Happy New Year to all of our many wonderful friends who are reading this post now! We hope that you experienced a fantastic 2013 full of health, life and happiness as well. Here at the the Paleo Parents compound, we celebrated New Years with Anne from the Review Team and family as well as Russ, The Domestic Man, and family and were very thankful about how much love and joy we experienced this past year.
We have had a great year in 2013! Time flies when you are having fun and getting stuff done! To recap some of the fun things we did, take a look at these fun Flipagrams we made about some of our greatest accomplishments this year!
We wrote a new book, Beyond Bacon and started a #porkobsessed revolution!
We had many adventures in learning to #crossfit and #strongwoman training
We adopted two #totes #adorbs Bengal Kitties
We ate tons of gut healing soup for breakfast
And learned the importance of #selfacceptance through #selfies
Oh, and did I forget to mention we blogged a lot? Seems crazy how much you can get done when you put your mind to it and fuel your body and your brain with delicious Paleo food! Last year we did a round up of our Top 12 Posts of 2012, so this year we took a peak at our stats and compiled a list of the most popular Paleo Parents posts of 2013 based on page views.
Thirteen
Guest Post, The Paleo Mama: Affording Paleo
So many people start a paleo diet only to find that their grocery bills start to climb unexpectedly. So much of what is eliminated are exactly those kind of “poor food” staples that are extremely cheap due to government subsidies. How can you still afford a health, fresh diet full of meat, vegetables and fruit when you’ve removed cheap, filling foods like pasta, rice, potatoes and bread? We asked our friend The Paleo Mama to share her knowledge of how to stretch your dollar while still eating a healthy diet.
Twelve
Glamping: How to Camp Paleo Style… with Glamour
You might have noticed that we LOVE to travel! We especially love long weekend getaways where we get to spend quality time with our boys making memories. We took our yearly trip to Raystown Lake in a cabin on the water because it’s a family tradition for Stacy’s dad. We had lots of fun enjoying the outdoors, while also cooking up some great meals to share including Cider Braised Brats and Sweet Potato Apple Hash. We also took this chance to have some gluten-free S’mores with our boys because we are #notpaleoperfectionists! Want some great tips for what to bring on a trip? Definitely check out this post!
Eleven
Paleo Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake Squares
It’s not surprising that some of our top posts of 2013 were from Guest Bloggers! We have had some truly talented paleo chefs share recipes on our site, and we could not be more grateful. Vanessa, from Clean Eating with a Dirty Mind (um, hello! Don’t you just love that name?) shared this AMAZING dairy-free paleo recipe for Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake Squares at the very beginning of Pumpkin season this year, and our readers have been drooling over it ever since!
Ten
Another recipe that was topping the charts on our blog in 2013 was this amazing recipe shared on our site by Adriana of Living Healthy With Chocolate for Coconut Cream Pie! We love love LOVE coconut, and this recipe hits the spot, and also adds something new with a dark chocolate layer between the nutty crust and silky custard layer. We have had so many people write to us and say that this recipe blew their mind, and also satisfied a longing for an old fashioned dessert!
Nine
Apparently, our readers are serious cheesecake-aholics because this is the second cheesecake recipe that is on our list of top posts in 2013. Thankfully, like the post above, you can eat this recipe without falling off the paleo wagon. Megan from Detoxinista shared this awesome recipe on our site that contains a secret ingredient …. Zucchini! Yup, zucchini in dairy-free, Paleo Chocolate Cheesecake! What we love about this post is that Megan also shares with us the info on WHY this dessert is rich in nutrients our bodies need. We love when we can mix dessert and science class!
Eight
Dear America: Get Over Your Fat Phobia
We are so glad that this post was one of our most visited posts of 2013 because it was definitely one we really felt needed to be shared. With seven out of ten people in America being classified as overweight, we need to change our attitudes towards the issue if we ever hope to turn around our health as a nation. Our markers for health don’t need to be only defined by fat and skinny, but rather a whole host of contributing factors. In this post we encourage you to set health goals that are not just defined by a number on a scale, but defined by the quality of life you are able to enjoy. Stop the judgment, and stop the hate, and instead focus on positive changes.
