Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Crowder.
Hi Lauren, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I originally started Bread&Kale as just an Instagram account to share my home-cooking and interest in nutrition, but in 2019 I realized I wanted to share more including my love for local Kansas City businesses, mom life, recipes, craft beer, and more. Once I stopped posting only photos of my dinner plates and opened up, I found the most amazing community. My passion for creating recipes, supporting local and small businesses, and sharing honest motherhood has only grown. This growth also led me to starting breadandkale.com in 2019 and @beerandkaleenthusiast in 2020 to expand my creative endeavors. I now try to post 2+ recipes to my blog each month with even more easy meal ideas to my Instagram stories and highlights. I also share our adventures around Kansas City supporting local businesses throughout the week with occasional blog posts. My motherhood content is a daily occurrence since I share the real moments along with products and tips. I’m at just the tip of the iceberg with content for @beerandkaleenthusiast but I am thrilled to support craft breweries in Kansas City and across the country.
As a stay-at-home mom, I found that I still had a desire to pursue things that would fill up my cup and give me an identity outside of my mother. I feel so fortunate that there are opportunities nowadays for me to still fulfill my passions. Often times my two sons, three years and four months old, are in tow for my adventures through Kansas City which I hope will instill a love for their city and its local businesses as they grow up. If I make one person happy with a recipe I create, help one mom with a tip I share, and help one local business by sharing them with my followers then I’ll feel successful in the spaces I’ve created.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not always been smooth because the social and blog spaces can feel so oversaturated at times and it is easy to play the comparison game, but I’ve found the most joy in what I do when I focus on staying true to my voice and my goals. I’ve grown my following very very slowly, but I also refuse to cut corners so I am grateful for every authentic connection I’ve made. It is of course challenging as well to juggle this passion with motherhood because those responsibilities will always come before anything with Bread&Kale. However, maintaining my own interests has made me a better mother and it has also served as motivation to get out there with my sons and create a life for them that is engaged within the greater Kansas City community.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I honestly don’t feel like I am overall doing anything that unique because there are no shortages of people creating recipes, sharing their lives as mothers, and supporting local businesses, but I do think that I do all of these things in ways that are true to myself and in an effort to genuinely put out good things into the world. With everything I do, I hope to fulfill the needs of my audience and the businesses I choose to support and partner with. I’m most proud that all of my content, no matter the subject, is a reflection of my everyday life which I believe conveys my authenticity to my audience.
I’ve found more creative inspiration in the last year from working with more brands as I create recipes and content promoting local businesses.
What does success mean to you?
Being that my pursuits are not financially driven, success for me occurs when I receive positive feedback for my efforts. I also feel a sense of success when I’m sharing content that I truly believe in because my end goal is simply to put good things out into the world.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.breadandkale.com
- Instagram: breadandkaleenthusiast
- Facebook: facebook.com/pg/breadandkaleenthusiast/
