The simplest things in life give the most happiness. Silently walking, gazing at the sunset, renting your favorite movie, eating a delicious meal, listening to your favorite music on loop, reading a novel before sleeping or singing in the shower.

Cooking may be a routine chore for some women but for Sanjeeta, it is the gateway to ultimate happiness, fulfillment of her passion and opening the window of her kitchen to the world which holds the finest collection of her food recipes, moments of joy and pages from her life that exudes pure, guilty pleasures of Food and everything that surrounds it!

Born in Udaipur, Sanjeeta, a mother of two is a food blogger who after the stagnant 10 years of married life ventured out in the field of blogging from the comfort of her home. In 2009, LiteBite.in happened and in few years, she was voted among India’s top 30 Food Bloggers of 2013.

Her interests do not limit to only cooking and blogging, she is an author, photographer and food stylist. Always open to creativity and experiments, she cooks 100% vegetarian food and believes in healthy cooking.

Here is the excerpt of the interview:

Q. When and Why did you start blogging?

My blog Lite Bite was started seven years ago for a very simple reason – to keep a record of recipes and since then my life has never been the same. At first I was just documenting the recipes I cooked at home but slowly started to get interested in food photography and food styling.

Lite Bite has now become my creative outlet and an expression of many other things I am passionate about in life: traveling, food photography and food styling to name a few.

Q. How did the transition happen from a mother of two to a food blogger?

I love cooking and trying out regional recipes and traditional foods of countries across the world.

Although there was a lot of cooking happening at home, my learning graph was stagnant. That is when I discovered the amazing world of food blogging. It was a slow and natural progression for me to create a place where I could share my passion for food and learn new things in life.

And food blogging is a perfect medium where I could learn, connect and celebrate good food with blogger friends at the comfort of my home.

Q. What has been the most daunting task when you initially started blogging?

Computers did not make their presence when I passed out from my school in 1986 at Udaipur, Rajasthan. This could be one of the reasons I was never comfortable working with electronic gadgets.

Web technology, digital photography, content writing and finding time to blog were a few hurdles when I started Lite Bite.

But then, I was able to quickly overcome most of these hurdles by reading online tutorials, better time management and moral support from family and friends.

Q. How do you manage your life as a housewife and a professional food blogger?

Sometimes I feel that pursuing one’s passion is a luxury you cannot afford to indulge in everyday.

Food blogging can be a lot of work when you don the cap of a chef, photographer, stylist and a writer to create blog posts for your blog. Hectic lifestyle, family commitments and responsibility towards bringing up my children keep my passion at bay, at times. And I do struggle every day to fit my passion into my life, but that does not deter me from pursuing my dreams any less.

I do believe in the saying, “Be brave and confident to follow what is in your heart, and the universe will harmonize in your favor”.

Q. Are your posts impromptu or you spend time ascertaining what your next post is going to be?

All the blog posts on Lite Bite are planned out days before I press the publish button. It helps me structure what I want to convey.

I keep a draft folder on my laptop where I write down ideas and food stories I hear from my mother, MIL and friends. All I need is to pick up the relevant story, work around the recipe, plan for the props and photograph the dish before writing the final post.

And yes, I let the post sit in draft for 2 days for any last minute tweaks to be made before hitting the publish button.

Q. You expanded your vista with food styling and photography. Tell us something about that.

Working on my blog has taught me pick up new skill sets. I started dabbling into areas I would never have thought I could, food photography and food styling are two such activities.

I started reading topics related to food photography and experimenting upon setting up food shots in natural light at home. Things started falling in place quickly, and then one fine day I received my first call for a commercial photo-shoot in 2011. Since then, there has been no looking back.

I have successfully completed several national and international food styling projects for advertising industries, packaging industries and television commercials till date.

Q. Who is Sanjeeta beyond ‘Lite Bite- the Food Blog?’

I am basically a simple, friendly and fun loving person settled in Chennai, where I live with my husband and two children.

I was born and raised in Udaipur from where my fascination for food, art and nature continued to grow. I love long nature walks, traveling and listening to soft music.

Q. Which is your all time favorite recipe?

Some of our family favorite recipes are Baby Potato Pops, Flax seeds crackers and groundnut stuffed Brinjal curry. These recipes are passed on to me by my mother and I cook these over and again with many twists and makeover to suit our palate.

But the recipe which wins hands down in my home is the traditional Daal Dhokli from Rajasthan. This is one recipe which keeps my children occupied from its inception to completion. They call it ‘Rajasthani Pasta’ and love to create their own shapes of Dhokli. If it is flower shaped Dhoklis for my daughter, son shapes his share of dough into cricket balls and bats.

These bonds and memories associated with food is what keeps me motivated to cook more and share the same on my blog time and again.

Q. What is the most gratifying aspect of blogging for you?

Starting my food blog is one of the best things I’ve ever done in my life. The most important aspect of blogging is the power to reach out to people across the world from the comfort of my computer screen.

The love & admiration from the readers, making new friends, learning new cuisine and culture of different countries are a few other pointers which keep me blogging.

Q. What is your advice to those women/housewives who want to start blogging?

It’s never too late to make your dreams come true. At forty plus, I am living my dream every single day through my blog Lite Bite.

Discover new passions in life and never stop pushing & challenging yourself to achieve them. My advice to those women/housewives who are thinking of staring a food blog is to “start now” and enjoy the process!

Q. Let us wrap the interview with quick questions:

1. Favorite ingredient to cook with

Turmeric

2. Quickest and Best recipe of all time

No-bake chocolate Brownies.

3. Your pick up dish

Vegetable Theplas

4. Favorite dish not cooked by you

Ghewar, a sweet from Rajasthan

5. Which is the best Romantic Meal?

Salsa dip with Tortilla chips, a creamy vegetable Risotto and no-cook Avocado-chocolate mousse to round off the dinner.

6. One recipe that you would want to pass on

My millet Daal-Dhokli recipe.

 A fulfilling treat indeed! Thank you Sanjeeta for your time.