Favorites 2017

Every year, I publish a “Most Popular” post, showing which posts and recipes were the most viewed from the year. The problem is, year after year, the list doesn’t change all that much. One or two new recipes may break into the list each year, but it’s not that exciting to see a list that barely changes.

This year, I decided to do more of a highlights list from the year. Each month, I looked at the posts published and chose my favorite recipe and favorite post and then the one post that was the most popular that was published that month.

2017 was a fun year–let’s look back at what you may have missed!

January

Favorite Recipe

Lemon Coconut Energy Balls

Favorite Post

Chopped Competition at Home

Most Popular 

The Best Healthy and Clean-Eating Super Bowl Recipes

February

Favorite Recipe

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

Most Popular 

Homemade Taco Seasoning

March

Favorite Recipe

The Ultimate Chopped Kale Chicken Salad 

Favorite Post

10 Reasons Why I Loved my 30s

Most Popular 

3 Healthy Homemade Gummy Bear Recipes to Try

April

Favorite Recipe

Spring Vegetable Skillet with Soft Boiled Eggs

Favorite Post

Spring Break 2017 

Most Popular 

How to Make the BEST Creamy Lentils in the Instant Pot

May

Favorite Recipe

Baked Eggs and Spinach Sweet Potato Boats

Favorite Post

How to Not Lose Yourself in Motherhood

Most Popular

High Protein Low Carb Popsicles

June

Favorite Recipe

Cauliflower Soup with Coconut, Turmeric, and Lime

Favorite Post

Parenting During the Easy Years

Most Popular

My Mom is a 10 Year Stage IV Lung Cancer Survivor!

July

Favorite Recipe

Summer Vegetable Orzo

Favorite Post

Northern Michigan Vacation

Most Popular

Summer Fruit Salad

August

Favorite Recipe

Pumpkin Spice Steel Cut Oatmeal

Favorite Post

If Mama Ain’t Healthy, Ain’t Nobody Happy

Most Popular

Low Carb Cinnamon Flaxseed Breakfast Cookies

September

Favorite Recipe

Buffalo Cauliflower Poppers

Favorite Post

Why I Think I’m Going to Like Having a 9 Year Old

Most Popular

Flourless Chocolate Peanut Butter Blender Muffins

October

Favorite Recipe

25-Minute Butternut Squash and Black Bean Enchiladas

Favorite Post

20 Dinnertime Questions to Get Your Kids Talking

Most Popular

Creepy Halloween Punch

November

Favorite Recipe

Perfect Bread Machine Dinner Rolls

Favorite Post

Natural Products I’m Loving Now

Most Popular

Healthy Instant Pot Recipes: The Ultimate Collection

December

Favorite Recipe

Overnight Cranberry Cinnamon Rolls

Favorite Post

Meet Dingle, the Original Elf on the Shelf

Most Popular

Strawberry Banana Santa Hats

There you have it! The highlights from 2017 on Happy Healthy Mama! I can’t wait to see what 2018 will bring. Thank you, thank you, thank you, for coming along on this journey with me. Without you, there would be no Happy Healthy Mama.

XO Maryea

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I’ve been writing about healthy living on Happy Healthy Mama for almost eight years. There’s one topic I’ve written about the importance of again and again: Meal Planning. It’s the timeless “trick” that keeps me and my family on track, consistently, year after year.

Only, it’s not a trick. It takes work and commitment to meal plan, but there’s no secret. You just have to take the time to do it. (Please please keep reading after I list the benefits of meal planning if you need help with this. Even if you’ve failed miserably in the past, you CAN do this, and I can help!)

When you do take the time to make meal planning a priority, you’ll find some surprising benefits. Yes, you’ll likely eating healthier more consistently if you make meal planning a habit. But what else can happen? Good stuff!

4 Surprising Benefits of (Healthy) Meal Planning

#1: You’ll save money. 

This is a natural and happy side effect of meal planning. There are less spontaneous take-out dinners. There is less wasted food that goes bad before you use it. There’s less of the more-expensive convenience foods that you buy because you need something quick since you didn’t have a plan for dinner.

#2: You’ll lose weight.

