From Blog To Book Deal: The Little Green Spoon’s Indy Power On Her Recipe For Success

When Indy Power first started her food blog, The Little Green Spoon, while in college, it was very much a hobby. Three years on though, it’s become something of a mini-empire, with her Instagram following inching ever-closer to 50K and her recipes attracting a following from all over the world.

With a debut book set to launch on September 1st and a brand new collaboration with Camile under her belt – her signature dish Pineapple Fried Quinoa is available to order until August 14th – Indy is well on her way to becoming a household name in the world of healthy eating. We chatted to her to find out how she’s made her blog stick out from the crowd – and of course, what food she eats to fuel her for a busy day.

When did you first get started with blogging?

I started my blog in October 2013 while in my third year of Business at Trinity. I originally started it for a bit of fun and even kept it a secret from my family and friends for the first few months. I never dreamt I could make a career out of it!

Source: camile.ie

Your recipes have a huge focus on health and nutrition. Have you always followed a healthy eating ethos?

I grew up eating really great home cooking. My mom is an amazing cook, so we always ate things made with really nutritious ingredients, even if they weren’t particularly health-focused. Towards the end of secondary school I started to take an interest in eating well and once I started college I started doing a lot of my own research and making gradual changes with what I ate. The more I learned, the better I started feeling and it quickly became my lifestyle.

There are hundreds of thousands of food and recipe blogs out there – what makes The Little Green Spoon stand out?

There’s a huge focus on simplicity with my recipes. Everything is really easy and most of them are super quick. Plus, they’re also packed with flavour. Food is meant to be enjoyed and anyone should be able to make a healthy meal even if they’re busy or short on time. I’m not a trained chef by any means, so if I can do it, anyone can!

What’s your favourite part of the blogging and recipe planning process?

My favourite part is definitely the recipe testing. I adore getting time to experiment in the kitchen, but over time I’ve come to love the photography side of things too. At the beginning I was just taking the pictures on my iPhone but it’s really fun now to take things a little more seriously with a real camera. I’ve learnt so much. I’d love to have a little more time to learn properly but for now I’m just picking it up as I go along!

A photo posted by The Little Green Spoon (@thelittlegreenspoon) on Nov 17, 2015 at 5:25am PST

Your Instagram is full of gorgeous food pics! Does it take time to get each photo right?

The most important thing for me is that I only ever use natural light. Sometimes it takes quite a while to get a photo that I’m happy with but the ingredients I use are all so colourful that it makes it easier to get a nice shot. A pretty plate never hurts either!

Congrats on the book deal! How has it been preparing for your first book?

It’s been such an amazing experience. It’s been a labour of love so I’ve enjoyed every bit of the process. I’m so excited to share it with everyone. Plus, I’m dying to see my recipes being made by readers! I also have a few other really exciting projects coming up after the book comes out on September 1st, so it’s going to be a busy year.

The Little Green Spoon hits shelves on September 1st, 2016 (Ebury Press/Penguin)

What’s a day in your life like right now?

I’m really busy so every day is different which is great! There are a lot of early starts, cooking, photoshoots and loads of writing. Once the book comes out I’ll be out and about at events quite a bit more too. My days are always so varied – I love getting creative in different ways for each new project, which is why it’s been so much fun working with Camile to create the new dish.

Indy’s Pinapple Fried Quinoa, available to order at camile.ie now.

No matter how busy I am though, I do try to keep a bit of a routine. I always make sure to factor in time for the gym, and I try to wind down every evening without social media or my phone.

Equally importantly, what’s a day on your plate like?

I pretty much eat exactly what you see on my blog. I usually start the day with some sort of egg dish, usually with avocado or smoked salmon. Then lunch is a mixture of whatever I’m testing that day – so lots of yummy vegetables, quinoa salads and the like.

Low and slow scrambled eggs are the best ? so worth dragging myself out of bed a few minutes early! #thelittlegreenspoon

A photo posted by The Little Green Spoon (@thelittlegreenspoon) on Apr 14, 2016 at 11:37pm PDT

Then for dinner I usually have some sort of fish or meat with a few vegetable sides or something really comforting like a curry or stew. I also eat a lot of nuts and seeds and quite a bit of dark chocolate. I love baking so there’s always some sort of nutritious treat on the counter or in the fridge to snack on!

What’s one go-to recipe you turn to when you’re short on time?

I make the Mediterranean Chicken from my blog all the time. It’s so easy and I love that there’s only one piece of washing up! I usually double it and keep the leftovers for lunch the next day. I’m obsessed with the sauce!

Indy’s Mediterranean Chicken

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