There are going to be some changes around here on I Breathe I’m Hungry, and since many of you have been here for years and years, I feel I owe you an explanation as to what and why.
When I started IBIH back in 2011, it was just a hobby and a place to connect with friends and give a home to the recipes I’d created over the years. By 2012 I had gained some followers and discovered that people were searching for low carb recipes that tasted good and helped them reach their goals – and there weren’t a lot of websites focusing on that at the time.
So I leaned into that niche and I Breathe I’m Hungry became a destination for people looking for delicious low carb, gluten free, and keto recipes. Eventually I created the free 3 Day Keto Kickstart and 12 weeks of keto menu plans – and then came the egg fast plan, the keto soup diet, and more recently the Squeaky Clean Keto plan and 30 day challenge.
I was so committed to keto recipes that I published two books on the subject – Keto for Life, and Squeaky Clean Keto, which were both well received.
Things were going great. So great that thousands of people and companies started creating keto recipes – some good, some not so much. Traffic to my website started to decline, but we were doing ok and there were plenty of people who were still coming to IBIH for keto recipes.
And then the pandemic hit.
Suddenly nobody wanted keto recipes anymore, and everyone was baking banana bread and crafting their own sourdough starters. Even my family went down the rabbit hole of baking and cooking elaborate non keto meals because what else were we going to do stuck at home for months at a time?
And so after publishing new keto recipes to the sound of crickets, I eventually put the website on autopilot and started pursuing other interests.
Since then we moved back to NY from Honduras, and bought an old 1870’s colonial estate that needed a lot of work. So we’ve been restoring that for the last 3 years, while renovating and launching 2 new short term rental properties, and more recently I’ve been building a micro flower farm on the property to sell specialty cut flowers locally here in the Hudson Valley.
It’s been very busy, but also very rewarding – and we are exhausted. Which hasn’t left a lot of time for making new recipe content here on the website.
Is I Breathe I’m Hungry Finished?
No. But…
While I want to get back to creating recipes, I honestly haven’t done keto in several years (though my closet is telling me I probably should be) and there has been a sharp decline in searches for keto recipes, so it feels like a waste of time to create more.
Also, ironically my house is huge with rooms I don’t need upstairs (and no closet space, WHY? 😭), but my kitchen is tiny, which is a constant source of frustration and has stifled my creativity and desire to work on cooking and photographing new recipes. So I need to be really inspired if I’m going to push through, and I haven’t felt inspired by keto in a long time.
In spite of those challenges, I have been feeling itchy to cook and get back to work doing what I love, and I need a direction to go in.
If you’ve been around the last few months you know that I have talked a lot about higher protein recipes, and I even started a new meal plan called Prioritizing Protein.
I also posted on social media that I was under contract with my publisher for a new high protein cookbook that was going to release in December. I am still publishing the cookbook, but I have delayed it to put my energy into rebuilding I Breathe I’m Hungry.
But what does that even look like?
Finally, She Gets to the Point
I’ve toyed with the idea of posting non keto recipes here on I Breathe I’m Hungry for years, but I’ve watched others go down that path in the past and get raked over the coals by their followers so I never did it, even when I lost my passion for keto.
Now that so many people have moved on from keto, and I have stepped away from the blog for an extended time, I’ve decided if I’m going to return and do my best work creating new recipes, then I have to do what inspires and excites me.
I also need to be posting recipes that resonate with people’s needs today, so that blog traffic will recover and I can continue to afford to put time into creating new content. Because without that income, I can’t justify the time it takes to keep working on it.
So while all of the existing keto content will stay on the website, and I will occasionally be posting new keto recipes as inspiration strikes, moving forward I Breathe I’m Hungry will no longer be primarily a keto recipe destination.
That may be tough for some of you loyal followers from the early days to accept, and please know that I don’t make this decision lightly. I have appreciated you being here and commenting and making this website and the Facebook pages into a thriving community. I hope you will stick around and see what’s next, but if IBIH is no longer for you then I totally understand.
Based on my polls and research though, many of you came for keto and kept following even though you don’t do keto anymore. You will hopefully love the new content. If you liked and trusted my keto recipes, then you will be as excited as I am that unrestricted by a need for non traditional keto ingredients, I will be able to bring delicious new recipes that are more accessible and seasonal.
That doesn’t mean I will be posting overly indulgent and unhealthy recipes here either though.
I’m currently inspired by higher protein recipes, that are moderate in carbs and fat – which is a healthy trend that I can get behind, and that many are finding a lot more sustainable than keto for the long term.
I will also be getting back to the Prioritizing Protein Meal Plans in the coming weeks, with the goal of having at least 6 weeks of meal plans available by the end of the year.
In a Nutshell aka. TLDR (too long didn’t read)
I Breathe I’m Hungry will maintain the keto and gluten free recipes and meal plans that are currently on the site, but moving forward I will be posting a variety of recipes that may or may not be keto. I am currently focused on healthy higher protein recipes that may include natural sugars, fruits, starches like potatoes and rice, and even sometimes *gasp* gluten.
Where possible, I will include modifications for those who are keeping to a low carbohydrate diet, or even gluten free or dairy free if applicable. I will also continue to provide nutrition information for the new recipes.
Thank you for being here, and for sticking with me as I navigate this next chapter in the evolution of I Breathe I’m Hungry. I hope that you will be thrilled with this new direction, and that together we will keep eating delicious, healthy food that both nourishes and delights! 💕