My husband lost forty pounds in the last year. A big part of that was having a plan and sticking to it. If you want to lose weight, planning what healthy foods you’ll eat is key to staying on track and eating the right foods to make it happen. Meal planning becomes your accountability partner and it’s crazy how just having a plan in hand helps you avoid the foods that hurt your weight loss goals.

#3: You’ll get sick less often.

When you’re planning healthy meals, you’re less likely to eat excess sugar and junk food that suppresses your immune system. What happens next? You’re an overall healthier person who gets sick less often!

#4: Your family life will be less stressful and chaotic.

When you meal plan, it creates a more harmonious family life. Dinner time becomes less of a stressful, chaotic time trying to figure out what to eat and more of a time for family to come together and share a meal. It can change your life.

If you’re convinced that meal planning is just the change you and your family could use, but aren’t sure how to do it, or have tried meal planning but failed in the past, or just haven’t been able to stay consistent with it, I have the solution you need.

It’s the Ultimate Healthy Meal Planning Bundle and it’s the busy cook’s answer to eating healthier this year.

Let me tell you what’s in this amazing bundle. It’s everything you need to make meal planning, grocery shopping, cooking, and eating fresh (healthy!!) food easier than ever.

This is how it works:

If you want recipes & meal plans created specifically for the way you eat (Paleo, Keto, vegan, gluten free, budget-friendly, just to name a few), you can pick the mini-bundle that suits you best and pay just $27.

If your family is like my family and try to eat a wide variety of foods and you’d prefer to have the whole collection of made-for-you meal plans, organized shopping lists, no-brainer tips, PLUS over 3,800 recipes for today’s most popular ways of cooking and eating, pay just $20 more and you’ll get every single thing in this bundle.

I’m telling you, this makes meal planning so much easier! For me, the worst part of meal planning is the searching. You look for recipes on Pinterest, only to click through and find that it’s a meal that uses condensed soup or corn flakes. Ugh. Keep searching.

No more! With the Ultimate Meal Planning Bundle, everything is in one place. Over 3,800 recipes, neatly organized by category, that are all healthy, real food recipes! So. Much. Easier.

Some of my favorite food bloggers contributed, so I really can’t speak highly enough about the quality and value of what’s inside, for less than the price of a single meal out! Oh, and did I mention my very own e-Book, Conquer Dinner, is included in the bundle?

Trust me, this is one investment that will pay for itself multiple times over.

Want to check it out and get your own Ultimate Healthy Meal Planning Bundle?

This is how it works:

• Visit the website take a quick look at all the yummy food you’ll be making with this package, then click the “Get my bundle now!”button to go through their simple and secure 3-step checkout process.
• You’ll receive an email with a login to their online access portal, where you’ll begin downloading all your eCookbooks and printable meal plans.
• Use their Getting Started Guide to choose your first meals or find the ready-made plan that’s perfect for you!

The most important detail, though, is that this bundle is available for just 8 days!

After Friday night, January 5th, the sale ends and you’d have to buy all of these products individually.

It’s even backed by a 30 day full money-back happiness guarantee, so you can make sure it’s right for you.

Their customer service is amazing, and they truly want to make sure you’re taken care of and that you love your bundle.

Simplify mealtimes & eat better in 2018 with the Ultimate Healthy Meal Planning Bundle.

Learn more or get your bundle here! 

But hurry, this bundle is only available for a limited time!

 

 

The post 4 Surprising Benefits of (Healthy) Meal Planning appeared first on Happy Healthy Mama.

source https://happyhealthymama.com/4-surprising-benefits-of-healthy-meal-planning.html

Lemony Broccoli Salad

This Lemony Broccoli Salad is the perfect way to detox and restart after you’ve indulged a little too much!

Heads up! I originally published the recipe for this Lemony Broccoli Salad in January 2013. Photographs have been updated. 

It’s okay if you feel like you need to hit the restart button after the holidays.  I know I do. A few too many heavy foods, too much sugar, not enough activity.  This salad is helping me with that.  Starting over.  I’m all about fresh starts.

