(we're trying out a new format for our Featured Member Blogs - hope you like it!)

Name: Jan Scott
Blog name: Family Bites
Where were you born? Kingston, ON
Where are you living now? Toronto, ON
Why did you start your blog?  January 2010

How did you decide on your blog name?  I honestly don’t remember. I came up with a list of words that were related to eating and bites seemed to be the one that paired well with the word family.

What do you blog about?  As an avid home cook and former professional event planner, I’ve combined the two and created a place where I write about party ideas and simple recipes geared towards busy families. “From breakfast to birthday parties, and everything in between” is how I best describe the content that can be found on my blog.

What post are you most proud of and why?  I have a few posts that I’m proud of and they definitely aren’t the ones that were the most popular or received the most visits. For me, the posts I love best are the ones that really capture my kids and my husband, the inspiration for the entire blog. For example, I wrote about a recent trip my ten year old and I took to Washington. There isn’t a recipe in the post, and while it touches a bit on food, it really is about so much more.


Which post do you wish received more love and why? Wow, this is a tough question. I’m sure all bloggers have a post that they were sure would “go viral” only to find out it didn’t strike a cord with anyone, let alone a million people. I think for me, I would say it was my Back To School Printable PDF list of lunches I made. It was exactly the thing I would have loved when my boys were really little and I was just starting to pack lunches for them, but it just wasn’t that popular of a post!

Which post’s success surprised you and why? Without a doubt, it’s a post I did last summer on a DIY Ice Cream Sundae kit. I made a gift for my son’s friend and essentially it was a kit that contained everything required to make sundaes at home, except the ice cream. I am absolutely astounded by how popular this post has been, and I continue to receive emails from people who have either given the kit, or received it, and they all tell me how much they enjoyed it. The idea has been featured on several popular blogs and websites, and it’s been “Pinned” more times that I can count. I’m seriously thinking I should start a series of DIY kits that can be boxed up for someone!

RELATED:  FBC Featured Member Blog: Boake Blog

What is one (non-kitchen) gadget you can’t live without?  Although I know it isn’t true, I often think I would die if I didn’t have my MacBook Pro around.

What is one kitchen gadget you can’t live without?  I don't want to live without my wooden rolling pin. Not because I make a lot of pies or pastries, but because my husband bought it for me in Paris when we were there on a trip that he surprised me with. Everything else in my kitchen is easily replaced, but that is definitely not.

Favourite food, care to share a recipe?  Sadly, I can’t. My favourite food without a doubt is cheese, and I just haven’t taken to making it myself, although I’ve been thinking about. It’s not uncommon for Rob and I have to cheese and crackers for dinner when the kids go to bed!
What else should we know about you that may or not be in your “About Me” page?  I hate tomatoes! How terrible is that for a food writer? In fact, I dislike them so much that if I order a sandwich and ask for the tomatoes to be removed and the kitchen forgets, I can’t eat the sandwich. The thought of it disgusts me too much.

What makes your blog unique?  I like to think that Family Bites is unique in that it’s both a food blog and a party planning blog. I’m really proud of the party content that can be found there, and am passionately trying to convince people that we should be bringing back the at-home birthday party! Through my posts I offer a lot of ideas and inspiration, and the feedback on those has been really positive, which inspires me to keep at it.

Follow Jan's blog, Family Bites
Follow Jan on Twitter

SUBSCRIBE TO GET YOUR FREE SPICE BOX EBOOK
SUBSCRIBE HERE
You are subscribing to the FBC Food Lovers Newsletter.
You can unsubscribe any time!
Click Me

One Comment

Marian (Sweetopia)
Reply

Loved reading this! It was great to learn a little bit more about you, Jan, and I love both the Back to School Lunches PDF and the DIY Ice Cream Sundae Kit. Brilliant!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *