’d like to introduce you to Lindsay Surowitz.
Lindsay, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started Weeknight Bite in 2012 while working as an insurance underwriter – a job that was definitely not fulfilling me creatively. I always loved entertaining and hosting friends for dinner, and since they were always asking me to share recipes and teach them how to cook, I figured, why not start a website with some videos to walk my friends through making a quick and easy meal!? I built the website, designed a free logo online, filmed a couple of videos and edited them in iMovie, and without much thought, I launched Weeknight Bite with just 2 recipes and very little clue what I was doing! I’m so glad that I didn’t overthink it too much at that point though because had I waited for everything to be absolutely perfect, I may have never gone for it! It was the perfect creative outlet for me… I spent all of my spare time testing and filming recipes, working on my website, and learning to code. It quickly became my passion and I was so encouraged and excited by the response I received with each new recipe post that all I wanted to do was truly GO FOR IT.
After three years as an underwriter, I quit my job and jetted off to Florence to attend cooking school with my best friend. We learned the ins and outs of pasta and risotto making, ate as much gelato as we possibly could, and when I returned home, I knew I still had so much more to learn. I went to a part-time cooking school in Los Angeles while working for a chef. Though I loved cooking and creating recipes for Weeknight Bite, I felt like something was missing, I didn’t want to spend my days in a kitchen and being newly engaged, I knew I didn’t want to work nights or weekends, which are so common in the food industry. I was at a time where I needed more stability in my life, and though I felt defeated and that I hadn’t achieved my goal of turning Weeknight Bite into my business, I decided to go back into insurance. All the while, I kept working on my blog and didn’t give up.
Every recipe I shared used healthy, nutritious ingredients. Not because I was trying to create a “healthy cooking blog”, but because that was the way I was used to cooking and eating. I didn’t realize that healthy living came pretty easily to me until people started saying “everything you share on your site is so healthy… what tips do you have to help me get in a healthy routine/lose weight/gain more energy…”. It finally clicked. Yes, I loved cooking and blogging, but I also really loved the health side of it too! I had to find a way to merge it all together.
While working on my job, I decided to go back to school for Holistic Nutrition. I completed a 2-year program and with my husband’s constant encouragement, I decided it was finally time to take the leap. In 2016, Weeknight Bite became both my blog with tons of healthy recipes AND my nutrition business. I started taking on one-on-one clients and teaching them how to create a healthy lifestyle, without the stress, deprivation, or overwhelm that comes with so many diets. Now, I offer quarterly online group coaching programs for hundreds of women, where they sign up for a 4-week challenge and receive weekly meal plans, grocery lists, recipes, live nutrition sessions, and lots of accountability in creating a balanced, healthy life that they can maintain. The blog is still a big part of my business, where I create healthy recipes and also and partner with brands that make high-quality, nutritious products that work seamlessly in my recipes.
It was a long path to getting here, but I truly feel like I’m doing exactly what I’m meant to do now!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
No! It was a twisty turny road to getting here. I left my job only to return to the same industry and leave again later, I tried new things, and then I rerouted my career path before things finally fell into place. My advice is to remember that there is no overnight success. Every “overnight success” has a story behind it that goes back years. With social media, we often only see the highlight reel or the “finished product”, we don’t see the path and the hard work it took to get there. So try not to compare your chapter 1 to someone else’s chapter 10 that they’re showing on Instagram. Focus on your path, put your heart into it, and don’t give up, even (and especially!) when it gets tough. That determination is what will set you apart!
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Weeknight Bite – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
Weeknight Bite is a down-to-earth guide to living well. What sets it apart is that it’s not overly complicated. It makes healthy living simple, delicious, fun, and easy to maintain. It never feels like a chore or that you’re giving something up. Instead, it teaches women to make healthy choices while satisfying their cravings, eating delicious meals, going out to their favorite restaurants, and living their lives. It’s a place that inspires you to have your (healthy) cake and eat it, too. I’m proud that my group coaching programs have helped so many women find balance in their lives, glow from the inside out, and feel their absolute best.
Pricing:
- Weeknight Bite Back to Basics Challenge (Back to Basics Challenge) – $199
- Weeknight Bite Smoothie eBook (Smoothie eBook) – $14.99
Contact Info:
- Website: www.weeknightbite.com
- Email: lindsay@weeknightbite.com
- Instagram: @weeknightbite
- Facebook: facebook.com/weeknightbite
Image Credit:
Photography by Angelica Marie Photo and Kristen Schellenberg
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