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2016 has been…
Crazy, wild, exciting, stressful, overwhelming, joyful, and FUN.
You guys, it’s been quite the year. It’s been a year of challenges, growth, working for myself, finding balance (or lack there of), life changes, business decisions, and so much more. I am grateful every single day to do what I love and to help all of you find success in your own kitchen, whether that’s starting on your clean eating journey, or simply making delicious and nutritious meals for you and your family. Truly, I love what I do with a burning passion and I am beyond thankful for each and every one of you. 2017, we are ready for you!
Highlights:
I wrote my first cookbook.
We got married!!
We traveled a little, but actually not all that much (I promise this recap is coming really soon).
My book launched to the world, and when it hit shelves it became a top cookbook at Barnes and Noble and was #1 in new releases in Gluten-Free Cooking!
I embarked ( and am still currently on) the start of my book tour (come meet me)!
I decided to hire Sabrina full-time, which will be as of January 2017! You’ll get to know her more, too!
I met and connected tons of fabulous bloggers and authors who have become great friends and inspire me daily. I am grateful for this community, their support, and their friendships.
…And that’s just a handful of things!
Balance
This year was different than my past few years blogging, because I was in the midst of writing my cookbook. To be honest, it was the biggest, and most demanding project I have ever worked on. It was exciting, stressful at times, and a TON of work. I am beyond happy with how the cookbook turned out and even more happy that all of you are loving it so much. And of course, I am grateful for such an amazing opportunity. With that said, this year was challenging to find balance between life, blogging, and writing the book.
With all of the fabulous things that went on in 2016, I ended up doing what I told myself I wouldn’t do.
I told myself at the end of last year that in 2016 I would develop more of a morning routine where I would get up and meditate, work out, and get ready for the day (put on real clothes and get ready) — all before logging onto my computer and starting to work.
The days (and work, and weeks, and blogging, and book writing) got ahead of me and I found myself waking up and working right away. I found myself staying in my pajamas or yoga pants all day or for the majority of the day, and not mediating or doing any sort of morning routine. I think this is a really, really hard part of working from home and being your own boss. It’s just really hard to find that balance of having you time and working all the time. It’s a balance that has taken me a lot longer to figure out than I would have expected from this type A lady.
I am telling you this because in one way or another, whether you work from home or not, there is often something important that gets neglected in our live that we wish didn’t. Maybe it’s time with your family, maybe it’s eating healthier, maybe it’s drinking more water. Whatever it is for you, I hear you. It happens, and instead of beating ourselves up over it, let’s reflect and move forward.
One of my biggest 2017 personal goals will be developing and sticking to my morning routine and working on that work/life balance more!
2016 Content
This year, aside from all of the other content I shared, I did a Summer CSA Series with my girls Cassy from Fed and Fit and Juli from PaleOMG, and also did a Slow Cooker Sunday Series this Fall that so many of you loved!
I love looking back on a years worth of content and seeing your most loved recipes. With millions of you here throughout the year with me, let’s take a look at some of your favorite dishes from 2016!
Sheet Pan Chicken and Veggie Dinner
Lemon Garlic Chicken and Rice One-Pan Skillet
Caribbean Pulled Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Spaghetti Squash Alfredo with Chicken and Caramelized Onions
Breakfast Cookies
Slow Cooker Thai Curry Chicken
Hey Lexi! Who do you recommend for a functional medicine doctor in the Waltham area?
The Rothfeld Center 🙂
You had an awesome year!! Congratulations on everything especially your beautiful cookbook!!! So glad I got to see you a couple of times this year!! <3
Love you and can’t wait for next month!
Lexi– Just got your cookbook for the holidays and LOVE IT! Have you ever done, or would you consider doing, a “what I ate” post where you post what you ate for the day? Sometimes I find that to be the hardest part. Even though I can find good recipes, putting everything together into a meal plan for the week or finding balance in it all can sometimes be overwhelming.
I am so happy you love it! I’ll definitely do a WIAIAD! Check out today’s post — I’m sharing meal plans each week this month from both the blog and book, with shopping lists! http://lexiscleankitchen.com/2017/01/01/lexis-weekly-dinner-plan-week-5/
Congrats on all that you’ve accomplished this year, Lexi! The part about finding balance really resonated with me. As a PhD student, I also work from home, and it can be really challenging to designate work time and “me time.” Constructing and sticking to a morning routine has been a huge game-changer for me! Looking forward to continuing and developing this practice. Thanks so much for all your awesome recipes and advice!