You know what’s crazy? Today is my 5 year blogging anniversary. I can’t believe that I’ve been writing this blog nearly every day for the past 5 years! Thank you for reading and sharing in my adventures – I’m so happy that you’re here. :)
Just for fun, here’s a link to my very first post. Have any of you guys been reading my blog since the very beginning? It’s crazy how much I’ve done and how much has changed since starting this blog. It’s really fun to have a place to relive so many milestones and memories! Since that very first post in 2009, I…
Worked on prerequisites and applied to grad schools, was accepted to & decided to go to UNC for their Masters of Public Health in Nutrition program.
Ran my first half marathon in June 2010 (soon to be followed by a serious half marathon addiction) :)
Moved to North Carolina for grad school in August 2010. Fell in love with Chapel Hill and with these ladies. <3
Got engaged! – October 2011
Finished grad school coursework & moved back to DC with Matt in summer 2012 to do my dietetic internships.
Got married on October 13, 2012. <3
Graduated with my Masters of Public Health in Nutrition from UNC Chapel Hill in November 2012.
Passed the national exam to officially become a Registered Dietitian! – February 2013
Started my own nutrition counseling private practice (AnneTheRD.com). – February 2013.
Ran my first full marathon, the Richmond Marathon in November 2013, after saying I’d never run a full marathon. (Never say never!) I ran my second full – the LA Marathon – in March of this year.
It’s so cool to look back on all this stuff via my blog. Also, fun fact: this wasn’t my first blog! My first blog was actually a travel blog that I wrote once a week or so for friends and family while teaching English in Prague.
And now, in honor of the blogiversary, I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite posts and recipes from over the years. Enjoy!
Most popular recipes:
- 5 Minute No Bake PB Granola Bars – #1 by far.
- Perfect Microwave Baked Oatmeal
- Nutty Protein Granola Bars
- Scrambled Egg Muffins
- Healthy Deviled Eggs
- Vegan & Gluten Free Granola Bars
- Flour Free & Protein Packed Breakfast Pancake
- Sweet Potato Lentil Chili
- Quinoa Salad with Pecans and Cranberries (recipe from our wedding!)
- Almond Butter Banana Breakfast Bars
- Mexican Lasagna
- Whole Wheat Carrot Cake Muffins
Most popular helpful/”how to” posts:
- How to Make Oatmeal More Tasty, Filling and Satisfying
- How to Eat a Better Breakfast
- How to pack lunch in 5 minutes flat
- How to Make a Quick & Healthy Weeknight Dinner
- Healthy Snack Ideas for Busy People
- How to Make a Recipe Healthier
- How to Make Brussels Sprouts Delicious (my most Google-able post, apparently!)
- 4 Healthy, Quick, and Portable Breakfast Ideas
- How to Make Time for Health When You’re Busy
- A Full Three Days of Eats (Gasp!)
- One Small Change I Made To Improve My Health
- How to Eat Intuitively | A Guide to Mindful Eating
- 10 Immunity Boosting Foods for Cold & Flu Season
- Most inspirational/helpful fitness-related posts:
- How I Went From Hating Yoga… To Loving It
- Want to Become a Runner? This post is for you.
- How to Love Exercise (or at least not hate it)
- The Beauty of an Early Morning Run
- Why Running on the Morning of My Wedding was an Awesome Idea
- My 2nd half marathon training plan
- My 1st half marathon training plan
- 10 miler training plan
- Marathon training plan
- How to fix up a neglected bike
- How I overcame a knee injury (1st half marathon training reflections)
Miscellaneous favorites:
- Why You Should Throw Away Your Scale
- A Tale of Middle School Bullying
- My Favorite Books
- New Year’s Resolutions vs. Daily Action
- Here’s To Today – And What Will Follow (posted on our wedding day)
- My journey to blogging and why I love it
How and when did you first find my blog? What keeps you coming back? Again – thank you so much for reading, sharing comments and advice, and making this a happy and inspirational place for others to come to every day. I wouldn’t still be here without all of you. :)
p.s. Want to start your own blog? Check out my how to start a blog on WordPress post, and then see my tips for new bloggers! I also have tips for How to Get More Traffic and Keep Readers Engaged, and How to Work with Brands as a Blogger.