Seven
Paleo P.F. Chang’s Recipe Recreation Round-Up
Not surprisingly, this falls on the list of top posts of 2013! We had so much fun working with all our friends to re-create Paleo versions of Chinese take-out! There are so many great bloggers and recipes included in this round-up, such as Alex from Alex Boake Illustraion & Comics with Lemon Chicken, Joshua from Slim Palate with Shrimp with Garlic Sauce, Brent and Heather from Virginia is for Hunter Gathers serve up Ginger Chicken with Broccoli, Michele from Nom Nom Paleo makes some real tasty Asian Cauliflower Fried Rice, Russ from The Domestic Man managed to make the infamous Chicken Lettuce Wraps , Vanessa from Healthy Living How To with Kung Pao Chicken, Sean from FreeRange Human makes delicious Mu Shu Pork with Homemade Hoisin Sauce, Simone for Zen Belly makes a unique and flavorful Pad Thai, and we contributed the sweet dish we always order when we go, Mongolian Beef!
Six
Why the Metabolically Broken Can’t Eat Carbs
In this post, Stacy shares her results of doing the 21 Day Sugar Detox, and how low carb paleo affects her body. She talks about insulin resistance, water weight, candidia overgrowth, nutrient deficiencies and SIBO as possible reasons why it can be hard to lose weight and heal your gut, in addition to talking about why people who have at one time been morbidly obese can run into struggles after losing a significant amount of weight. This was a great post because there are so many people out there who have beaten the battle against morbid obesity, but are still struggling to lose the “rest of their weight.” Stacy encourages those on that journey to accept certain realities about why your body is “jacked” and what you can and can’t do about it. Her before and after photos are a great testament to how the 21 Day Sugar Detox can help you get rid of that belly bloat that so often plagues us all after the holiday season.
Five
FINALLY, a Nut-Free Almond Flour Replacement Recommendation
We cannot tell you how many times a day we get a comment or an email asking for substitution suggestions. Finally we came up with a great substitution for blanched almond flour by making our own flour from Sunflower Seeds! Now anytime someone asks, we have a great post to direct them to – score! We have used this flour as a replacement in lots of our baked recipes and we can assure you that it is a great substitute. Our assistant, Katy, has even made this flour using a food processor with great results, so we encourage you to try it!
Four
A Fat Girl’s Confession on Starting Crossfit
This is an extremely popular post this year because it seems like everyone is becoming a Crossfit junkie, and we love it! In this post, Stacy talks about starting Crossfit and how it has impacted her life. She encourages readers to just go ahead and start, and not worry if you are thin enough or fit enough to be there. Any good Crossfit box that is worth going to will tailor the workout to your individual level, and you will make progress every time! Stacy loves that her booty is now defined, and that she has discovered a love of weightlifting! So if you are thinking about starting Crossfit this year, read this post to bolster your courage and just go ahead and start!
Three
ELaD’s Frozen Waffles and other Naturally Green St. Patrick’s Day Recipes
We had so much fun sharing this recipe with people! This wildly popular recipe from our first book, Eat Like a Dinosaur, was made using sunbutter to make them green for St. Patrick’s Day but using any other nut butter makes the most deliciously perfect paleo waffles around (even George agrees)! The chlorophyll in the sunflower seeds creates a chemical reaction with the baking soda to produce naturally GREEN waffles! Such a fun project to do with kids! Kids might be scared of green veggies, but green waffles? Now THAT’S FUN!
Two
Not surprisingly, another top post from 2013 is another breakfast post for these Easy Peasy Pancakes! We love to have breakfast any time of the day, and especially kids love to have breakfast for dinner – BRINNER! Pancakes are especially tricky to make without regular wheat flour, but after many many failed experiments, Matt finally came up with a GREAT recipe that is incredibly easy. There’s a reason they are #2 on the list… everyone loves them (even the non-paleo-types in your life)!
One
We LOVE that the top recipes from us this year were all low in sweeteners, because that’s how we really want you all (and us) to eat! Our most popular post by far this year on the blog was our recipe for The Healthiest Ice Cream EVER. We worked especially hard to create a recipe for ice cream that would be 21 Day Sugar Detox friendly. This recipe has been officially approved by Diane Sanfilipo, the creator of the 21 Day Sugar Detox. We have gotten so much positive feedback about this recipe! Our kids love it, and are extremely impatient while they wait for the ice cream to firm up. They even know that it is made with a vegetable, and NO SUGAR or sweetener of any kind, and they still gobble their bowls down.
Yup, 2013 was a pretty great year for The Paleo Parents, but we can’t wait to see what we can accomplish in 2014! We are so grateful that you stop by to read our recipes and see what crazy adventure we are up to, and none of this would be possible without all our fans! We wish you a very Happy New Year from our family to yours! #maytheoddsbeeverinyourfavor
