Hi, I’m Ari and I created The Frugal Spinster in the midst of a global pandemic in the year 2020 – the perfect time to start a blog!
My plan is to create mostly vegan, mostly healthy, mostly cheap recipes for meals, snacks, and desserts. I’d like to help people who want to cook at home more but aren’t sure where to start, who want to eat healthier but feel overwhelmed, and who want to spend less money on food. I want to show people that it doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive to eat healthy food at home.
There are a few key areas I want to focus on with this new blogging adventure of mine. Blog-venture?
HEALTH
While I love food and don’t believe in cutting out all flavor just to make something “healthy,” I love to tweak recipes to make them as healthy as possible without sacrificing taste. Due to many vegan friends and family members, I’m constantly figuring out how to “veganize” recipes, especially desserts. I want to continue to find new and fun ways to do this.
MONEY
There’s a reason the word “frugal” is in this blog’s name. I am obsessed with saving money. I want this to be a big part of what I share here: how much I’ve spent on each recipe, how and where to buy the least expensive ingredients (and why it’s okay to spend a little more sometimes), and how you can still eat well while not going broke. I’d also love to share money-saving ideas that aren’t necessarily about food. After two decades in New York City, I’ve learned a few things.
EFFICIENCY
I love spending time in the kitchen, but not more than necessary. Whether this means cooking in large batches to freeze for later or chopping up a week’s worth of vegetables, I want to share some things I’ve learned about how to maximize your time in the kitchen so you can spend more time doing more important things – like eating.
SIMPLICITY
I am many things, but a master chef is not one. I avoid complicated recipes that require dozens of ingredients and a degree in culinary arts. On this blog, I will favor easy-to-follow recipes. In addition, as a single person without kids, I will likely focus on what I typically make for myself: single serving meals and large batches of food to store for later use. This isn’t to say I won’t make “family-style” meals, but it might not be my focus.
ABOUT ME
Some quick facts: I grew up on Long Island and currently live in New York City. I have run three marathons. I have a friendly and opinionated golden retriever named MacGregor. I am trying to learn Welsh. My past career goals include broadcast journalist, psychologist, singer/songwriter, late night comedy writer, and doctor. I still want to be a doctor. I have three amazing sisters and four awesome nephews. When I’m not working on my blog or walking my dog, I enjoy researching my family tree. I love black licorice. I hate writing in the third person.
THE WHY
I’ve been thinking about starting a food blog for a long time. The parts were already there – they just needed assembling. I love sharing recipes with friends and family. I’ve been a professional photographer since 2007. I’ve been a paid and unpaid writer. I’ve been writing (unpaid) since 2017 at mybodyisamachine.com, my personal blog mostly about running. I love to tweak recipes, do experimental bakes, and, most importantly, take pictures of my food.
Also, due to the pandemic, I am not currently – at the launch of this blog, anyway – working.
At this point, it almost seems dumb not to start a food blog.
MY PARENTS
I credit my parents with inspiring me to start this new online journey.
My mother, Joan, who died in 2017 from cancer, always encouraged me to start a blog. This is partly why I started my running blog. She was a vegan, baker, dog lover, hobby photographer, and ESL teacher. She loved to cook. Her baking was especially stellar – she was one of those people who never measured anything and it always came out perfect. She was a great writer, had several personal blogs, and even self-published two books of poetry.
My father, Charles, a beloved English teacher for 50 years, was less of a cook but always enjoyed a good grilled burger and cold beer. He loved writing, reading, the outdoors, and was a doting grandfather. In April 2020, he died from complications due to COVID-19. It’s very strange to no longer have my parents in the world. I can think of no better way to honor them than by combining my love of food, photography, and writing to create something all my own.
I am dedicating this new project of mine to their memory.
ABOUT THE SPINSTER THING
Finally, you might be wondering why the word “spinster” is in this blog’s name. Spinster is an old-fashioned term for an unmarried woman past a “certain” age, or a woman unlikely to marry. This is me! For the record, I love being a spinster and have no desire to change this aspect of my life. I thought it would be fun to reclaim the word as something positive. Also, the dot com was available – a huge plus.
I’m excited for this new little blogging adventure. Thank you for stopping by.
