Foodie bloggers play the food Instagram game pretty seriously. (I know I do with mine @foodieoutloud).
Food Instagram-ing has become quite the sport over the past couple of years. We have people like Jessica Hirsch, Mike J Chau (aka @foodbabyny) and Brunch Boys to look up to for foodie-gram perfection. Thanks to Insta-stars like them, us foodie bloggers striving to build up our following are have one thing in common; we all want to step up the game next year, bettering the skills it takes to be a foodie gram that the world relies on.
Here's how we can get it done.
1. Post breakfast every day.
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Leave it to Broad Street Dough Co and Dough Doughnuts to make us drool for their doughnuts, so it’s up to us to share something else for the world who perhaps would rather start their day not risking chances of getting diabetes.
2. Lift more noodles.
The ramen games have become pretty fierce this year, especially with Ichiran coming to NYC, therefore we gotta lift...Noodles. There is certainly a technique to noodle lifting with chopsticks, and capturing 70% of your ramen noodles out of the bowl for a photo demonstrates mad skills. The sad truth is lifting light, will not make, anyone eat that bowl of ramen with their eyes. Why do you think guys spend most of their time in the weight room?
3. Take your blog to the next level.
You are well aware that chefs across the world are constantly creating the next big thing. After these chefs have slaved in their kitchens trying to make their idea edible, it is your job to make it known to your foodie fans across the world that things like Chickn' Cones exist! You would be mind blown to explore, and see what is offered in states across the nation worth mentioning on your blog. Only expect food to get even crazier in the year 2017, so keep up and eat up with the times!
4. Post something green (that's actually healthy).
Food-grammers have Nutella, mac and cheese, and bottomless drunk brunch spread on news feeds near and far. It wouldn’t hurt to show that vegetables can be just as salivating as a burger oozing with mac and cheese. If you aim to post something vegetable related once a week, you are golden.
5. Survive the line for a "sushirrito."
Sushirritos are the new hip thing. Scoring a sushirrito in NYC means you you survived the city block length line. We have to wait in line because we are not yet the Guy Fieri that we dream of being (yet). Not all have what it takes to wait in any sort of line. You think, “How good can this thing really be?” But it’s a sacrifice you have to be willing to make for the 'gram.
6. Share more recipes.
It’s safe to assume that you are so dedicated to your food blog, you eat out ALL THE TIME. As your stomach (and your bank statement) begs for a home cooked meal, you still eat out because the followers are expecting beautiful posts. You can impress them just as much with the finished product of something you made at home.
7. Cut back on posting sweets until Valentines Day.
Chances are with all the Christmas baking you did, you probably made everyone get diabetes just by looking at all of your posts of peppermint chocolate cookies. After finding 12 Cheesecakes You Can't Leave NYC Without Trying, I am really going to stay true to this promise to give everyone a break from sugary posts until February 14th.
8. Share more Insta-deals.
Doesn’t it pain you when people say, “I would love to try more restaurants, but I am so poor I’m just going to live off potatoes this week.” No college student is Daddy Warbucks, but who could go that far? There are actually so many deals out there that the normal person has no idea about, simply because they assume food out is expensive. Change their thinking by spreading the word about weeknight deals. Restaurants often share #instadeals on their Instagram page. They exist, we just have to share them with the world.
9. Bae-goals.
Ugggh. Bagels are getting bigger and better. They are not filled with just one thing anymore. America is stuffing these already bae bundles of carbs with avocados, salmon, bacon, cheese, and even cookie dough cream cheese. One of my resolutions as a foodie blogger is to maneuver such a bagel to pose for the camera, but others’ resolutions may be to be in the presence of better bagels. Hence the new term I just made “bae-goals."
10. Stop the hate directed at vegans.
We all have that friend who is vegan, and wears her veganism proudly. We cannot judge this culture anymore since some of the best bites in 2016 according to foodieoutloud.com were 100% vegan, and they couldn’t get enough. Vegan baked goods, such as this vegan chocolate peanut butter cheesecake, are incredibly delicious. You would have no idea that what you were eating lacked milk, butter, and eggs. Give it a chance and don’t be a hater!
11. Post more diverse, exotic foods.
Let’s be real. We need to stand out somehow. You’re not trying to get lost in the crowd of grilled cheese, and "the best" cookies. Exotic foods are hard to come by, like okonomiaki in the United States, but if you find a tasty something that is instal-worthy, you have scored.
12. Post better boomerangs.
One of the hardest things you will ever do in your life is operate boomerang while holding a slice of pizza, each of which have a mind of their own. We all strive for an epic cheese pull, but in the moment, if that cheese pull doesn’t happen it’s all over. How on earth do these professional bloggers get the perfect cheese, the perfect cheese pull, and the perfect shot in the same day. Not human like.
13. Find better happy hours.
We all have our go-to bars because we automatically just walk in anywhere that has a sign that reads "happy hour." You owe it to yourself to find bars that offer ridiculously cheap drinks, at good quality, and where happy hour takes place at realistically attainable hours. Enough is enough, find better happy hours in the new year.
14. Go gluten-free a day (or longer).
After we eat our body weight in carbs at restaurant we visited for blog content purposes, we feel stuffed in the best way. Following such events, try going gluten free for one day. You will be surprised at all the places nation wide with gluten-free offerings. Believe it or not, gluten-free foodies exist. Your body will appreciate the break, and you will make the lives of your gluten-free followers!
15. Be more patient.
Capturing that picture perfect photo takes time, sometimes requires taking a lap around the restaurant to get the best lighting, or even standing on your chair to fit everything on the table in the frame. Be patient, sometimes our inner fatty takes over our calm, cool photographer self. The reward of a first bite of what you're photographing is closer than you think. Know that you're hard work running a food Instagram will pay off, as it does for all who really invest themselves in it.
16. Show up for brunch.
They often say that 90% of success is just showing up. Good things happen when we are in the right place at the right time. We all get caught up, therefore show up late for important obligations. If we are going to improve our timeliness in 2017, its going to be for the most significant obligation there is, and that is brunch.
17. Fries before guys.
Come on. You already have food, which beats a boyfriend by a landslide. You don’t need the distraction. Focus on your blog. Sure, the dates you go on are you yourself and you, but the ring can't beat yours; yours are onion. People appreciate you with your food blog. You don’t need a man to make you look better. When the opportunity to make it official with a guy comes around always remember. Fries before guys.