“My philosophy surrounding food and fitness is all about balance,” says Founder of Fit Foodie Finds, Lee Funke. “Over exercising and disordered eating is a thing of my past and today I strive to eat intuitively and move my body daily. I care about the food that goes into my body, but no foods are off limits! Yes, that includes cinnamon bears, donuts, and beer.”
This is the philosophy that inspired and fueled the successful website “Fit Foodie Finds.” A website that focuses on living a healthy and balanced lifestyle through sharing recipes, workouts, travel, style and body positivity. Lee has had a passion for food and fitness for as long as she can remember. She grew up as an athlete understanding the importance of health and wellness. It has always been a part of her life. She then started an informal blog in college that shared inspiration with recipes and fitness. During this time she was also on her own personal journey with finding the right balance to be healthy and most importantly, to be happy. She knew others were also searching for the same information so it was a natural fit to be able to help others by sharing her knowledge.
Being a creative person, Lee has always been interested in content creation and food photography, which stemmed from her love of cooking. She gravitated to jobs in the creative field where she gained knowledge about social media, content creation and brand online presence. This experience intrigued and motivated her to take a leap and start her own website in 2011 at 23 years old. The once informal blog she started in college evolved into a small publishing company. ‘This was a big risk, but completely worth it to do what you love everyday,” says Funke. Today the website has millions of views a day and thousands of followers on social media.
The primary audience is females 24-45 years old ranging from single women to mothers. “It’s been a fun experience to grow with the audience through the years,” says Funke. “The male audience has been increasing, with interest in the grilling and meat content. We love meat and they love meat. Overall, our audience shares the common interest in being healthy while still being able to be yourself and not feel like rules are restricting you and making you unhappy. Food and fitness plans should be positive and bring happiness to your life.”
Fit Foodie Finds is a fully women run business. “I have two employees now and we strive everyday to break the barrier and create the best content that connects with our readers,” says Funke. “We are a small but mighty team that shares the same passion, and we are always lifting each other up.” Linley Richter is the Chief Recipe Developer and Community Manager. She joined the team in 2015 and specializes in social media, recipes and event planning. She has experience in digital marketing and working with non-profits. Chief Operating Officer, Emily Richter, spent the first 10 years of her career in marketing and advertising roles and side gigging with Fit Foodie Finds until becoming a full-time employee in 2018. Emily focuses on business operations, sponsorships and brand collaborations.
“We are excited for what the future holds,” says Funke. “Our goal is to eventually expand into a studio of our own and have space for other creators to be able to come and create content. The more we grow, the more the website grows and gets us closer to our sales goals and hitting that million dollar mark.”
The website is primarily food focused and highlights cooking recipes with real food that tastes good, all with a bit of Midwestern twist. This is not your typical food and dieting site because it emphasizes having food freedom and not limiting yourself. Featuring great recipes like quick flavorful meals, grilling the perfect salmon, cooking with whole foods, new cocktail recipes – the variety is endless. You will also find helpful lifestyle blogs about travel, style, home and overall wellness. Fit Foodie Finds also has an online shopping store that features new and trendy products for the kitchen and home, along with beauty and clothing. For the latest recipes and lifestyle blogs visit www.fitfoodiefinds.com.