Happy Sunday LWM fam,
Today's topic in the agenda: Food Influencers & healthy living.
I've to admit I've always been intrigued by how Food Influencers can stay healthy as they're constantly cooking for their audience, especially when it comes to influencers specialized in Brunch or dessert, you name it!
So, not thinking twice, I decided to directly ask one of them. I reached out to Laura Hannoun from @Lesparisdelaura. I really like her, she's fun and shares about lifestyle but mostly about brunch/dessert. Each time I come across one of her recipes, my mouth is literally watering no matter the moment of the day.
Grab your cup of tea, your chocolate bar, and let's meet Laura Hannoun.
Meeting a Food Influencer: Interview
Tell us more about Lesparisdelaura:
"Lesparisdelaura is a pun between "challenges" & the city of "Paris". Actually, when I came back from Australia after 6 months spent in Melbourne, I decided to look for all the brunch & coffee shops of the capital! 4 years ago, they were a bit more hidden than today. So, the basics of my blog are good addresses. At first, they were all healthy but since it has gone a little out of hand. 😂;"
How do you manage your daily eating?
"It's all about balance. If I cook a greedy recipe for Insta or if I discover a new place to brunch, I simply need to counterbalance it with diner for instance, or during the day after. When I say "counterbalance", of course, I do not mean extreme decisions such as skipping a meal or starving yourself. It is simply about balanced eating. I don't buy industrial meals, and I really control everything I put into my recipes. Aside, I do, or at least I try, work out regularly. And when I do not work out, I walk. Finally, I'm 1m80 tall so my energetic intakes are quite higher than the average. Not to be forgotten that we do not show everything on social media."
Have you ever been scared of gaining weight because of your activity? How do you handle this daily?
"I'm scared, and I already gained some weight because of my activity. When I try new addresses, there're generally 3 courses, 2 savory dishes, and 1 sweet. And when I say "sweet", we generally mean pancakes or french toasts, so obviously it's heavy. Thus, at those moments, I focus more on working out for my energy expenditures to be higher than my intakes. Once again, when I enjoy my lunch, my diner is simply lighter. "
Have you ever been conflicted with yourself (mentally)? Do you feel guilty when you try new recipes? Do you set some boundaries when you try recipes?
"Of course! Who never felt bad at a certain point in time? But generally, I move rather than focusing on what bothers me. First, I reduce the useless swerves. There are swerves that help me create content and those which are simply greedy. I try to focus my greedy moments on what creates value for my account. For instance, if I do not take any photos, I won't have a snack. I'll go for a yaourt or mashed apples. When I try some recipes, let's say I'm careful with the quantities. If I prepare, for instance, 6 financiers, I'll probably eat one after the photoshoot and another one for dessert if I really want to. Otherwise, I'll wait for the day after before eating another one. I'm never excessive, and I can control myself to not eat them all. When we do this job, we learn how to control ourselves and anticipate days to come. More and more today, when I cook I try to give some to my relatives! Because sometimes it's very way too much for us aha. Generally, they're happy! But for sure, I never feel guilty after eating something. I totally assume what I eat. And if I know I'll regret it, I don't eat it. :)"
Do you waste food sometimes (eco-anxiety ;) )? How do you handle the excess?
"There's no more waste than when I do my groceries. For instance, I buy a big can of mushrooms, it happens that it stays too long in the fridge. It happens! It's the same with pastry. I made 6 tigrés, we eat 2 d-day and after 3 days, it happens we forget about them and we have to throw them away. But I always pay attention to cooking reasonable portions. I love making individual recipes for this reason! And when it comes to a cake, generally I give some. "
Do you favor organic & seasonal ingredients?
"Seasonal, for sure! Organic, a bit less. For savory recipes, I almost order all the time on Frichi, and they're really good products! It wouldn't surprise me if some of them were even organic. For the sweet recipes, I pay less attention. Because in fact, melted butter remains melted butter, and I don't think there's a big difference for flour. Although butter on a good slice of bread, this is another story aha."
Full-time blogger! How do you manage your social/ love life as a blogger? Do you have time for this?
"As a blogger, I work weekly till 5 pm so all my evenings are dedicated to my relatives. My weekends as well but, since the restaurant's opening during covid, I work also during the weekend so I obviously have less time.
I also have a few friends, who are freelance or still students, so I can see them during the day. As for my family, they're the ones I see the less because I spend most of my time running around. I've been living with my boyfriend for a while now, so we see each other often. Most of the time, we spend the evening together, and we try to have some time together during the week. He's also a freelance. Once again, without my weekends it's a bit hard at the moment."
Any tips for people who want to take the plunge but don't dare to because of the fear of gaining weight?
"I'd say like everything in life, most of the time it's about balance. I know we speak about body-positive at any prices simply saying that we need to please ourselves etc but, personally speaking, I do not always agree with this, and I find it important to feel good in our body. According to me, no blog/insta account should come first at the expense of our personal happiness. Thus, I simply say we have to choose our battles.
First, nothing prevents you from making healthy recipes rather than cookies and melted chocolate every day.
On the other hand, nothing prevents you from realizing a bit of both in order to not eat too many sweet recipes.
Plus, cooking is made to be shared! Make your friends try your realizations, they'll be happy.
Also do not hesitate to take several photos of the same recipes and re-use them within the coming weeks in this way you won't have to cook new recipes every day.
Choose your battles, if you made a big and heavy snack, simply favor something lighter for diner.
Choose your specialty. For instance, being specialized in brunch and pastry, I naturally leave street food away. It happens that I have some sometimes but very occasionally to not eat too much of them often.
Don't post every day but every two days."
Many thanks, Laura! It was great to share with you today.
Once again, hope you guys liked this new interview. I found it relevant and very comforting.
This is not a bad thing to keep certain control over our diet! It's balance!
Also if you want to know more about Laura's universe find more on her blog.
Bise,
Math.