Join Katie as she talk with entrepreneur, social media influencer and “The Feel Good Foodie”, Yumna Jawad on her amazing journey, her new cookbook, her favorite recipes and food tips as well as advice for those looking to grow their own brand and social media presence.
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Hi, I’m Katie Kempner and welcome to Perspectives, which is a series of inspiring conversations with remarkable working women. And I am very excited to be talking today with Yumna Jawad. She’s an entrepreneur, social media influencer, cookbook author, and you probably already know her. So she doesn’t even need an introduction. But Yumna, welcome. Thank you so much for joining us.
Thank you so much, Katie, for having me. Excited to be here. So you have achieved a level of success that many content creators can only hope to achieve. So congratulations for that.
Thank you. Can you share with us, please, just a little bit about your journey to where you are today?
Absolutely. So I graduated from the University of Michigan Business School with a degree in marketing and I was really set out to conquer all things marketing. And so I worked in that field for about 10 years and I did, you know, consumer research. I did like in-store marketing, research marketing, just a lot of different aspects of it. And then after about 10 years, I went on maternity leave and I remember thinking like, I don’t know anything about digital marketing. Like what’s digital marketing? Like this is 2013. And I thought, you know, I think I’m going to start a social media account and just kind of like learn about how other brands are promoting themselves, but also like use it as an opportunity to learn how to cook myself. Because I had just gotten married like, you know, two or three years before that. I was still learning how to nourish my family and how to feed them things that made our bodies feel good. And so I had this like dual mission of like, I want to learn how to cook. Let me learn how to do it publicly. But at the same time, I want to learn more about this social media marketing that’s starting to evolve and digital marketing as well.
So I started an account and was just kind of having fun with it. And what happened was I was not set out to, you know, share recipes with anyone. I was not set out to make any money out of it. I just was, you know, trying to accomplish those two missions. And what ended up happening was everything that I started sharing, whether it was just a bowl of oatmeal or a quick quinoa salad, just got so many remarks about people asking for the recipe. And I would say, what do you want my recipe? I’m literally learning how to cook. I don’t know. I just like got the idea from this restaurant and I decided to try this dressing with it. And people kept asking for the recipe. So I started sharing the recipe on Instagram through a caption, thinking at the time that blogs were dead and Instagram was like the cool new place to share recipes. And before I knew it, you know, it got so much attention because all the recipes felt accessible. They felt delicious and at the same time healthy. You know, they all just had this healthy spin to them. So it started evolving. And then I started having a lot of fun with it. I started meeting a lot of people and then decided that, OK, maybe I should start a website because actually I think I could make money from it. Or maybe I should start a YouTube channel. And then I just started embracing one social media platform after another. And the recipes just had this like just aspect of them that just clicked with people. They felt, you know, like I said, approachable, accessible and healthy and delicious, most importantly. And I took advantage of every algorithm update and just, you know, stayed consistent and kept posting. And now, you know, Feel Good Foodie is a brand that has over 10 million followers combined on social media, which is just crazy. And then behind the scenes where people don’t see is the website that also has about 100 million page views a year, which is just insane.
That is absolutely amazing. So the Feel Good Foodie brand is the umbrella for everything that you do.
It is, yes. And then you also have Oath Oats. Can you tell us about that, please?
Yes. So Feel Good Foodie is basically a brand that’s dedicated to healthier recipes with feel good ingredients. And so under that umbrella, we’ve got the cookbook, we’ve got the recipes and we’ve got, you know, me as a personality creating recipes on social media. And then I really wanted just some kind of a product that would like be in people’s homes. I wanted just a way to not have everything be so digital, but I wanted some kind of a physical presence because I feel like it’s the legacy that I’ll leave behind, you know, aside from a cookbook. And so I really was trying to, you know, after 10 years of being on social media, I decided I want to do a product. And what’s the kind of product that, you know, I should do. And so I started thinking about what do people come to my website for? They come to my website for Mediterranean recipes. And they also really love anything related to oats. I had first shared an overnight oats recipe like eight yearsago or something like that. And now it has over 35,000 five-star reviews. And it’s ranked number one on Google when you search overnight oats, which is really cool. And then some of the comments I’ve gotten is like, oh, I just wish like I can taste the way you make it. Like it just looks so good the way you make it. And so I thought, what better than to create a packaged product that could be delivered to their home with the flavors and exact recipe that I would use. And so I created Oath Oats. And basically it is packaged dry overnight oats made with super clean, simple ingredients. And all you do is mix equal parts oats and milk and you’ve got breakfast the next day. And so I tried to make it as simple as possible, as cheap as possible and as easy as possible. And now, yeah, the brand is doing really well and people are really excited about it. And they’re like, give us more flavors now. And, you know, let’s, you know, give a single serve. And so I’m just constantly thinking of how to better serve my community through that product.
