Celebrating Our 10th Birthday

Jessie standing in a white kitchen holding a fork with pasta twirled around it.

"It starts with a strawberry." ⁠

That's the very first thing I wrote 10 WHOLE YEARS AGO (...omg) when I pressed "publish" on the inaugural blog post for lifeasastrawberry.com.

I'd just graduated from college, and I was working two nonprofit jobs to make some money before grad school.

I was working for arts and education organizations, but I'd come from the food world: my first jobs were in community kitchens and catering companies. In undergrad, I spent two years on grants researching food security and sustainable food systems. I liked those nonprofit jobs, and I missed talking about food all day. So I decided to start a website.

I figured I could try my hand at one of these newfangled things called "food blogs," and recruited my then-boyfriend (now husband) and our roommate to brainstorm blog names over a pitcher of margaritas.

Somehow, we settled on Life As A Strawberry (why or how, I honestly couldn't tell you. Possibly because the other names we liked were already taken. Possibly the tequila). I bought the domain name, snapped a few pictures, and the rest is history.

In 2012, this website had a few scattered recipes, some personal stories, and a handful of devoted readers (hi, Mom).

Side note: If you had told me then that this would someday be my full-time, real, ACTUAL JOB, I probably would have punched you in the face. Because that would have been RIDICULOUS.⠀

I kept the blog going through grad school (where I studied, YOU GUESSED IT: food). By the time I finished my Master's, I was feeling a real pull toward blogging. I had this gut feeling that LAAS could be something...I don't know. Cool.

So in 2015, I took a leap and made LAAS my full-time job. I've never looked back.

Fast forward to 2022, where we have 300+ recipes on our site, an incredible team of full- and part-time employees, and tens of millions of website visits under our belts. I am still in complete and utter shock that this is what I get to do for a living.

Strawberry on a piece of parchment paper. — The very first photo I took for Life As A Strawberry, circa July 2012.

To celebrate our double-digit birthday, we're throwing an internet party!

In the months leading up to our official birthday in July, we're releasing some fun (and free!) surprises for you so that we can celebrate together all year long.

Also: I just want to say thank you.

YOU are the reason we get to talk about food for a living, and YOU are the reason we're able to support the causes we care so much about. Every time you visit the site, make our recipes, or leave a comment on our posts, please know that you're helping us give a little back - and that we're eternally grateful for you ❤️⁠⠀

Happy 10 years, Life As A Strawberry - here's to many more! 🎉

Who we are

Jessie and Rhonda standing in the kitchen.

Life As A Strawberry is a food and recipe site devoted to easy, made-from-scratch, weeknight-friendly comfort food.

We specialize in breaking complex information into achievable action steps so you can tackle any recipe you set your mind to. We test our recipes relentlessly (read: we make every mistake in the book so you don't have to!) We love helping you cook, eat, and live better: and get closer to your food in the process. Learn more about us (and read our manifesto!) on our about page.