Top Ten Recipes of 2014

Hi friends!  It was a pretty delicious year in my kitchen.  I love creating healthy, accessible recipes that taste good.  Thank you for letting me share my passion with you for another year. That’s what it’s all about, right?  With the end of 2014 fast approaching, I thought I’d take a few minutes to share the top recipes published on Happy Healthy Mama this year, as judged by pageviews.  Numbers talk, people.  Here’s what you loved this year.

#10 Lightened up Turkey (or chicken) Pot Pie

Fast and healthy comfort food. What’s not to love?

#9 Chopped Kale Salad with Cranberries, Feta, and Walnuts

You healthy freaks, you! Kale made the list! What’s astonishing about this baby being here is that I just published this recipe this month and it shot up to the top 10 in a few short weeks.  Crazy.

#8 Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili

Everyone who has tried this has loved it, so I’m not surprised it made the Top 10.  It’s a really quick and easy vegetarian chili recipe.

#7 Quinoa Pizza Pie

Put quinoa+pizza together and you’re sure to have a winner.  This is actually one of my favorite recipes from the year, too.

#6 Smashed Chickpea Salad with Cilantro Pesto on Toast

The ultimate quick, healthy lunch.  I’m so glad this one made the list.  You’ve all confirmed I’m not crazy even though sometimes my husband looks at me like I am with some of the things I come up with.

#5 Warm Brussels Sprouts Salad with Pomegranate and Goat Cheese

Kale and Brussels sprouts made the list! I love you guys!

#4 4-ingredient Peanut Butter Granola Bars with Chocolate

This is probably my kids’ favorite recipe of the year.  It has chocolate. Duh. The 4 ingredient, super easy factor is why I love it so much and probably why it’s been so popular.

#3 Sunset SmoothieLook at this smoothie making it’s way to the top in just a few short months! It’s as pretty as it is delicious.

#2 5-minute Raspberry Chia Jam

You all loved this 5 minute chia seed jam.  Homemade jam in 5 minutes with no refined sugar is a pretty good combination.

#1 5-ingredient Blender Muffins (15 ways)

These ever-popular blender muffins took the top spot this year.  They are definitely on a regular rotation here so I totally get why they are #1. We all love low ingredient, quick recipes, that the whole family loves.

I learned a lot from putting this list together.  Many of these recipes are recent recipes, posted in just the last few months, yet they racked up the pageviews in a short time.  They also happen to be some of my best photographs of the year.  I don’t think that’s a coincidence.  I’ve worked really hard on my photography lately and I’m astonished at how that has translated to increased traffic.  My recipes aren’t necessarily better than they were last year, but the photographs are. The takeaway:  great recipes are important, but if you want your recipes to get attention they have to be beautifully photographed, too.

So what do you think about my Top 10?  Did you try any recipes from Happy Healthy Mama this year?  Let me know which ones are on your Top 10 list this year!