Is that a DTC brand, direct to consumer, or can people buy it in a store? Both, actually. So we started when I first started this with my partner, we thought, oh, it’s all about, you know, DTC. This is the wave of the future. And then what we realized was that it did really well to a certain extent, but it really needed this person, this presence in stores because it’s like cereal at the end of the day. And more people are buying cereal at grocery stores than they are online. And so we got into 114 stores just this past like few months ago. And we’re slowly trying to get into more stores as well.
That’s amazing. And it’s so just going back to something you said earlier. So you really didn’t know how to cook and not only taught yourself how to cook, but it turns out you’re a phenomenal cook. Yeah. And I taught like millions of strangers how to cook apparently, too. And I think what happened was I got a lot of the inspiration from my mom because growing up, we actually grew up in Africa. And so I lived there until I was 11 years old. And we were in a small town where we didn’t have many restaurants, maybe like two restaurants and one grocery store. And so my mom cooked every single day for us, breakfast, lunch and dinner. And any day that you would walk into my mom’s kitchen, like you would just smell like garlic and fresh parsley and onion sizzling. It was just the kind of environment that there was always something cooking. And my mom would always say, hey, you know, come in, come let me teach you how to make this. Let me teach you how to make that. And I was not interested, but I was always watching her do it. Right. I would sit on the counter and just like watch her chop an onion and just watch her roll grape leaves and do things like that. And so I think it was just something that I observed for so long. And when it came down to it, I was like, OK, now I actually have to learn how to cook because I moved away from my mom. I have kids like, OK, mom, help me. And so my mom started teaching me like one phone call at a time how to make rice, you know, how to cook steak. And then I started getting inspiration online and on TV and food magazines. And turns out I’m actually good at it and I actually love it now.
That’s amazing. See, that’s the OK. So my mother almost never cooked. She was good at it when she did. But it’s like she doesn’t move near me and she just dropped off a loaf of banana bread that she has learned how to bake since I’ve grown up. And she said, here, this is for my husband, Rob, but don’t eat it yet. And I thought, oh, my God, we’re celebrating my mom. She can make banana bread now. That’s so exciting. I love that. It’s a good thing I didn’t want to go into the same business as you.
So you mentioned and, you know, obviously having the background you did before you started this sounds like it was extremely helpful to you. But you said you without getting giving away any of your trade secrets, you said you studied the algorithms and you’ve learned from there. Are there any tips that you have for people that are listening that might want to grow their own social media presence? Yeah, I think that a lot of times people would come to me now and say, hey, I want to I want to make money on social media. I heard you can make a lot of money and I want to I want to try to make and I know how to cook and I think I can do this as a job. Like, what can you, you know, can you help me get started? Or like, how do I reach out to brands and how do I do this? And I always tell people, I’ll say, go like go home and create content, whether that’s photography, whether you’re doing a podcast, whether you’re doing videos, whatever it is that you’re doing, go create content. And I want you to do like three, four or five pieces of content per week. And I just want you to churn them out for four to five to six weeks and then come back to me and let’s chat. And I think that’s what ends up happening is I’ve probably given that advice to like 20 people and like one person came back because it is so difficult to just create content and be consistent. So I would say for anybody who’s getting started is to actually just start and then thinkabout a void that you feel in the world, in the space that you are trying to serve. So if it is something, for example, dealing with recipes, like maybe there aren’t enough gluten-free baking recipes and you feel like there’s a void in the space and you have a really cool spin on it that makes it really easy. Do that and do it consistently and do it over and over and over and over again until you have about, I don’t know, 60 pieces of content that you can really analyze and say like, what do I like? What did I enjoy doing? What did people like? And where’s the overlap in that Venn diagram of what I enjoyed doing and people enjoyed watching that actually I can do for a really long time.
And I think that looking back and what worked for me, it was that consistency because when I first started on Instagram, I was like, well, how do I, I see like the more you post, the more you can grow, but how can I create so much content? And then I decided to just simplify it. I was like, well, I’m a mom who’s making easy approachable recipes. So what did I have for breakfast? And what am I snacking on for, you know, between like picking up my kids from school and their soccer game? And what are we having for dinner today? And it didn’t have to be fancy. It didn’t have to be perfect, but it was something that was relatable.
