Welcome back Health Blog Helpers to another Monday chat with a blogger who has most definitely left a her mark on the Healthy Living Blogosphere: Gena from Choosing Raw!

Gena's site is chocked full of information, recipes and advice on living a high raw, vegan lifestyle. Choosing Raw has helped to inform, educate and inspire readers everywhere looking to learn more about this living food approach to eating.

It's time to make yourself a cup of tea and sit back to enjoy the eloquent prose of a writer whose thoughts and words seem to flow effortlessly through her finger tips. It's almost impossible to come away from Choosing Raw without feeling calm and centered, today's interview with Gena is no exception!

Gena, I'm so excited to have you here with us today! Let's jump right in and get started. First, the basics: How long have you been blogging?

I’ve been blogging since March of 2009 – hard to believe it’s been so long!

Where did your inspiration for starting Choosing Raw stem from?

Well, first and most immediately, the kick in the pants I needed was from my friend Melissa, who writes FitnessNYC. She knew that I was a passionate vegan and newly passionate raw foodist, and a blog reader. She encouraged me consistently (for nearly a year!) to write my own blog, even as I insisted that I wouldn’t, couldn’t, shouldn’t.

What ultimately convinced me—in addition to her urging—was the contrast between my own experience of the raw lifestyle and the public perception of it. I find the lifestyle to be simple, fun, and liberating. Other people imagine that it’s complex, restrictive, and doctrinaire. I find most fellow raw (or mostly raw) vegans to be warm, enthusiastic, and kind. Others see them as judgmental, exclusive, or just plain weird.

I wanted to write a blog that conveyed my own experience of raw foods—a blog that showed normal, mainstream eaters that raw recipes and foods could be delicious and accessible. I wanted to combat the notion—which is unfortunately compounded by a handful of raw blogs and personalities—that raw foodists are either preachy or peculiar.

Most importantly, I wanted to dispel the notion that the raw lifestyle is socially isolating. I’m an active, professionally ambitious, urbane person who is very much a part of the mainstream world. I go on dates and business lunches at normal restaurants; I have a circle of friends who run the gamut of lifestyles, from health-conscious to reckless; I have a demanding professional life that leaves me little room for food preparation. I bring raw foods into my life without stress or apology. Being a high raw vegan doesn’t isolate me; if anything, it inspires to be more active and engaged in the world. And this energy is what I wanted to convey with Choosing Raw: living proof that the raw lifestyle can be welcoming, invigorating, and stress-free.

How much time do you spend devoted to blogging each week?

Ooof. Let’s see. Four hours or so? It’s usually an hour or so per post, and a post three or four times a week. Longer posts—essay-style posts—can take a bit longer.

Many bloggers in the healthy living niche blog daily or even multiple times a day. What made you decide to blog only a few times a week?

Ha! My sanity. I have nothing but wholehearted admiration for those bloggers who can post several times a day. I can’t imagine that kind of efficiency. Between my two jobs (I’m a full time book editor at a publishing house, in addition to my work as a nutritionist), my friends, my editing, and the occasional yoga class or hour on the sofa, I’d never be able to make it work. People who write thrice daily astound me!

But it’s a philosophical choice as much as a logistical one. Choosing Raw is not a food diary, or even a personal account of my lifestyle. It’s a professional resource first and foremost; a source of information second; and a recipe bank third. I like including snippets of my personal life, but I don’t at all wish for them to be the main event; having my personal life online isn’t something I’ve ever wished for, and (more significantly), I don’t believe that seeing what I do or don’t do is helpful to clients or readers. I admire those bloggers who can use their lifestyles to inspire others, but I also feel that the blogging world is quick to make women scrutinize and imitate what others do and don’t do, rather than find a way to create a lifestyle that works precisely for them.

As a nutritionist, I aim to help clients individualize their diets and lifestyles, taking their health and emotional history into account. And the one question I never answer is “what do you do?” What I do is never as important as what works for my client. It’s that general outlook that I bring to my blog. I love being able to inspire, inform, and share, but I don’t intend for the blog to be a personal chronicle or a daily model for others.