I’m calling it a Restart Salad.  Really, it’s a Lemony Broccoli Salad and it’s full of nutrient-dense foods that will help your body detox.  Raw broccoli, seeds, raw garlic, lemon, olive oil, turmeric. These are all foods that will help promote the flushing out of toxins our bodies so desperately need this time of year.

So you all know my husband Tim isn’t the biggest vegetable guy.  He’s come a long way since we got married, but it’s been work getting him to eat more vegetables.  Mostly, for him to enjoy them they have to be roasted or cooked in a stir-fry.  You won’t find him munching on raw veggies very often.  At a party, he’s not the guy you’ll see at the vegetable tray.I had to work some magic to get him to try this salad.  I pleaded with him and he finally agreed to try one bite.  He ended up finishing the bowl.  As he was eating it, he looked at me accusingly and said, “The only reason this tastes good is because of the dressing.  Vegetables are not good plain.”

I don’t care if it took a tangy lemon dressing for him to eat this salad, because I’ve never seen him eat raw broccoli before.  In my book, that’s a win.

Print

Lemony Broccoli Salad

A perfect salad for kicking off the New Year right, this Lemony Broccoli Salad (AKA Restart Salad) is full of nutrient-dense foods that will help detox your body.  Make it vegan by using maple syrup instead of the raw honey.

• Author: Happy Healthy Mama
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 0 minutes
• Total Time: 15 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

For the Salad

• 2 cups chopped broccoli florets (from one small head)
• 1 small red bell pepper, diced
• 1 apple, diced
• 1 avocado, diced (optional)
• 1/4 cup sunflower or pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 cup raisins (optional)

For the Dressing

• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons vegan mayo or good-quality real mayo (I used Earth Balance Mindful Mayo with olive oil)
• 2-3 tablespoons raw honey
• juice and zest from one small lemon

Instructions

1. Combine all dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together well.
2. In a medium bowl, combine all salad ingredients.  Drizzle the dressing on top and stir to combine.  Enjoy!

Notes

*The recipe was doubled for the photographs in this post.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1/4 of salad

 

 

You’ll notice I called the avocado and raisins optional.  Tim said he prefers the salad without those contrasting textures, but I really like them.  It’s up to you if you include them or not.  Have a great week!

If you make this Lemony Broccoli Salad Recipe, or any Happy Healthy Mama recipe, I would LOVE to see it! Please take a pic and share it on Instagram or the Happy Healthy Mama Facebook page and tag me @happyhealthymama 

Also, if you try it, would you mind rating the recipe? It’s VERY helpful for me and other readers if the recipes have ratings and reviews. I appreciate you!

If you’d like to save this recipe for later, here’s an image to save to your Pinterest recipe board!

 

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source https://happyhealthymama.com/restart-salad.html

Merry Christmas!

From my family to yours, I wish you a very Merry Christmas!

It means so much to me that you follow and read Happy Healthy Mama.

Thank you! xo Maryea and Family

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Overnight Cranberry Cinnamon Rolls

These Overnight Cranberry Cinnamon Rolls make the BEST Christmas morning breakfast! 

Is there anything better in life than a fresh, homemade cinnamon roll? I’m going to say, no, there is not. And I’m going to try really hard to not post ALL THE PICTURES today, but fair warning: I might go overboard a little. 

I gave traditional cinnamon rolls a holiday twist by adding cranberry sauce. The recipe will totally work if you don’t want to add it, but I thought it was the perfect way to make these extra-Christmasy AND I loved the way the tart cranberries balanced out the sweet cinnamon mixture. SO GOOD. 

I love that the bulk of the work for these cinnamon rolls is done the night before. Then, they can bake while you are opening your presents and sipping on coffee. 

These Overnight Cranberry Cinnamon Rolls are a once-a-year indulgence that I wouldn’t classify as “healthy,” but you all know I am all about balance. Sometimes, I eat kale salads, sometimes I eat energy balls, and I don’t feel bad when I face plant into a warm and gooey cinnamon roll. I hope you take the same approach to balanced eating.

That being said, I did use half unbleached all-purpose flour and half whole wheat pastry flour as well as coconut sugar instead of refined sugar. These are still a sugar bomb. Sorry. If you want to make them less so, I suggest using a natural, sugar-free sweetener such as one of these.