So I would say, you know, be consistent, be relatable and try to find a niche that is not completely saturated. Does it feel like a lot of pressure? Because you have to, you know, you have to maintain your followers. You have to continue to grow. You have to constantly be, I have a niece who’s a content creator and not of your level, but I think she has like 50,000, 60,000 followers enough for brands to pay her some money. But she says it’s exhausting. And she’s fashion. She’s quite beautiful and always posting in clothes. But like, sounds like it’s a bit exhausting. It really is.
And I think the exhausting part is that the more you create, the more you can grow and the more money you can make. And I think the idea of that feels super exhausting because your workday can never be done. And so what I, because of that, and so when I first started, I was like, okay, the more I can do, the more is better. And like when Reels came out, when I talked about like, you know, really hacking the algorithms, it’s like, okay, Reels just came out. And so when they came, when Instagram first started doing short form video Reels, I was literally posting seven times a week because I thought, well, this is an opportunity to grow a lot. And guess what? I think I grew probably a million followers in one year on Instagram because I was like, this is what Instagram is pushing and this is what I need to be doing today.
And so I did it so much and that part of it is super exhausting. And I think that there should be seasons in your career where you really ramp up to, you know, create a lot if needed or to create, you know, to really like just work hard and work tirelessly nights and weekends and as much as you can. But you also have to balance that with, okay, now I’ve got that figured out. Now I just kind of, what is my baseline? And kind of go back to that baseline.
And so I’ll always say like, what is your baseline? And now for me on the website, my baseline is only two recipes a week. Like I used to be three to four and now I’m like, even though I have these tons of ideas, I’m only doing two a week. And what I’m doing is when I have an idea, I just put it and I schedule it for something like in a few months. And as much as I want to share all these recipes, I just can’t.
And same thing when it comes to creating short form video, my goal is only three videos. I only make three videos a week, even though sometimes I’m like, oh, I have another really good idea. It’s like, we’re not doing it. We’re only doing three a week. And so if something were to happen where there’s this huge opportunity and I could make more money or just like take advantage of an algorithm or take advantage of a time period where people were visiting my site, I would totally take advantage of that and ramp up, which is something that I did too during the pandemic when we all went into lockdown that first month.
I actually made, I actually published 60 recipes. It was a 60 or like, I think it was 75 recipes on my website in a row. I’d never done that before. I used to be three to four a week and I literally published every single day for 75 days nonstop. And then when Reels happened, I did the same thing with like one month, seven days a week videos. And so I’ve had those moments that I’ve like, oh, there’s a big opportunity here because this is needed and I’m happy to ramp up, but I just need to make sure to come back down as needed.
So I think it’s all about that balance, you know, and knowing that more is more, but you can’t always do more because it’s going to take too much away from you. And then you have that feeling. And I think this is across so many different things, not just doing what you do, where it’s just like, oh man, I’m being pulled in so many directions. I don’t even know what to do. Absolutely. Yeah, exactly. And so I have to divideup my time and block out my days in certain ways because otherwise you can be pulled in so many different directions. Well, let’s talk about your recipes and the Feel Good Foodie Cookbook. So how did your, this actually probably sounds like a silly question because you have all these recipes. So instead of asking you how it came to be, how did you decide which recipes should go in the cookbook?
Well, so when you sign a contract with a publisher versus a traditional publishing versus self-publishing, you actually have to create brand new recipes. So you can’t actually take the recipes from your website. And so I think you’re allowed to take like 10% or 15% of your existing recipes, but it all has to be brand new. And so that was really exciting for me.
And so what I thought was I needed a theme because when you look at the Feel Good Foodie website, there’s about 1,500 recipes and it can be all kinds of recipes. I’ve got Indian recipes and I’ve got like 80% of it is Mediterranean recipes, but it could be like a broccoli and chicken casserole. It could be, you know, like a pizza tortilla, just all kinds of recipes that I feel like families would enjoy, focusing mostly on Mediterranean.
When it came down to this book, I was like, I need a theme and it all has to fit together so that if you take something from the sides chapter and something from the salad, something from the seafood chapter, it all works well together. So it all had to fit a theme and I do this quite often where I throw dinner parties and I just cook like six recipes from my book and they all just go well together. They’re really just that kind of flavor.
And so the theme for this book was everyday recipes elevated with Mediterranean ingredients. And so I basically picked eight ingredients that I thought like were really easy to use. They last forever in your pantry, except for lebne, which is like Greek yogurt, which you can make and it will last like, you know, a good month in your fridge if you wanted it to. And then so everything, not everything, but most of the recipes will have one of those eight. And so it kind of tied things together in that way. And it was at the same time too, I tried keeping things super simple. And so it was all recipes that can be done within 30 minutes, 10 ingredients or less, but they have something special about them that just tastes so good.
