The Year That Was...

Hello, hello friendly friends!!
And...
A happy, happy New Year!! Can you believe it??
I almost want to say 'Where did 2015 go!?' and then I remember all of the utterly incredible things that happened last year and remember that 2015 was in fact a huge year filled with many many amazing memories!

But enough about everyday life- how about a little reminiscing on the year that was... food style?

Steph To Chef launched into it's second full year of existence in January 2015 with a BANG!

Well, with a post about food, running items and a love of white sweet potatoes (nothing new there) on the 1st Of January:

Things I've Been Loving On!

 January followed without a hitch with  delicious food creations and even more excitingly...

Spaghetti Squash!! In AUS!!

Spaghetti Squash! You see, AUS doesn't really sell spaghetti squash or even kabocha (nooooo!) all that often, so when one finds it... one buys ALL of it!

The earlier months to follow Jan saw the production of some of my most insightful and thought provoking posts, that got quite a few of you engaged in conversation too.

The Real-Life RD Has A Point

 I brought up such topics about not eating enough, this drive to be skinny.

Fad Diets- A Few Of My Favourites

And even created a post surrounding my uncertainty surrounding stevia:

Stevia- The Reason For My Skepticism

 March saw my highest number of posts with a whopping 27!! (Good job hard studying, time poor, senior school sutdent, Steph! ;P)

Through the months I seemed to become more accustomed to having to deal with cravings...

A Craving
 
 Anything from oats to veggies to potatoes... they just kept coming. And I just kept feeding the beast:)

In exercise terms, this year saw a drop in the crazy level of running I was doing:

How Competition Has Reignited the Running Bug

 As we delved into winter, big hearty bowls of food resulted... and I wasn't complaining:

WIAW #68 Just Another Manic Monday

 It was around this time that I was having a little blender trouble..

Thinking Out Loud- Blender Catastrophe

 And finally manned up and with basically all the money I had saved from my part- time job bought my very own VITAMIX!

Thinking Out Loud- The Vitamix Edition!!!!!

 Soon after, jetting off to Africa for my school's humanitarian trip to Tanzania!

There were a few more slightly controversial and definitely a little tougher posts (in the sense that they weren't my beloved fluffy, airy-fairy happy food posts) that seemed to get a lot of attention:

Ignoring Hunger- The Consequences

S-U-G-A-R 

What followed this was a hectic time of finishing last minute assignments, crammed tests and end of year exams... which meant some of my more sane food creations became a little less normal..

Because Sometimes You Just Need Easy! 

Yes- that is cold pasta mixed with mashed avocado and hommus. Yes- it was delicious!

One, two, skip a few and suddenly we were in December, Christmas around the corner, more free time to create more meals and a few good posts that I thoroughly enjoyed writing!

Glazed Cinnamon Roll Oats
 

What We Need To STOP Saying


Which brings us all the way back to here. January 1st 2016. A new year, a fresh new start to really become someone you admire, to make a change in others lives and to challenge yourself to the point where you are joyously surprised with how capable you are!

I have no doubts 2016 is going to be a year to remember, so let's make it the best one YET!

Bye for now! :D