Congrats on 5 years of blogging! That’s awesome. It must have been fun to look back on all those changes your life experienced. I found your blog because you were on a blogging trip with some of the other bloggers I follow so I clicked to check your site and now I am a regular follower of FANNEtastic Food!
Yay! Thanks for reading!
First off, congrats on the blogiversary! Second, I am going GAGA over your wedding dress! I don’t know how I’ve never seen it before (I’ve been reading for a couple of years), but I swear it’s exactly what I would envision for my own. Love the lace details and cutout back – elegant but not stuffy. I NEED IT. Well, you know, if I was getting married anytime soon haha.
Thank you!! :)
I have been a reader since 2009. I cannot wait next for a Fannetastic Food baby!
Lol – you and my parents! :)
Congratulations, Anne! I started reading your blog about 2 years ago, and it is one of my all-time favorites to go back to everyday. I can’t put my figure on exactly why, but I think it’s just because you are so genuine. Your approach to healthy living feels approachable and realistic and doable. Your pictures are great, the recipes are easy, and you just seem to genuinely love what you do!
Aww, thank you! :)
Happy blogversary! :) I’m sure when you started you didn’t think it would grow the way it did! You’ve accomplished so much! Amazing! My blog turned 10 last month. The longest relationship I’ve ever had. :)
10, damn! That’s awesome!
Similar interests keep me coming back to your blog: running and healthy recipes. In fact, I just saved your quinoa salad recipe. Congrats!
AHH happy blog-iversary! I have loved reading you over the last 2 years!
Congrats on 5 years of awesome blogs! I’ve been reading for around 3 years. Can’t remember how I found your blog, but I really enjoyed reading about your decision to go back to school. I’ve been wanting to go back for graduate work for several years, but keep procrastinating due to fears of the unknown/changes to what life has been since graduating college 10 years ago now. Guess I should go back & re-read those posts for some motivation!
I think what finally motivated me was realizing one day that if I had just gone back when I first started debating it, I could already have been done! Good luck – don’t be scared to follow your dreams!
You’ve done SOOOOOO much in just five years!! What an inspiration your life is.
Hard to believe my blog turns five next month.
Congrats on all of your accomplishments, Anne!!
Happy almost 5 year blogiversary to you too! :)
Congratulations on 5 years!!! That is great accomplishment! :)
Happy anniversary! I found you through a guest post you wrote on the Sparkpeople blog and I’ve been reading ever since!
I don’t think I really knew about the blog world 5 years ago otherwise I would have been reading it then. I can’t remember exactly how I came across your blog, but I’ve been reading it for well over a year now. I come back because I like the balanced approach you take to healthy living and the fun running adventures you share and easy delicious recipes. Pretty sunrise shots of DC aren’t bad either:) congratulations on your 5 year anniversary! Can’t wait to continue reading.
Happy Anniversary!!! Congrats!!! One of my favourite blogs to visit…always full of positivity!
Happy {almost} Anniversary <3
Happy 5 years Anne! I love how a blog can evolve with us and document so much! It is amazing to look back! XOXO
(Hope to meet you soon now that I’m living down here in DC!)
Yes, that would be fun to meet up!
Yay!! Congratulations!! :D It’s quite an accomplishment! We love you and are so proud! :D :D :D
Thanks friend!!! Xo
haha oh crap, it’s my first time posting on your blog since I made a picture icon for myself in Game of Thrones blog world, and I didn’t realize it would also be here, ha. Well, enjoy the Jaime Lannister hotness ;)
Hahaha AMAZING.
That was a fun read! I hadn’t seen some of the posts you included. I’ve been a reader for a couple of years….in 2009 I didn’t even know what a blog was – ha ha. Congrats on 5 years!
Congrats on reaching 5 years! That’s a lot of dedication. I believe I’ve been reading for the past three years or so. It’s been great to see you transition from student to someone with her own business! You’re definitely inspirational to me as I also face going back to school to pursue a dream.
Thanks for sharing a great roundup of your posts and here’s to the next five years!
Wahoo!! Happy Anniversary! And almost wedding anniversary! I can’t EVEN remember how I stumbled upon your blog but I just love the variety of posts you have and the mix of workouts, day in the life and recipes!!! You just come across down to earth and relateable!! Can’t wait for another 5 years of reading! :)
It was pretty close to the beginning when I started reading. I’m not 100% certain but I think I found your blog by clicking on your name on a comment you made on another blog I read. That’s how I found most GOOD blogs back then. I will continue to read daily until a time comes when you no longer publish and then I might just go back to the beginning and start over. Best Wishes Anne!
