Meet Natasha Najjar | Self Taught Chef and Digital Creator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Natasha Najjar and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Natasha, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
It didn’t click until the last few months of my job as a legal assistant in 2016 that I actually thrive more in a creative environment than a 9 to 5. From 2015-2016 helping lawyers win personal injury cases for plaintiffs was straightforward and came easy to me so it was the exact confidence boost I needed at that time. Yet that confidence boost was only surface level because that job wasn’t truly fulfilling me. What I looked forward to most was after my shift carefully plating my meal with some garnishes and posting a photo on instagram before enjoying it. Sharing your meal online wasn’t just a trend I was following but something I took very seriously. My dedication to creating beautiful and colorful dishes with a written recipe in the caption was uncanny. This was also when I started my plant based journey and thought documenting my meals was a way to hold me accountable to sticking to the lifestyle. Before this I was a vegetarian so the transition wasn’t difficult. The little bit of creativity required for this food styling really ticked a part of my brain to the ultimate satisfaction. Every like and comment on my instagram posts made my heart skip a little from excitement and that hit of dopamine kept me going. At this point when I gave my notice to leave my job I wasn’t exactly sure of my future but I had some intuition it wasn’t to be an environmental lawyer like I thought for the past 8 years. Yes, my major was a B.S. in environmental science a few years prior.

In 2016 I came across an interesting Facebook advertisement that caught my eye. It stated anyone who wants to make money on social media by sharing their talent should apply. Not like a typical casting for models or actors who are already signed but any ordinary person with a talent is what this said. I didn’t really think about monetizing my passion for filming food until now but looking back I can see it was fate. As instructed I sent in an audition tape of me talking to the camera about how I enjoy cooking and was signed onto Novaland Media talent management in 2017. Not long after I signed a contract with them and learned that I can turn my passion for cooking online into a career. With some encouragement from the agency I ended up moving to Los Angeles less than 2 years later to unlock my future potential.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
The name of my blog and brand countcolorsnotcalories came about in 2016 when eating disorders were being glorified at an all time high online by young women and I thought the name count colors not calories not only sounded catchy but addressed a serious topic in a playful way. How I make money is by creating food and drink content for my clients which are food brands to use for their marketing purposes. The marketing content I make for them has my own creative touch and authenticity that is different from other recipe creators. A typical day in my life might involve filming, editing, testing new recipes or even shopping for another Prime lens to give a dreamy bokeh look to my videos. From live streaming to short form videos, photos and writing, I’ve created various mediums. My audience is mostly young to middle aged women which makes sense because that is the demographic usually interested in eating a plant based diet.

One of my projects I’m the most proud of is my feature in the cookbook “Rabbit Food” by Giana Ciaramello, a dear friend of mine I made online who also creates healthy plant based recipes. This was published in 2017 so pretty early on in my career when my culinary skills were lacking but I am still so proud of having a recipe of mine published in a book. I might even invite Giana to be featured in my future cookbook someday!

A career milestone was when I along with my talent manager Beryl Wang were invited to the VidCon convention as featured panelists in 2018. We talked to an audience in a conference room about how I live streamed myself cooking on a popular platform back then. Live streaming from a phone was a pretty new concept in the US. We discussed the role live streaming would play in marketing moving forward. This was my first time talking to a room of peers in my industry and my confidence really surprised me.

Now that digital creators are more common it’s easier to explain what I do but it wasn’t always this way. Not until 4 years ago could my own family really understand how I’m able to monetize my work without relying on a traditional blogging website. In fact just 2 years into my career I remember my cousins telling me they were skeptical about the longevity of what I do. Back then I didn’t quite know how to respond because I was thinking the same thing, that they might have a point.

One of the biggest obstacles that you wouldn’t believe I had is the lack of confidence to be on camera. I transitioned from posting just the photos of my lunch plate after my work shift to filming myself on camera a year later. At the beginning I struggled with being in the spotlight so often that it caused me some anxiety. On the one hand I was so appreciative of the opportunity to make money with this talent agency but I was still struggling so much mentally. Especially because the content I filmed at this point was often live streaming which involved interacting with the audience who would ask lots of questions about my personal life that I wasn’t ready for. Also live streaming at night until 1am and waking up at 5am sharp to work at a breakfast cafe to make ends meet only added to my stress. To anyone who’s reading this who can relate just know that with time your social angst will lessen and might even disappear altogether, at least that’s what happened to me.