That’s amazing. So, okay, in that vein, many of the people that listen are working, they’re either working in offices, who’ve gone back to an office or they’re working from home. So do you have any good recipes for a quick but healthy lunch, which is a place I think people often go sideways?
Yeah, I think lunch can be, I think lunch can be really tricky. And so I think what I like to do for lunches is I like to make large pasta salads and I like to include like tuna in those pasta salads or shredded chicken or white beans, for example. And that way you’re making a pound of pasta, you’re throwing in there tons of veggies and you’re putting in there things that are going to last like a few days. So it’s like, you’re maybe not putting in like cucumbers, for example, but maybe putting in peppers that are going to be a little bit thicker and not as watery. So they’ll last a few days. So I love a pasta salad. I think those are super fun. And I have a couple in my cookbook that work really well. And it just feels like you’re eating a lot of veggies and then, but you’re still eating pasta and you’re still getting that protein that’s going to make you feel satiated.
And then for dinner too, a lot of the recipes in the cookbook are just simple, approachable things. Like there’s one, it’s like a chicken zucchini skillet. And so you’re just, it’s just chopped like cubed chicken, chopped zucchini. You’ve got onions and garlic in there, but I put capers in there. And it’s just like, it all happens in one pan. But because of the capers, because of the spices that I use, I was literally cooking it yesterday and there was a contractor in my house who was like, what are you doing? What does that smell? He was just like, and he had to taste it. He’s like, I need, I’m like, what’s the onion and garlic, but this can really come together in under 30 minutes. And he’s like, we cook chicken and zucchini all the time, but it doesn’t smell like that. And I’m like, what’s the capers and the garlic and the spices. And really it’s just super accessible things of just taking humble ingredients like chicken and zucchini and just turning them into something that feels a little bit elevated and special.
So I know you are also known for sharing food hacks.
Yeah. What’s one we should all know?
Let’s see. What’s a cool food hack that we should all know? I’m trying to think. I really like the one where you put a strainer on top of your pot of pasta and then you kind of strain it that way. So instead of dipping, instead of pouring your pasta and hot water into a strainer with something under it, you’re just basically like putting it on top of it. And that way you’re not transferring it back and forth. It just stays in the pot. So I like that idea. I think that’s like a fun, easy hack that’s easy toYeah, that’s a fun one that it’s like top of mind. And where, for anyone that doesn’t know, where exactly can they find you on Instagram? How can they find you? I’m everywhere on social media, on the website, as Feel Good Foodie. And you can also search on Google for Feel Good Foodie and find it that way. So I’m on TikTok and YouTube and Facebook and Threads and all the things. And it’s Feel Good Foodie everywhere.
I personally spend an hour answering my DMs every single day and answering comments as well. And so I’m always happy to respond to comments, respond to DMs and just chat with other moms and other working women. Thank you. It’s been a pleasure.
And finally, is there one piece of advice that has really helped you through your life and your career that you could please share with us?
Yeah, I like this idea of 1% infinity. And it’s the idea of getting 1% better forever. So whenever you first start a new job, whenever you’re a mom for the first time, whenever you’re doing just a new project for the first time, it feels so overwhelming and so exhausting. And especially in the data world that we live in now, there’s just so much information out there, so much to consume and so many ways to get better at what you’re doing.
I also think that whatever job that you’re doing, whether it is like you’re a mom or whether you work in corporate America or you’re an entrepreneur, whatever job that you’re doing, you can’t just stay stagnant. You can’t stay who you are the whole time. You have to continue to get better.
So my whole approach is like, how do I get just 1% better every single day? And you kind of build upon that and it just exponentially grows. If you look at where you were and where you are, it’s just amazing to see the progress at the end of the day. So I like to think about it that way. And that way it doesn’t feel like, hey, I need to take these 10 courses today to learn all about food photography. It’s like today I’m going to learn about aperture with my camera.
Now I don’t do my food photography anymore. Now I have two talented photographers that take my photos for me. But there was a season in my life where I was so focused on photography and every week, every day I was like, okay, I’m learning this skill today. I’m going to try to capture more light. I’m going to try to work on shadows today, et cetera.
Well, it sounds to me like you personally are much more than 1%. And it’s working for you. Thank you so much for sharing that with us. Thank you so much.
Yeah, it’s been such a fun journey and learned so much. And it’s amazing to see like what I do today is so different than what I did a year ago. My job is literally different every month. Like it just continues to evolve. And I think you just have to have the excitement and the will to just kind of evolve with it and see where it takes you.
Perfect. Thank you so much, Katie. I appreciate it. And thank you for listening. Thank you.
