Today’s Loving Lately is dedicated to one thing, and one thing only… The Balanced Blonde App is officially released and available for download!!! I don’t even know where to begin because I am so outrageously excited to share this with all of you. 
You’ve heard me dropping in little tidbits of information about the app for, well, months and months. I could never give an exact estimation of a launch date because there was so much that went into this release… between the incredible Cyrus from TouchZen Media, the 70+ recipes and healthy living guides, the food photos (yes I made and ate everything, and it’s all bomb), the FAQ section, the shopping list and favorites features, the “Share” features, and the process it goes through once we send to Apple… it’s a waiting game!
Plus, when have you ever known me to have a launch date that I actually stick to? I either get way too excited and release things way in advance (ahem, TBV Cleanse…) or I take on way too much and have to push certain projects back (I won’t even go there right now).
Well, here was an instance where everything went exactly as planned, we heard back from Apple with the okay, we launched it to friends and family, and, ummm… it hit #1 in the Food & Drink Category in the App Store BEFORE I EVEN RELEASED TO MY READERS!
I died. And then I died again. And it’s been 24 hours and I am still dying.
And now that all my gushing is over (unless you read my review of my own app in the app store which I thought would be anonymous and now I can’t figure out how to delete it… #killme), I thought telling you about the app in Q&A style would probably answer the most questions in the most efficient way possible!
Q: What exactly is in The Balanced Blonde App, anyway?!
A: Oh, babes, let me tell you. The app has 70+ recipes (and counting!) with full food photos, ingredients, method and blog-post style descriptions to go along with them. There are also Healthy Living Guides (think “Tips How Not to Overeat on the Holidays,” “14 Steps to Making the Perfect Green Smoothie,” “8 Tips for Losing Bloat and Water Weight,” etc. It ALSO has a Shopping List feature (so cool!!!) so that when you know you want to get ingredients for a specific recipe at the grocery store, you can add it to the Shopping List and then check off and remove as you go. There is also a Favorites feature, a guide to using the app, a link to TBV Apparel, an FAQ section, About Section and Share feature!
And it will be updated monthly with 4 new recipes and 1 new healthy living guide per month.
Q: What inspired you to create an app?
A: Well, there were a few reasons. The first and most important reason is because I am hugely passionate about bringing health and wellness to as many people as possible, and creating an app seemed like the best way to reach the largest amount of people in the most affordable way for peeps. There is a stigma out there that eating healthy has to be expensive and time-consuming. While I do personally invest quite a bit of $$ in organic produce and fresh fruits and veggies, I do NOT spend a lot of time in the kitchen.
These recipes were created for the busy, on-the-go, kicking booty young/old/everything in between business women and men and moms and dads and kids and sistas and brothas who want to be as healthy as they can be without dedicating their whole lives to cooking healthy food. It’s all about BALANCE, yes?
Secondly… I am totally obsessed with creating as much for my readers and following as possible, and an app seemed like the logical next step. I love sharing healthy recipes, wellness tips, food photography and above all else CONNECTING and giving back to the amazing following who I appreciate ever so much. I could go on and on, but these are the main reasons. Oh! And Cyrus Kiani from TouchZen Media reached out with his expertise and an amazing plan, and the rest was history!
Q: Are the recipes from your site, or are they new?
A: Some are favorites from the site, and many are new. I wanted to create as many new, before never seen recipes for the app to make it exciting and worth every penny for you. Some are on the site, too, and it is super handy to have them all in one place by category… The App!
Q: Are all of the recipes vegan / do all the recipes have vegan options / gluten-free options?
A: The recipes are not all vegan, but many of them are vegan or vegan friendly. There are some recipes that include fish, eggs and a bit of dairy. Nearly everything in gluten-free or has a gluten-free option. Each recipe says underneath it whether it is vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free or raw.
Q: Why does it cost $3.99?
A: I can’t believe I am even answering this question because it infuriates me, to be honest, but I will answer it anyway so that I can direct people this way who have questions about it. This app (and every app!) was created with tons of time, love, effort, detail and passion poured into it. There were countless hours and lots of money put into making the app. Cyrus and I worked together to create something very affordable and also worth our time (we have to eat too, ya know!). I provide loooottts of free information on the Internet (all day every day, actually), and selling something like an app helps me continue to blog and put that info out into the world daily!!
Q: Who developed the app for you?
A: The incredible Cyrus Kiani of TouchZen Media developed this app, and will be developing any and all apps I do in the future! Touch Zen is a mobile app publishing company, and if you are interested in working with them or learning more about them then pop on over to their website and check them out.
Alright, babes!! That is all for today. I would LOVE to answer any and all questions you may have about the app from here on out, so as always I am available through the contact form on the bloggy and would love nothing more than to talk about the app and share with all of you as much as I can.
Also… I will be reposting photos up a storm from now on of cute, creative images that you all post and tag #tbbapp in! I would absolutely LOVE, love to see you using the app and hear your thoughts! You know I will comment away!
Sending you all so much love! I seriously appreciate every ounce of the support.
Xox,
