What's Good This Week

Hiya, and happy 2019 to you all!

Did you all have wild and crazy New Years'? Tell me about it! Let me live vicariously though you!

I celebrated with my family in BC, where we rung in NYE in the maritimes (8pm BC time) with a little bit of Prosecco and a lot of cheese. We did a cheese fondue dinner, which involved eight adults circling around the fondue pot like vultures, dipping cubes of bread and slices of pear and tiny pickles into the molten cheese and then stuffing our faces as fast as we could.

My mom had bought more packets of the fondue mix (we are lazy and buy pre-mixed stuff complete with the cheeses and kirsch) than she figured she needed, and after we went through half of it we took a pause to make more, and ended up going through each and every packet we had. I calculated that it worked out to a little more than half a pound of cheese per person; some of us suffered the consequences.

(Not me, but my sister forgot that she doesn't have a gallbladder and can't process that much fat, and Odin's little system didn't seem to appreciate so much lactose in mine).

After we polished off all that cheese we tore into a batch of Nordy Bars. Sarah had brought me the ingredients to make them, some of which I can't find in Sweden, and also some vegan marshmallows to mix in. It was my first time making them and when I pressed the shockingly orange batter into the pan I thought they couldn't possibly be good.

Holy crap, was I ever wrong. I came downstairs from putting Odin to bed and the family had already crushed nearly half the tray. I rapidly shoved five into my mouth (okay okay, it was six) and then we sent the rest of the tray away with the ambitious folks who were going to an actual NYE party. I woke up in the morning simultaneously furious and relieved that there were no more on hand. They were that good.

After that I rolled my cheese and Nordy Bar stuffed self up the stairs, and was in bed sound asleep by 9:30pm. It was a rager, I tell ya.

All in all, it was a really great way to ring in the New Year.

I arrived back in Stockholm on Friday afternoon, followed a few hours later by Paul and Niko, back from their tropical boy's trip. I told Paul that my little trip out west was the exact thing my soul needed, and he said the same of his trip.

After a couple of really trying months with a new baby, a constantly sick and whiney toddler, and an un-planned renovation happening in our apartment, a little space to rest and breathe seems to be exactly what we all needed.

I appreciated being able to recharge my batteries surrounded by my family, and I feel like I was able to get in touch with Odin's needs and become better at reading his cues away from all the chaos. Niko got some much needed one-on-one attention, and it sounds like they had a really fun trip.

Although we have two jet-lagged kids coming from completely different time zones (last night it took me until 3am to get Odin to really settle, and then Niko woke up at 5am) it seems like we're all a lot more relaxed and a lot less shouty than we were before the holidays. I'm thankful to be starting our 2019 together with this more mellow tone.

I'm not really one for New Years resolutions, but I am stoked to have met my 2018 book reading goal! I'm going to be giving you the low down on what I read last year a bit later this week. I'm also turning 40 (!!!!) this month, so plan to dive into reflections and goals for the year a little bit later.

On Hey Nutrition Lady This Week

Last year was a pivotal year for me and this site, so it was fun to dive into the analytics and highlight the top performing posts of 2018.

Then we kicked off 2019 recipes with one of my favourite quick, easy, and light meals, Pan-Fried Broccoli with Sesame Egg Ribbons. {Pin this}

And since I know that some of you may have decided to try out plant-based eating for the month of January, I rounded up 13 Protein-Packed Veganuary Recipes.

WHAT’S TRENDING ON HNL

These are the five most popular posts on Hey Nutrition Lady over the last week!

1. Mung Bean And Coconut Curry. Still going strong! {Pin this}

2. Curried Cauliflower Chickpea Wraps. One of my favourite plant-based lunches. {Pin this}

3. Black Bean and Quinoa Freezer Burritos. Making a batch for my freezer this week! {Pin this}

4. Chocolate Black Bean Brownie Smoothie. Beans in smoothies 4evah! {Pin this}

5. Turmeric Latte Mix. Still in season! {Pin this}

WHAT’S GOOD AROUND THE WEB

1. Three key benefits to the Mediterranean Diet we shouldn't ignore.

2. Your essential meal planning food safety guide.

3. The health of the world in 2018, by the numbers.

4. Why workers smuggled breast pumps into prisons.

5. When it comes to weight loss, aim to be an alpaca, not a unicorn.