A reader asked me for a recipe for roasted beet orange and quinoa salad months ago, and finally here it is. Better late than never! Lately, it seems that every time I try to set time aside to work on the blog I fail miserably at actually working on it. I could blame it on scheduling, work, or argue that I’ve been spending time with my family, but I think that when it comes down to it I have been lacking motivation.
I have been blogging for 2 yrs. pretty consistently, and it has been very rewarding. After leaving professional kitchens to be a mom, I desperately needed an outlet for my cooking, so I started this blog and a blog in Spanish. I plunged head into it, maybe a little too eagerly. So much so, that the hubby had to ask me to please step away from the computer on more than one occasion. I got excited about every single person who subscribed to the blog, rejoiced if anybody “liked” my post, and considered it a true achievement when a post had more than 5 viewers a day. With every post I discovered something new about cooking and my relationship with food. By reading other blogs, I also caught a glimpse of other people’s lives, what they cook in their homes, and their family recipes passed down from generation to generation.
After a while the novelty wore off, and it hit me how much work goes in to keeping up with a blog. In order to publish one post, there’s cooking, recipe resting, recipe writing, picture taking, picture editing, writing, editing the writing, putting it all together, and finally hitting the publish button. It doesn’t end there! After you publish, you spend several days promoting on facebook, twitter, and pinterest. If you want other people to read your blog, you also have to spend a good amount of time reading and commenting on other blogs. This could truly be a full time job, and it is for some people.
It has taken me 2 yrs. to get 228 blog followers and about 1,200 views a month. Some of my posts have been better than others, and the recipes and pictures have improved over time. I just think I have reached a moment in my life where I have to ask myself, “Could my time be spent more wisely?” Bloggers I need your help. How do you stay motivated?
The Recipe: Roasted Beet Orange and Quinoa Salad
This vegan recipe for roasted beet orange and quinoa salad is full of protein, flavor, and texture. It´s dressed in a sweet balsamic vinaigrette. It is a great lunch option. Enjoy!
Roasted Beet Orange and Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
Salad
- 3 cups Quinoa, cooked
- 2 Roasted beets, medium, cut into small dice (see notes)
- 3 Blood oranges, cut into segments
- 1 1/2 tbsp. Pumpkin seeds, toasted
- Balsamic Vinaigrette To taste
Dressing
- 1/2 cup Balsamic Vinegar
- 1/8 tsp. Dijon mustard
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 3/4 cup Oil grapeseed
- 3 tbsp. Water room temperature
- 3/4 tsp. Agave nectar, or other plant-based sweetener
Preparation
Salad
In a large bowl combine quinoa, oranges, beets, and pumpkin seeds.
- Add the desired amount of dressing and season to taste.
Dressing
- Place vinegar, garlic clove, and mustard in a blender and blend on high until smooth.
- Through the top of the blender, gradually pour in the oil, while running the blender on low/medium. The mixture will thicken as the oil is blended in.
After all of the oil has been added, pour in 3 tbsp. of water, and agave nectar.
- Season to taste and serve.
Chef's Notes
To roast beets, preheat oven to 375 degrees F, coat beets lightly with oil, wrap beets in aluminum foil, place on a baking sheet, and roast in the oven until cooked through, approximately 45 to 60 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool for 10 minutes, and then peel and slice into 1/4-inch thick slices.
You can use canned beets or steamed beets for a quick version of this recipe.
This looks so good! I just ate quinoa yesterday, but I will definitely try this recipe next week!
A Korean monk, Haemin said, “If you hope to work for a long time, not temporarily, don’t try to just work hard. Enjoy the work. You will lose your pace if you continue to work without any pause, and then you’ll not continue to work for a long time.” From your comment, I just felt that you too much concentrated on blogging like a full time job so far. If you’re not motivated at the moment, just pause for a while and then you will see and feel many things that you’ve oversighted in your life.
I would like to introduce one more quote from Monk Haemin,
“The reason why music is so beautiful is
that there is a comma, a distance between musical notes.