The biggest lesson I’ve learned over my career is to not be so fixated on an outcome but focus on the process and actions you take to get to a goal. Sometimes what might seem like a problem at first could end up turning into the perfect solution so keep an open mind. Another lesson is to not be so perfection oriented, you just need to start and can fine tune the details of your business later.

There’s three things I would love the world to know about my story. First how hard I’ve had to work to get to where I am but over time what I learned is that that working smarter not harder is the key to success. Second knowing that I inspire others to make positive lifestyle changes like cooking wholesome plant based meals, prioritizing their mental health and giving back to their communities makes me feel proud. Last is that I experienced so much positive self-growth physically and mentally since starting my career in 2016, especially over the past 3 years. Please just know it’s never too late to improve your life or even to start a new creative business endeavor.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I like to create a mix of hidden gems and some typical tourist spots for my friends visiting Los Angeles. The first days would be all about Hollywood. Day one would be an exciting tour of Paramount Studios or another studio lot that includes filming locations of my friend’s favorite movies. Then hitting up the Hollywood walk of fame where we both look for our favorite stars. Maybe even walking around where Jimmy Kimmel live is filmed to see if we can be interviewed! For dinner Gracias Madre because it is one of my favorite vegan Mexican restaurants with a stunning outside ambiance and unique cocktails. The next day we could walk around Rodeo drive to take pictures window shop and end the day with dinner from Tu Madre, a taco chain. Everyone I’ve taken here loves the food and I will admit I crave the Banh Mi tacos weekly. For some night life Bar Sinister is a vibrant goth themed nightclub we can try.

The next few days would be more chill and relaxed. The first day we will roller skate up and down the board walks of Venice and Santa Monica beaches and then visit hidden gems in downtown the next day. Good thing I have an extra pair of skates for us to have some fun! Venice beach has lots of character because of the street art like the Jim Morrison mural. Up and down the boardwalk there’s food options for us to snack but if we aren’t too full my favorite Santa Monica spot is Thai Vegan which is a short drive away. The next day in downtown my favorite hidden gem in all of Los Angeles is The Last Bookstore. Upstairs on the second floor there is an archway made of books, truly one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen in my life. After we will walk to Angels Flight and next the Bradbury building, a stunning historic part of downtown. There is supposedly some Banksy street art on Olympic St. I have yet to find we can look for. Banksy is one of my favorite artists. Even just walking around downtown to scope all the historic architecture will keep us busy. For dinner Au Lac for vegan Vietnamese food, specifically the Pho sounds perfect and to just change things up with an upscale restaurant experience.

The itinerary for the last few days would be the Getty and the Getty Villa to learn about art history with the help of tour guides. As a foodie one last thing I would show them is the Farmer’s Market at the Grove packed with the most incredible variety of food from all over the world. From a fresh pickle bar filled with any topping to Singapore fried rice tucked into a banana leaf you can really find anything. A mediterranean store in the market sells unique foods imported from Turkey, Lebanon and Syria I would love to show my friend. As a middle eastern (I am Iraqi) that would be exciting to check out. Also the Grove is stunning for a mall, it’s one of my favorite holiday spots because of the phenomenal Christmas decor.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I credit so much of my success to Novaland Media talent management for seeing the potential in me back in 2017. I remember the day I met the owner Beryl Wang at an office in downtown Los Angeles. I was naive and excited about joining the industry of creatives and entertainment. Thanks to the encouragement of Novaland I am still here today, and no longer naive but still just as passionate and excited as I was in that first meeting in downtown, Los Angeles. Beryl really coached me my first 2 years in my career and I can’t thank her enough for it.

The second person I want to thank is my dear friend Deity who I met in 2019, my mentor on spirituality, astrology and mindfulness. Without her kind and even maternal instinct to text me back anytime of the day without hesitation to answer all of my questions until specific habits became ingrained enough to positively change my life. I don’t know where I would be without her. Meditation, energy cleansing and spirituality are all things that kept me grounded and able to persevere though periods of extreme chaos as a creative.

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