I could not be more excited about this interview because it is with one of my very favorite bloggers and female entrepreneurs: Brittany Mullins of Eating Bird Food! Eating Bird Food is one of the most popular and beloved health food blogs on the web. This is no surprise, though, because Brittany’s recipes are delicious, fun to make, and leave you feeling amazing. Not only is Brittany is the master of all things oatmeal, but she can make any food or recipe nutritious while keeping its delicious flavor. Her recipes are also super simple which is perfect for us teenagers who are always on the go!

In this interview, Brittany shares about how and why she started her blog, her favorite healthy recipes, her tips for entrepreneurs, and more! I hope you enjoy this interview and go follow Brittany at @eatingbirdfood on Instagram and at www.eatingbirdfood.com!

1. What does the name “Eating Bird Food” mean?

It doesn’t really have any internal meeting. Basically, in college I ate a lot of trail mix, and my college roommate was always like “You’re always eating bird food!” Then, when I was thinking of a name for the blog, I just thought back to that and thought it worked. It’s easy to remember whenever I say like, “This is my site name.” Someone will always remember the “bird food” piece of it, and if they type that in Google, they can easily find me! Of course, also, bird food, healthy food, that kind of thing. So that’s where it came from!

2. Have you always had a passion for health and wellness? What prompted you to start Eating Bird Food?

Growing up, no. I was not super healthy. I ate Standard American diet. My mom cooked a lot of you know, standard, classic food, a lot of boxed stuff, too. I loved Little Debbie’s treats and chips and cereal. You know, just the standard kid food. Then, when I went to college, I was kind of determined not to gain the “freshman 15,” and I started moving my body more, working out more, eating healthy. So, I lost weight my freshman year, and then that inspired me to get excited about healthy eating, and I wanted to share that with more people, so I started to get really inspired by it. I looked into courses at my college to do nutrition training, so I did a couple of nutrition courses. They didn’t have a registered dietician program there, so I was just able to take courses and not really do my whole major around nutrition which was fine. So, I ended up still majoring in marketing but still dabbling in nutrition. Then once I graduated, I did Institute for Integrative Nutrition to get my health coaching certification, and I got a marketing job. I was doing that. Everything was going fine with it, but I still had that passion for nutrition, so that’s when I started my blog. I started it the year after I graduated from college.

3. When you started EBF, were you hoping that it could be your full-time job? What advice do you have for bloggers and entrepreneurs who hope to be successful online?

No, when I started it, it was definitely just a hobby. I started as a food journal just trying to keep myself motivated with healthy eating and then also share with others. It was definitely just a hobby. I did it nights and weekends because I was still working full-time. Then, about five or six years in is when I saw some other bloggers going full time with it, and it got me thinking, Oh well maybe I could make it work, you know? I started earning a little bit of income, so I’ll explain a little bit about how I earn income… it’s through ads on the site. So just like any other website you go to that has ads on it, that’s my primary source of income. Then also you can do sponsored posts, so teaming up with a brand. A lot of my brand partnerships are creating recipes with a food product. My biggest tip, though, I think would be just to be really consistent and have a strong passion because there are days that you just want to quit because you feel like no one’s reading or your following has not grown as much as you would want. As long you are producing high quality content and staying consistent, you will organically grow. I think that just being passionate about it helps too because if you were just in it for the money, you would easily quit!

4. What strategies do you have for teenagers like me who like to eat healthy but are often on the go and do not have time to cook every meal?

I think my biggest tip for that is just to do a little bit of meal prep in advance. Think about your week… know where you are going to be going, what sort of things like events you have coming up, and then try to just prep a few things that are really easy that you can take on the go. You have probably seen these things since you follow along, but overnight oats or just prepping all your vegetables ahead of time and having veggies and hummus in little baggies ready to go. Smoothies are great for on-the-go, and you can also meal prep those by making little smoothie packs for your freezer or even just making them the night before and keeping them in the fridge or freezer, and they’re ready. Anything you like and can do in advance is helpful. I love trail mix little snack packs! Also portion control is big I think, so if you can portion out things, that’s helpful too!

5. There are so many diets and fads that claim to be the best way to be healthy or lose weight etc. … what is your philosophy when it comes to eating and food?

So yeah, I have tried every diet out there back when I was younger! But I do feel like really diets don’t work unless they’re sustainable lifestyle changes. I am all about healthy habits, just like really simple, basic things like drinking enough water, eating fruits and vegetables, filling half your plate with vegetables, having protein, healthy fats at every meal, and just not depriving yourself because as soon as you say, “I can’t have this,” like chips or something, that’s all you’re going to want and all you’re thinking about. I’m more of balanced, moderation, real whole foods like 90% of the time, and then wiggle room for all the treats and favorite things that I love. And I think honestly that is just what works. Then also, of course movement, I kind of forgot this piece, but another healthy habit is getting some sort of exercise in when you can!

6. What is your go-to meal to make in under 10 minutes?

Probably oatmeal for breakfast, salad for lunch as long as I have all of my salad essentials, and then for dinner, I really like egg roll in a bowl. That one is super simple, especially if you have coleslaw mix. You can probably make that in maybe 15! Then, also stir fries. If you have a bag of frozen veggies, tofu or shrimp or something, and Bragg’s Liquid Amino, coconut amino, something like that… stir fry is so easy! And then sriracha on top!

7. Which EBF recipe do you make the most?

Hmmm… it’s hard! The one that I have probably made the most over time is probably my oatmeal with chia seeds, banana, and peanut butter. That’s probably one that I’ve made the most. I’m trying to think of a more savory one I make a ton… something Mexican like chicken enchiladas I make a ton, or I have this Mexican quinoa bake situation that I have made a ton, too. I have made that a lot if I’m taking a meal to someone else.