Written by Kailey Lewis, Dietetic Intern and Master’s Candidate at Vanderbilt University, Class of 2025.
Struggling to create nutrition content ideas that reach your audience in an effective way? Do you spend too much time trying to come up with your next post, newsletter, or blog topic? Consistent content creation is hard! It can be easy to feel burnt out and stuck, especially if you don’t have the right tools in place to set you up for success.
Content buckets are an excellent tool to help you streamline your content creation. Content buckets take the guesswork out of content creation by giving you clarity on what to create using a consistent approach to prevent burnout or creator’s block. Whether you’re a dietitian in private practice, clinical care or community health, content buckets can save you precious time and help you stand out for brand partnerships.
Below you’ll find five 5 types of content buckets for dietitians with nutrition content ideas and tips for adapting content across social media, blogs, and emails.
What Are Content Buckets?
Content buckets are a tool used to create thematic categories that guide your nutrition content creation.
Using content buckets helps you:
- Save time and energy
- Strengthen your brand identity
- Diversify your content
- Plan ahead and avoid burnout
- Create content that is attractive to both your audience and potential brand partners
Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel every time, you can pull ideas from your content buckets to keep things fresh and focused.
How to Build and Use Your Content Buckets
- Choose 3-6 content buckets that align with your expertise
- Brainstorm 5-10 ideas within each bucket (hello 15-60 ready-to-go nutrition content ideas!)
- Plug into a content calendar and repurpose across platforms
1. Educational / Evidenced-Based Nutrition
The purpose of the educational / evidence-based nutrition content bucket is to position you as the expert you are. Sharing credible and science-backed info not only builds trust with your audience, it shows brands that you really know what you’re talking about.
Nutrition Content Ideas Include:
- Myth-busting reels or carousels
- Infographics
- Nutrient deep dives on your blog
- Top 3 Tips for [X] in your newsletter
Brand angle: Brands love working with RDs who are credible educators. Many brands seek to work with RDs because RDs can offer education that they cannot. Include brands in educational infographics to support a nutrition message.
2. Recipes and Food Inspiration
Another useful content bucket is recipes and food inspiration. This bucket is all about showing food in action, and it’s a perfect way to showcase brand products in a natural and engaging way. Focus recipes within your niche and expertise that would resonate best with your audience – such as Anti-Inflammatory, Gluten Free, 20 minute kid-friendly meals, and so on.
Nutrition Content Ideas Include:
- Ingredient spotlights
- “What I eat in a day” reels
- What I buy at Costco/Trader Joe’s/etc.
- Easy no recipe meals
- Recipes on your blog
- Recipe of the week in your newsletter
Brand angle: Use this bucket to feature sponsored ingredients, recipe collabs, or food demos with brand tie-ins.
3. Lifestyle and Real-Life Moments
Both your audience and potential brand partners want to see the real you! This is where you can showcase who you are outside of being an RD, and how nutrition fits into your everyday life.
Nutrition Content Ideas Include:
- “Day in the life” reels
- “RD behind-the-scenes” stories
- Your RD journey
- Sharing recent life events on blogs
- Sharing current practice updates in your newsletter
Brand angle: Brands are drawn to relatable creators. Showing how their product fits into your life makes it easier for them to envision partnerships.
4. Product Reviews / Tools You Love
Your audience trusts your recommendations. This bucket is perfect for recommending tools, foods, supplements or products you genuinely love and want to work with.
Nutrition Content Ideas Include:
- Unboxing or first impression videos
- Writing about supplement or product comparisons
- Sharing your favorite’s of the month in a newsletter
Brand angle: Offer value by giving honest reviews, tagging the brand, or pitching a future collaboration. Brands love to see examples of how their products can be displayed!
Check out Best Practices for Pitching to Brands for more insight!
5. Seasonal and Trending Topics
Lastly, this bucket is key to staying relevant and timely with your content. From holidays to hot trends, this bucket keeps your content fresh and fun, and lets you hop on timely opportunities for engagement (and partnerships!).
Nutrition Content Ideas Include:
- Seasonal recipe posts
- Taste-test trending products
- Holiday nutrition tips in your blog or email
- Travel or back-to-school snack tips
Brand angle: Seasonal promotions and launches are big for brands. Pitch yourself as a creator who can amplify their message at the right time.
For more insight, check out our Ultimate Guide to Timely Pitches.
Whether you’re pitching to brands or they’re already in your inbox, using content buckets shows you’re organized, strategic, and ready to collaborate. Take the guesswork out of generating nutrition content ideas for good with content buckets!
About the Author:
Kailey Lewis is a Dietetic Intern at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and a Master’s candidate at Peabody College of Vanderbilt University. She is passionate about PCOS and women’s health nutrition, as well as brand partnerships and media work. This fall, Kailey will launch her virtual private practice, where she’ll help women manage their symptoms and feel empowered in their bodies. Outside of her professional work, Kailey enjoys baking in her kitchen, going on long walks, and painting. She’s excited for all that lies ahead in her journey as a future RD. Connect with her on Instagram @yourpcosnutritionist.