Why I'm Starting a Substack

Venturing a little BEYOND with Hungry Happens 👀

I first started sharing recipes on the internet a dozen years ago, in 2013. At that time, my cooking and my relationship with food was a little different than it is now. I was really into “clean eating,” which for me meant cooking with very little dairy but plenty of almond flour and coconut oil. (I laugh thinking about this, because most people now know me as a big-time cheese girl!)

I enjoyed what I was doing and was so proud of the following I built, but over time I began to burn out. I overworked myself and wasn’t prioritizing my physical or mental health. My life was going through a shift and I needed to detach from social media!

So I paused Hungry Happens, and for a couple years I took a break. I focused on spending time with my kids (who were young). I did some work on myself, and reimagined the types of recipes I wanted to share, so that I could come back and start fresh.

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In 2020, I was ready to relaunch Hungry Happens with a new kind of focus:

• Greek Heritage Recipes, which I learned from my mom and Yiayia. As a first-generation kid wanting to fit in at school, I didn’t always appreciate these foods. But as a seasoned adult, do I ever feel lucky to have grown up with such lovingly home-cooked food!

• Easy, Healthier Desserts that scratch the sweet itch but provide lots of nutrients, protein, and healthy fats. These would be for me (I have a major sweet tooth) but also for my growing kids.

• Weeknight-friendly dinners, sides, and salads that are nutritious, doable on busy weeknights, and fully loaded with veggies. Because as a busy parent, I know the juggling act very well.

Five years in, and I can’t even begin to express my gratitude. Creating Hungry Happens and being part of the community that’s formed around it has changed my life. This is what I was meant to do. (Yet to be totally honest with you, the fact that I’ll fulfill my dream of publishing my first cookbook later this year gives me a total impostor syndrome experience!)

But all this time, my focus has always been on the recipes. Every day I get questions about matters in my personal life — about being a mom, my health care routines, traveling in Greece — but I’ve never had a good place to share this kind of information.

So here, on Substack, I’ve finally found the spot, and I can’t wait to take you behind the curtain and Beyond Hungry! Here’s a taste of what I’ll be sharing in the coming months:

• A peek behind the scenes of my day-to-day work as a content creator — with my 20-year-old daughter Elina as my apprentice

• How to start a food blog from scratch

• Social media account growth — how I went from zero to over 10 million followers across all my platforms in 4 1/2 years

• My story of how I became a cookbook author with Penguin Random House (my dream publisher)

• Weight loss tips, and health and wellness rituals I swear by (many of which I learned from my mom — she’s got a healthy antidote for practically every minor ailment)

• Some of the great cooking tips I’ve learned from my mom and Yiayia, the most incredible cooks I’ve ever known

• Life lessons that can only be learned when you grow up working at your dad’s Greek diner

• My favorite places to visit in Athens every year, and what to know if you’re planning a trip to Greece

• Exclusive, new and healthy dinner recipes, of the super-simple and budget-friendly variety

• And SO much more!

Please drop any questions or requests below! I would love to hear your feedback and start a conversation 🥰

So I hope you’ll join me — just enter your email address below, and love your life!