How a Beloved Food Blogger Got Her Start and Grew Her Business

While in the thick of raising kids, Amy Palanjian started a movement to de-stress family dinners. Now, she has a beloved website and a New York Times bestselling cookbook all her own.

Anyone who has ever agonized over mealtime with kids has likely found themselves on Amy Palanjian’s digital doorstep, Yummy Toddler Food. There, this mom of three has made a full-time career of developing simple, adaptable recipes and offering supportive resources aimed at taking the stress out of feeding young families. Earlier this year, Palanjian even authored a New York Times bestselling cookbook, Dinnertime SOS: 100 Sanity-Saving Meals Parents and Kids of All Ages Will Actually Want to Eat. 

By all counts, Yummy Toddler Food is a huge success, which makes its humble beginnings all the more inspiring. Before her food blog became a staple in every parents’ meal planning routine, Palanjian says it was just a hobby—one she dabbled in while working at publications such as Better Homes and Gardens and AllRecipes Magazine. 

It wasn’t until the print media landscape began to shift during the early months of the pandemic, flooding the industry with uncertainty, that Palanjian found herself yearning for a career change. In response, she worked in the fringe hours of family life, throwing herself into research and committing to gaining the skills she’d need to make her platform a success. 

Below, Palanjian reveals just how she took her love of fuss-free food from a full-time corporate job to freelance work to launching her beloved blog—all while in the thick of family life. 

‘I Didn’t Know What I Was Doing’

“I worked as a magazine editor for about a decade… the magazine industry contracted and so every job I had, the magazine was shut down. By the third one, I was freelance. I would have a job and then I'd be freelance and then I would have a job and then I’d be freelance. 

At some point after my daughter was born, I [realized] there wasn’t kid food [online]. Nothing was toddler specific and I just felt like I wanted to share recipes and advice because I was in that [stage]. 

I knew how to develop recipes. I knew how to speak to a specific audience. I didn't know how to be a blogger and I didn't know how to take photos. So I had these other jobs. I had freelancing. And I was doing the website on the side and, honestly, I was doing it badly. I didn't know what I was doing. 

I knew how to develop recipes. I knew how to speak to a specific audience. I didn't know how to be a blogger and I didn't know how to take photos.

There came a point when I had a job and I knew that [the publication] was going to be shut down. I thought, I have to turn the website into my job because I don't want to go to work every day and just know that that could be the day that it goes away. 

So I put myself through food blogging school: I listened to every podcast I could find and learned how to do search engine optimization. I bought a book about how to use a camera and learned how to take pictures, size them, and have my website formatted properly. That took about a year. And then it was around six months after I did all of that stuff that it turned into my full time job.”

I Worked During Naps When the World Shut Down

“All of my kids were home for most of their first years. I had a couple hours of babysitting and then I worked during their naps [during the pandemic]. It was not easy. But then, my son started daycare when he was a little bit older, which gave me a normal workday.

I [learned to be] very, very efficient with content. At that time, I didn't have to be shooting videos. So I was able to do it because it was just the website and static photos for Instagram. I try to do my work during the work day and not be shooting stuff on the weekends or after hours.

I [learned to be] very, very efficient with content.

There are some special projects where I want my kids in it with me. And then of course they're always here when I'm cooking dinner and that sort of stuff. But I did really make a shift like a little over a year ago or maybe longer than that to a lot of my videos are me without them or they're just the food. Most of all, pretty much all of the pictures on the website are just the food. I made a choice to make sure that the brand was facing outward and not facing my family because I want it to be a resource for everyone. And my sample size is three children!” 

I Identified the Parts of My Job I Like

“This is just the way that my brain works, coming from magazines: I always work with the idea of a calendar. Every week, I know what I need to do and I don't ever feel like I need to do everything. Like this morning, I was looking at my schedule, and there were three things on my list for today that I don't actually have to do this week. So I just took them off because I felt like there was not enough time. I think it's important to take that sort of mental load off of you. 

He takes all the pictures, he does all the editing, and then puts them on my server. I do not like that part of my job, so that's been a huge thing. 

I spent some time about a year and a half ago, working with someone who really helped me identify the parts of my job that I like and want to do, and the parts of my job that other people can do better than me. [Now], I have a photographer who comes once a week for one morning. He's usually here for three hours. He takes all the pictures, he does all the editing, and then puts them on my server. I do not like that part of my job, so that's been a huge thing. 

Then I have a really great assistant. She does all the things behind the scenes that I don't have time for. That has been a huge help as far as allowing me to continue focusing on the content… That took time to get to.” 

Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.