2012 in a Nut Shell

I can not believe another year has come and gone. Time used to go by fast but now that I am a mother, time really seems to zip by. One second your little one is learning to crawl and before you know it, your little one is developing his own personality and running away from you in the store!

I don’t know about you but my 2012 was a learning, growing year. Of course, every year should be a learning, growing year but I felt this one in particular was filled with sort of quiet successes. Since I started Healthy Roots, Happy Soul back in March I’ve gained a wealth of knowledge regarding health and food and I owe big thanks to you (and especially to the people who encouraged me to create Healthy Roots, Happy Soul). My hopes is from beginning of Healthy Roots, Happy Soul to the end of 2012, I have taught you at least one or two things you may not have known in regards to non-conventional health and food.

December was a very uninspired month for me but I am now feeling the motivation to really make Healthy Roots, Happy Soul take off!

They always say to make your goals small. If you start off too big it is very easy to get discouraged the first moment you are not moving towards achieving your goal.

For this reason alone, I am going to set a only a couple small, simple goals for this blog.

Here they are:

• To deliver 2-3 articles weekly for my readers
• To feature a couple giveaways
• To reach 250 friends on my Healthy Roots, Happy Soul Facebook page

I know my goals are really simple but I’m hoping with new friends on Facebook and a committed 2-3 weekly articles, I will get recommended more between people and from there it will blossom into something much greater.

Now, for a little recap of Healthy Roots, Happy Soul in this past year:

Most viewed post

With 2012 being an especially important election year for real foodies around the country (and world, since everyone was watching) but especially in California, it is not hard to expect this post to have gotten the most views. This election year brought one of the most important food battles in our history: Proposition 37, the mandatory labeling of genetically modified food. Many people searched the web for anything they could find on Monsanto which is why The Money Bomb Against Monsanto post got a whopping 1,252 views!

Unfortunately the grassroots movement was narrowly defeated by the Big Food Giants with a tally of 51.5-48.5%. While some may look at this as a huge loss, myself and many others look at it as a huge win. 6 million people voted for their right to know what was in their food. Thousands of people are now aware of what a GMO even is and now it has become a national issue. The food fight is far from over!

Post I’m Most Proud of

It was hard for me to pick because I was really proud of the post I wrote regarding healthy eating as your first choice priority but I think I’m a little more proud of What Does the Word Organic Mean to You? because the word “organic” has been completely mutilated. Organic is not just the USDA Organic Certified label, it’s more than a label. Organic to me means something completely unadulterated in it’s most natural form.

Unfortunately now a days, organic has become kind of a trend with people not really appreciating the true value. I can buy a steak that is not certified organic but is way more nutrient dense (and sustainable) than a steak that you buy at Whole Foods which may have the certified organic label on it. I felt it brought the readers back to reality and really made them ask themselves, what really is organic? Unfortunately, this post did not bring as many readers as I would have liked it to but I am still very proud!

Most viewed and commented recipe

This recipe is actually my very first post that was pinned to Pinterest wall! Being a new blogger with not many readers, it is a very exciting point in my blogging career when someone pins my recipe. It gives me reassurance that people are actually reading my blog and they like what they are reading. Plus, I totally came up with the recipe on my own (does not happen very often) so it was a major bonus for me! Not only that, Dina at My Cultured Palate left a comment saying she wanted me to post Crispy Green Beans on her Thursday link up, Tasty Traditions! Who knew such a simple recipe could be so popular? Oh and by the way, my Simple Cucumber, Avocado, Tomato Salad was not too far behind!

Most commented post

When I tell people how I eat and the kind of food I buy (along with price) many automatically say, “I don’t have the time or the money to eat that way.”

I felt this specific post really put into perspective the reality of being able to eat healthy if you really wanted to. You know, if you made it your first priority and sacrificed many materialistic things. In No excuses, Just a Case of What Your Priority Is I compared the price of a meal that came from McDonalds and a meal that I made at home which consisted of grass-fed steak, organic potatoes and organic veggies. Astonishingly the McDonalds meal was only cheaper by a couple bucks. Will saving $2 now really benefit you and your family in the long run?

Thank you again for all your support and I hope this new year will bring you an abundance of health, happiness and prosperity!

Until next time,
Loriel - Healthy Roots, Happy Soul

This post is part of: Real Food Wednesdays, Whole Food Wednesdays, The Mommy Club, Healthy 2day Wednesday,