Aw, so sweet. Thank you – honored to have had you on board for so long!
Congrats, Anne! I LOVE your blog though I only discovered it maybe 6 months ago (not even) at the suggestion of Jason Fitzgerald from strength running. I feel like we are friends just from reading your blog. I share so many of your same interests. I’m from Pittsburgh, like Matt, so the next time you’ll be in town, give me shout – I”d love to meet you. I just registered for the Boston Marathon and the Pittsburgh Half so if you’ll be running either of those, let us know! You motivate me and inspire me every time I read an entry. Keep it coming!
I’m honored to hear I’ve inspired! So fun you are from Pittsburgh. The half there this spring was really fun! Enjoy it! :)
Goood work!!!
I found you through Girls Gone Sporty! I loved your interview! I love your blog because I like to like vicariously through you–awesome runs, awesome gym workouts that I am too cheap to sign up for, awesome job, awesome food–you’re helping so many people!
Aw, thank you! That was a fun interview – glad you liked it!
Congrats Anne! I first found your blog 4-5 years ago when I was just finishing my dietetics degree. I love reading for the great recipes + to see other dietitians’ lives (especially running!).
I found your blog through HealthyTipping Point…she actually posted your 5 minute no bake granola bars. I love them! Your blog is great because you have a good balance as far as eating and being active is concerned. I like getting ideas from other people and changing it up! :)
Happy five years!!! I found your blog about a year and a half ago, I believe through pbfingers. Reading about your return to school to pursue a new career inspired me to do the same! I moved to a new city and am in my first semester at a new school where I’ll apply to the coordinated program in dietetics in the spring!
That’s amazing, Dana! Congratulations – so exciting to be following your dreams!
Congratulations on your blog anniversary!!!!!!!!!!!! And congratulations on all of the great things that you have accomplished since you first blog post! Awesome!!
Congratulations! Just wanted to say I love your blog. It provides very practical advice. These are things I can do.
Thank you, Wanda!
Congrats on 5 years of awesome blogging!! I believe I found your blog through other RD bloggers about a year ago but I love how yours is also fitness based, it’s inspiring and helpful to read about your training and race recaps.
Congrats, Anne! I like your blog because you always have a positive tone. I am studying to become an RD too after years out of school, so I also relate to your journey! Thanks for being here!
Thanks, Laura! Good luck on your journey to become an RD! :)
Happy Bloggiversary, Anne! I love that you shared your most popular recipes. How about those no bake pb granola bars. YUM!
Happy, Bloggiverysay! I haven’t been here since the beginning but I do love your blog. Very inspirational on the exercise and food fronts. Your 5 Minute No Bake PB Granola Bars are my absolute hands down favorite no bake granola bar and I have tried a lot of no bake recipes!
Yay, I’m so glad to hear that!
Congrats on your amazing success in the past 5 years. I’m so lucky to have met and learn so much from you.
Likewise, my friend. Hope our paths cross again soon!
Congrats Anne – what an amazing journey you created for yourself. You were one of the first fitness blogs I ever read and I still read to this day for inspiration, yummy meal ideas, and workout motivation. Thanks for all you do and I can’t wait to keep reading for the next 5!
Thank you, Meaghan! :) Love reading your blog, too!
Congratulations! Here’s to many many more!
Wow congrats! I love following your blog. 5 years is a long time! Good job!
-Nicole
http://www.lungesandlace.com
I think I found your blog last year. Happy almost 2nd wedding anniversary! I love your writing style and amazing photography and attention to detail. Your blog is quite polished yet friendly and always filled with a nice balance of day in the life stuff and useful information for healthy living which is a perfect combo. Congratulations and I hope you continue to blog providing us all with great posts to read and learn from.
Thank you so much for reading! :)
Congrats on 5 years of blogging!! I can’t remember when I started reading your blog, but it was definitely long before we met in person! Now I’m so happy to know you in real life and have you as a friend (not to mention a super awesome running buddy!). Happy blogiversary!
Aww yay thank you! It’s been so fun getting to know you better through our weekly track dates! :)