I don’t think you’re going to regret having this pan of delicious Overnight Cranberry Cinnamon Rolls on Christmas morning or whatever morning you choose to indulge. Please let me know what you think!

Print

Overnight Cranberry Cinnamon Rolls

These Overnight Cranberry Cinnamon Rolls let you do the bulk of the work the night before and make a delicious Christmas morning breakfast!

• Author: Maryea
• Prep Time: 45 minutes (active)
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
• Yield: 12 rolls

Ingredients

Dough

• 4 large egg yolks, room temperature
• 1 whole egg, room temperature
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 6 ounces buttermilk, room temperature
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4-2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoons (1 packet-1/4 ounce)
• 1 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• avocado oil

Filling

• 1/3 cup cranberry sauce
• 1 cup coconut sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Icing

• 1/4 cup cream cheese
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

For the dough:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg yolks, whole egg, sugar, butter, and buttermilk. Add the all-purpose flour, yeast, and salt. Whisk until moistened and combined.
2. Remove the whisk attachment and replace with a dough hook. Add 1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour and knead on low speed for 5 minutes. Check the consistency of the dough, add more flour if necessary; the dough should feel soft and moist but not sticky. Continue to knead on low speed 5 minutes more or until the dough clears the sides of the bowl.
3. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface; knead by hand about 30 seconds. Lightly oil a large bowl. Transfer the dough to the bowl, lightly oil the top of the dough, cover and let double in volume, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
4. Combine the coconut sugar, cinnamon, salt, and melted butter in a medium bowl. Mix until well incorporated. Set aside.
5. Butter a 9 by 13-inch glass baking dish.
6. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently shape the dough into a rectangle with the long side nearest you. Roll into an 18 by 12-inch rectangle.
7.  Spread the dough with the cranberry sauce, leaving 1/2-inch border along the top edge. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture over the dough, leaving a 3/4-inch border along the top edge; gently press the filling into the dough.
8. Beginning with the long edge nearest you, roll the dough into a tight cylinder. Firmly pinch the seam to seal and roll the cylinder seam side down. Very gently squeeze the cylinder to create even thickness. Using a serrated knife, slice the cylinder into 1 1/2-inch rolls. You will have 12 rolls.
9. Arrange rolls cut side down in the baking dish; cover tightly with plastic wrap (that does not touch the rolls) or plastic wrap alternative and store in the refrigerator overnight or up to 16 hours.
10. Remove the rolls from the refrigerator and place, uncovered, in a cold oven that is turned off. Fill a shallow pan 2/3-full of boiling water and set on the rack below the rolls. Close the oven door and let the rolls rise until they look slightly puffy; approximately 30 minutes. Remove the rolls and the shallow pan of water from the oven.
11. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
12. When the oven is heated, place the rolls on the middle rack and bake until golden brown, or until the internal temperature reaches 190 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, approximately 30 minutes.
13. While the rolls are cooling slightly, make the icing by whisking the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer until creamy. Add the milk and whisk until combined. Sift in the powdered sugar, and whisk until smooth.
14. Spread over the rolls and serve immediately. ENJOY!!

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 roll

This recipe was adapted from here.

If you make this Overnight Cranberry Cinnamon Roll Recipe, or any Happy Healthy Mama recipe, I would LOVE to see it! Please take a pic and share it on Instagram or the Happy Healthy Mama Facebook page and tag me @happyhealthymama 

Also, if you try it, would you mind rating the recipe? It’s VERY helpful for me and other readers if the recipes have ratings and reviews. I appreciate you!

If you’d like to save this recipe for later, here’s an image to save to your Pinterest recipe board!

If you are already making cranberry sauce, you might as well use some for this Puff Pastry Christmas Wreath appetizer as well!

Want a less labor intensive breakfast for Christmas morning that you can still prepare the night before? This Crock-Pot Cranberry Eggnog Overnight Oatmeal takes about 5 minutes of prep and is PERFECT!

Please note that links to products are affiliate links. THANK YOU for supporting Happy Healthy Mama!

 

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