What was one the earliest lessons you learned about blogging?

Distance. During the first few months of blogging, I responded to every comment, commented frenetically on other blogs, and wrote what I thought were important posts nearly all the time. I quickly realized that such frequent blogosphere activity—not to mention social interaction with other bloggers—wasn’t sustainable for me. As I scaled back, I feared that people would suddenly stop reading. But they didn’t. And taking less time to be an active part of the blogging social world in particular allowed me to write better material. Readers kept reading, after all.

Since this time, I’ve been much better about staying relaxed about the blog. I do my best to post as often as I can and write well, but I also recognize my limits. The blog, at the end of the day, is one component of my professional life, but not the only one. And I have to keep it in balance with the rest. If I write a lackluster post, or I skip a few days, so be it; I may feel a twang of remorse, but I’m quick to move on and look forward to a time when I can post something thoughtful again.

Have you made any mistakes along the way?

See above. I think that setting such an involved tone at first—especially responding to readers’ comments—was a bit unwise! Now, when I can’t respond to a comment or question, I feel bad. But again, time has remedied this.

I think I also shared more of my personal life on the blog at first than I’d ever like to again. I don’t regret this—I think it’s great to put yourself out there, and certainly readers love a personal connection—but it’s just not my writing style.

What advice would you give to a novice blogger?

Know thyself. The more you try to guess readers’ preferences, and the more you try to bend your blog to fit them, the worse your blog will be. Each time I attempt to write a post I’m not particularly excited about for the sake of popular demand, it ends up sounding ridiculous. I’ve learned as an editor that the best writing is always the most honest; so too with blogging. The more one’s blog is a direct reflection of one’s personality and sense of purpose, the better it is.

What do you believe is the best way to gain subscribers?

Oh man, I have no idea. I’m sort of a social networking moron—I’m not even on Facebook—so it’s funny I write a blog! I’ve done the things I think I should—commented a lot at first, connected with other bloggers. I’m even on Twitter now, though I don’t “tweet” very often. I’m working hard on a newsletter that I’ll be debuting in November, and I really hope that I’ll get a bunch of subscriptions!!

A newsletter! How exciting – I'm ready to sign up right now!

I honestly think that the trick to getting a healthy readership is to write thoughtfully and well. The posts that have generated most attention have always been the ones I devoted real care to; the slapdash posts have been duds. Write well, and readers will come.

What is your vision for Choosing Raw? Has it changed since you first began?

Not really! It’s still (I hope) a welcoming and open-minded entrance into the raw life, and it’s still a professional tool for me. I think it’s become far more meditative than I imagined it would be—I spend as much time writing essays or answering questions as I do giving out practical tips or recipes. But that’s a welcome surprise.

Has it been worth it?

Oh yes. For every moment I spend blogging at 11:49 PM on a work night when I have too many other things that demand my time, I receive a reader email that touches my heart, or get to be a part of a conversation that inspires and enlightens me. My readers are amazingly smart and supportive, and I adore them.

And, of course, the blog helps my coaching/nutritionist’s practice. Given my full time day job, I don’t have the time to market my nutritionist’s services as actively as I’d like. The blog allows me to promote myself and reach potential clients around the country—for which I’m very grateful!

And most importantly: if you were able to choose between the ability to fly or to become invisible, which would you pick?

Well, I’m mortally terrified of heights, so I think I’ll pass on flying. I’ve got a booming voice, and I’m quite outgoing, so invisibility would be a welcome change of pace.

I love it! I would not have guessed you have a booming voice! That's fun to imagine!

Thank you so much Gena for sharing your thoughts on blogging with us today! It's easy to see that you are passionate about how you live and it's so inspiring to see how you've turned your passion into successful blog. Thank you for your contribution here with us today, and for your contribution to the healthy living community as well!

Do you have questions you'd like to have answered by guest bloggers in the future? Feel free to send any ideas or questions my way at mamasweeds@gmail.com