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Who says nutritious foods can’t taste good? In fact, this common misconception is what drives many people away from seeking dietary advice and choosing to make healthy changes to their diets. Could we shift their opinions by focusing on the adventure of eating good food from fresh ingredients? Karman, a Registered Dietitian and food blogger for her own personal blog, The Nutrition Adventure: In the Kitchen & On the Road, has done a wonderful job portraying this exciting method of nutrition education.
“Let’s eat well & explore the world!” This quote appears beneath the author’s photo and welcome statement on the home page. I was immediately drawn to this quote and the positive message that it sends to readers. Eating well can mean exploring and discovering new things. Whether that means physically traveling for culturally diverse foods, or simply trying new recipes, there is a need to explore. This positive and adventurous theme spreads into the rest of the blog’s design and layout. The background is white with contrasting bright pictures of colorful foods and views from around the world. The font is simple and easy to read, as well as the layout of the blogs. Though each blog entry is different, Karman maintains a similar format for using pictures, providing links and boxing recipes into easy to print sections. There are three main tabs to choose between: In the Kitchen…, On the Road… and About. In the Kitchen… is further divided into sections for beverages, main dishes, vegetarian dishes, soups and many more, while On the Road is divided into blogs written from different locations. It is a highly useful way to help the reader locate recipes and topics of interest.
Karman’s tone throughout the blog is informal. She addresses her audience as a personal friend and allows the reader to hear her excitement and voice through her animated posts. This is helpful for the audience who may subscribe to her blog to hear about nutrition in a fun and exciting way instead of reading scientific, published data with difficult concepts. Though the posts are informal, she maintains appropriate grammar and professionalism. This blog appears to contain accurate, up-to-date information. Most of the posts contain appropriate references to sources where information is obtained. As a Registered Dietitian, Karman is involved in food systems management and nutrition communications. She is a consultant with the United States Healthful Food Council and is certified in obesity and weight management. She caters to all audiences by including essential background information for nutrition topics as well as advanced nutrition topics. For example, a post titled, “Avocado Pineapple Refresher,” explains a simple breakdown of mono and polyunsaturated fats while also including a detailed chart with the micronutrient breakdown of a fresh avocado. Either one of these tools could be useful to a reader, depending on their previous knowledge and reading goals.
Karman’s overall goal of making nutritious foods taste good is highly engaging. She uses personal, high-quality photos of the recipes she creates as well as incorporates the posts to fit her day-to-day events and activities. This allows the reader to relate to the blog, as well as get to know the blogger. Karman uses great descriptor language to make the foods sound delicious. I really enjoyed looking at her recipes and find that they motivate me to want to try new foods. I would love to incorporate this inspiration to my own blog. Karman is not only inspiring readers to eat well, but to be adventurous and make eating food a journey.
Take a step towards fun and healthy eating with Karman at http://thenutritionadventure.com/.