Prioritizing joy-led content creation, leaning into email, and building a sustainable business as a food creator with Ashlea Carver from All the Healthy Things.

-----

Welcome to episode 565 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Ashlea Carver from All the Healthy Things.

How to Keep Creating Without Burning Out

Ashlea Carver has been creating food content for ten years, and in that time she's built a well-rounded and financially diversified businesses. But longevity in this industry isn't just about strategy — it's about learning how to navigate the harder parts of being a creator online.

In this episode, Ashlea and Bjork dig into the mindset shifts that have kept her going — how she handles comparison and how she's made a deliberate choice to lead with joy in her business decisions to avoid burnout.

They also get into the practical side of her business — why her blog is still her most valuable platform and biggest revenue driver, why she's prioritizing email, and how she thinks about Instagram in an era where personality-forward content is so important. It's an honest conversation about building a business that lasts — one that doesn't burn you out, doesn't make you dependent on any single platform, and actually feels good to run.

Three episode takeaways:

• Why slowing down is one of the most important things you can do for your business — Ashlea shares why she carves out intentional time a few times a year for an "owner's retreat" — a dedicated window to step back, assess what's working and what isn't, and make decisions from a place of clarity rather than reaction. She and Bjork talk about the difference between being driven by purpose versus being driven by numbers, and why leaning into joy is a legitimate business strategy.
• Why your blog and email list are still your most valuable assets — Ashlea shares why her blog remains her biggest revenue driver and why owning your platform matters now more than ever. She also explains how she's built an email strategy around three weekly broadcasts, what she's experimenting with on the paid subscriber side, and why email is the best buffer she has against algorithm changes.
• How Ashlea is thinking about AI, Instagram, and the future of her brand — From her decision to bring more personality into her content as a direct response to the rise of AI, to her thoughtful reluctance to lean too heavily into AI tools in her own workflow, Ashlea shares a refreshingly intentional approach to showing up online. She also breaks down what her monetization mix actually looks like — ad revenue, sponsored content, affiliate — and why she hired an agency to help manage brand partnerships.

Resources:

• All the Healthy Things
• Fit Foodie Finds
• Grow Your Email List and Connect with Your Audience with Allea Grummert
• Duett
• 398: The Importance of Surveying Your Audience with Email with Allea Grummert
• 288: Email for Bloggers – Maximizing the Value of Your Email List with Allea Grummert
• 229: Email Marketing – Strategies for Bloggers with Allea Grummert
• Kit
• Grocers List
• Mediavine
• Raptive
• Turning Followers into Revenue with Ben Jabbawy from Grocers List
• How Molly Thompson Grew Her Email List from 15K to 100K
• Using AI to Eliminate Busywork and Unlock Creative Time with Jason Glaspey
• CookIt Media
• Sally McKenney from Sally's Baking Addiction on Creating Success
• Follow Ashlea on Instagram
• Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group

Thank you to our sponsors!

This episode is sponsored by Yoast.

Interested in working with us too? Learn more about our sponsorship opportunities and how to get started here.

If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to [email protected].

Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.