The reason why words are so beautiful is
that there is proper pause between words.
We have to look back on our lives from time to time
whether we just ran along continuously without any pause,
whether we talked too many words without any pause.”
Anyway, you have been giving great inspiration to new bloggers like me and shared your wonderful recipes and know-hows with people around the world. I guarantee that your time spent on your blog is so precious. Please enjoy a pause in your life, then you may be self-motivated again.
Thanks for the encouragement. Loved the quote.
I’m glad that you’re back.^^ I hope that you can settle in a new place soon.
Salads in jars are just heaven to my eyes! Absolutely gorgeous, thanks for sharing.
I’ve struggled with lack of blog inspiration as well. Over Lent, I took a blog break and that helped me tremendously. I’ll say a little prayer you discern the best course of action!
Thanks for the advice. I’ve decided to not stress and post whenever suits me. We will see how that works.
I know exactly where you’re coming from with blogging and I just started about 4 months ago. I read somewhere once that in order to get recognized, you need to put yourself out there and it helps to “like” other people’s posts and most importantly, comment. People want to know not only that their pretty photos are being liked but also that their material is being read since we spend so much time trying to come up with material.
In my opinion (at least at the moment) for me this is the most difficult part about blogging. To sit even for an hour to read other people’s posts can sometimes be painful. I have to be honest and say, if a post has too many words, not enough white space and goes off on a tangent (much like this comment LOL), people won’t read it and people won’t follow.
I currently stand at 219 followers on the blog, with about 2,200 total hits in just FOUR months! I super stoked and I really don’t know what it is that I’m doing to get these numbers. Don’t know if the numbers are good, average or whatever, like you, I get excited when someone likes something on my page and it encourages me to do more and keep growing.
At times, I get wiped out like today and don’t feel like doing anything but reading other’s posts and that will help too to expand your followers. Sometimes we need that break to regroup and not get burned out which is why I think many bloggers have started and then stopped over a short time.
Also, for a bit of inspiration it’s also good to attend events. Idk what you’ve done or have been too (honestly, I was about to quickly skim through your page but your numbers drew me in). I believe attending events such as BlogHer, BlogFete and the like can give you some great inspiration. This Thursday I’m attending “A Sweet Escape” from http://www.alwaysorderdessert.com and I’m sure I’ll be inspired and gain material to use for home and even for my blog. It’ll cost you but I’m sure it will help.
~Connie
Thanks for the inspiration. Great blog! It looks like you’ve been busy.
Very nice post and recipe and interesting questions.
I guess for me it was easier, as I come from many years of culinary writing on top of being a chef. I knew what to expect and how much work is required for just one post. So I’ve decided ahead of time to take it slowly and post about once a week and not more.
I don’t worry too much about promoting the blog and I don’t mind if I don’t get thousands of hits. It’s not why I started in the first place. I mostly see the blog as a showcase for people who are interested in my cooking demos and my writing.
Of course I do enjoy the comments and being followed – it is an indication that I’m doing something that is interesting and helpful to others, but it’s not my first target. Writing the blog also exposed me to other blogs – so many of which are just fascinating. I doubt that without writing myself I would know of their existence, so I see it as an added bonus…
I suggest to just take it slowly, decide that you dedicate a certain amount of hours per week to it, and keep it going.
You have a very nice blog and I’m sure that at one point or another, all this effort will be rewarded. :-)
First, thanks so much for stopping by my blog! I’ve been blogging for a few years now and you’re right in that you could make blogging an all-day job. For me, I realized I couldn’t keep up with the people who spent all day on-line, posting daily. So it came down to why I wanted to blog in the first place. I started mine as a way for my kids to remember our family recipes, and some of my observations about life. Now, if I cook something new, and it works, I post. If not, I don’t. View count? No worries. There’s always next week. Love your recipes, by the way. We lived in the Low Country for a few years. Three words: skin so soft. It works.
Thanks for the advice and the encouragement. It’s nice to meet other people that love blogging as much as I do.