Year in Review: Eat the Gains in 2019

Year in Review: Eat the Gains in 2019  – a look back on 2019 with everything that happened, the most popular recipes, and what’s to come for Eat the Gains!

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2019! Where did you go?! I mean I say that every year, but dang I can’t believe the year is over already. I swear, the older we get, the faster the time goes. And we are even going into a new decade!

I did a review last year and the year before and figured it would be fun to do again! So here is what happened to Eat the Gains in 2019 – I’m going to recap some things that happened for me personally, along with some business things, some favorite recipes, and what’s to come.

Here are the year’s previous reviews —> 2017 | 2018

Looking back also helps you realize how far you come and all the amazing progress you had over the year. I know I get so caught up in trying to do the next best thing, so sometimes it has to be right in front of your face to see it ya know. So let’s get into it all!

Life Happenings

1. I started nutrition coaching! This has been on my list for 2+ years since I got my Precision Nutrition certification. I finally pulled the trigger in September and have been loving it!
2. I traveled to some cool places – NYC for a conference and to visit my best friend from college, Denver for a long weekend getaway, northern California to visit quinoa farms, back home to hang with my family at the beach for a week, Cleveland to see a Browns game, DC for two friends’ wedding, and most importantly, 2 weeks in Australia for our 1 year anniversary!
3. We celebrated 5 years in Austin! Crazy to think we’ve been here that long and how much has changed since we moved here! The business started, bought a house, got married, got a puppy, and so many small things along the way.
4. ETG did the first veggie challenge and it was a huge success! Stay tuned in January for another one!
5. Got diagnosed with some health issues. Not the most ideal, but life happens and I’m glad I am able to seek help to work through them. While I don’t feel 100% better, I definitely have noticed some changes.
6. Food freedom! I feel like I am finally in my stride in finding my food freedom. Am I perfect? Of course not. But I am pretty good at balancing eat well and also satisfying my cravings while enjoying myself.

These are all bigger things, but this year is filled with lots of little things as well!

Eat the Gains in 2019 – The Content

So many good things shared this year! It was really hard picking my favorite recipes, but it had to be done 😋

Hoping to share some non-recipe related things in 2020 (this was a goal of my last year too), but it just seems easier to talk about these things on Instagram stories. It’s a work in progress though!

My word for 2019 was balance and I think I did a pretty good job at it. Definitely not perfect, but a lot better than 2018, and I did give myself lots of space to take a step back from work and focus on other things. I tend to really get caught up in work and as I get older, I am finding that no matter how much I enjoy work, there is always something to do. And you can’t keep doing those things. I don’t want to look back in my 20s and 30s and realize I totally missed the ball on enjoying life. I am hoping I can continue to do this year.

TBD on the word for 2020.

But…let’s get into the most popular recipes this past year!

Top 5 recipes posted in 2019:

1. Beef Taco Casserole (Paleo/Whole30)
2. Air Fryer Boneless Buffalo Wings
3. 6 Whole30 Cauliflower Rice Recipes
4. Grilled Cabbage Steaks
5. Healthy Instant Pot Eggplant Parmesan

5 most popular recipes from ETG for 2019 (from a reader’s standpoint):

1. Beef Taco Casserole (Paleo/Whole30)
2. Paleo Beef & Broccoli Stir Fry (Whole30)
3. 6 Whole30 Sauces that Aren’t Mayo
4. Whole30 Chicken Marinade 5 Ways
5. Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Protein Muffins

My top 3 favorite recipes of 2019:

1. Burger Salad with Special Sauce Dressing
2. Thai Coconut Chicken Curry (Paleo/Whole30)
3. Healthy Chicken Pad Thai (Paleo/Whole30)

It was really hard to pick just 3 and close runner-ups were the chicken fajita casserole, air fryer boneless wings, and Instant Pot eggplant parmesan.

Michael’s top 3 favorite recipes of 2019:

1. Burger Salad
2. Zucchini Pizza Boats
3. Healthy Turkey Taco Skillet

Cashew’s favorite recipes of 2019:

1. Frozen Peanut Butter Banana Dog Treats

Sorry,  I just had to put that in there haha. He really does go wild for them.

Eat the Gains in 2019 – Growth

I saw some great growth in 2019 as I have had in previous years. My page views continue to rise, my photography and videos have improved, and my organic growth is continuing to grow (something I have been really working on). It is still a never-ending journey, but I’m excited to continue to grow.

I added a team member to Eat the Gains! I don’t mention her much, but Kaylin has been such an integral part of ETG this year and does so much behind the scenes. She is one of the reasons we had such a great year of growth.

I’m hoping that as I continue to grow, I can continue to add to my team as well!

One thing to note is I also totally stopped meal prepping. I made a decision at the end of 2018 and did zero meal prep in 2019. While it has a hard decision, I am so grateful I did. So much more free time and less stress. I was really worried about how it was going to impact things, but if anything, my business has only propelled more from not doing it.

What is coming in 2020

I said this last year, but I would like to continue to share more content than just recipes. Last year I did an okay job at it. We talked about seed cycling on the blog and I shared some posts on Instagram about safer beauty, nontoxic cleaning products (use code ‘eatthegains’ to save 10%!), but that is about it. Hopefully planning on talking more about nutrition, food freedom, and finding balance.

I hope to expand my nutrition coaching services and even take another nutrition certification (TBD on which one, but leaning towards the NTA). Food and recipes are great, but wellness is so much more than that. And I want to continue to help women learn to eat more food and properly fuel their bodies.

Nonbusiness wise, I want to continue to travel to new places. I’m going to say  2020 will be the year of travel for us (fingers crossed!).

THANK YOU!

Finally, and most importantly, I want to thank every single one of you for supporting Eat the Gains in 2019. For trying my recipes, sharing my website with your friends and family, commenting and messaging me on Instagram, and more. This community is seriously the best and I can’t thank you guys enough for supporting me. I’m so grateful for each and every one of you 🤗🤗

It was an amazing year and while some days I feel like I am going around I circles and am on the verge of a breakdown, y’all keep me coming back. It’s your encouragement and this community that keeps pushing me along.  It’s the little things that get me so excited to keep perusing my dreams and I have to thank every single one of you for helping me do so.

Also, a huge thank you to Michael for putting up with my shit (it can be a lot at times) and allowing me to pursue this career. Who knows where I would be if you didn’t encourage me to start a blog almost 5 (!!!) years ago. I know I’m not always the easiest to get along with, but I don’t know what I would do without your support and trust in me.

Another huge thank you to my parents. I think you are finally understanding what I do and your support is not unnoticed (thank you dad & mom for commenting on every single one of my recipes lol). I am hoping one day that I can be as great of a parent as you guys are.

And finally, thank you for my sister. You help so much with ETG – with recipe ideas, Facebook scheduling, and my countless amount of texts about photos. And let’s not forget how I put you to work every time you visit ha.

Now here’s to kicking some ass 2020!! Let’s do this!!

PS – to help make ETG better, I would greatly appreciate it if you filled out this survey. It takes less than 2 minutes and will help me provide the content that you want. THANK YOU!!