Can you believe that I’ve been blogging for seven years now? Since my first post in the summer of 2008, 1,600 blogs have been published on Maria’s Farm Country Kitchen—many written by me, many others written by my interesting mix of knowledgeable, funny, and thought-provoking guest bloggers.
As I said when we launched the site’s redesign last year, this blog has grown into something I really enjoy and am really proud of. I’ve learned so much and have loved reading your comments. I’ve also enjoyed helping to unite people to make healthy changes toward a happier life.
In honor of your feedback and continued interest in my site (which I am endlessly grateful for!), I’m looking back at few of my most popular blogs. The popularity of this diverse group of posts shows that you, dear readers, are an interesting and complex group—a group that loves to read about a wide range of topics, from sex to gardening to recipes (aka my type of people!).
So here they are, five of my most popular blogs:
1. 10 Easy Ways to Talk To Your Daughter about Sex. The title says it all. This was a straightforward list of tips to help parents discuss sex with their girls. It was inspired by the fact that I have three daughters myself—and I am a firm believer in talking about sex. The post has obviously resonated with people, and even though it was published back in 2009, it still gets a good number of hits every month and has elicited more than 56 comments from mothers, fathers, and daughters, all in search of answers.
2. The Truth about Breastfeeding. This post was inspired by the birth of my grand-niece, which reminded me that so many moms entering motherhood are not sure what to expect and waste a lot of energy worrying, being surprised, and feeling like failures. Having experienced breastfeeding a child three times, I thought it was time to tell the truth so that moms could know what they’re getting into. This is a consistently popular blog, which shows you moms want the truth, nipple pain and all!
3. Quick Homemade Mashed Potatoes from Scratch. What can I say? People want to know how to make mashed potatoes from scratch! (Which, by the way, is actually very easy.) Every month, this is one of the most popular blogs, and traffic to it spikes like crazy every Thanksgiving. I like that everyone has his or her own twist on mashed potatoes and that readers have shared their own tips/recipes/techniques in the comments section.
4. 5 Reasons Why This Is the Most Important Year Ever to Start a Garden. This blog went viral almost as soon as it was posted. It was inspired by my 2014 trip to California, where I saw so many fields that were dead and dry due to the drought. Seeing this, a little alarm went off that food prices were going to be steep as a result, so I thought it was a good time to once again share some of the many amazing reasons to have a garden. Apparently, others wanted share it, too, because the post got retweeted and shared a ton of times on social media soon after its publication!
5. How to Make Crackers (It’s So Freaking Easy!). This is a perennially popular post that has a ton of comments, including this one from reader Katika, “Dear Recipe: WHERE Have you been all my life?!” Crackers. Apparently, something people have always wanted to make themselves. Who knew? And like all my recipes, it’s simple, quick, and easy—which is how I like to cook, and it seems many of you do, too.
Have a different favorite Maria’s Farm Country Kitchen post? Let me know in the comments.
And here’s to many more years of popular blogs!
Maybe because I didn’t have a good relationship with my mother, (for some reason she just never liked me, right up to the day before she died,) I guess that might be why my favorite blogs of your’s are all the ones that are in any way about you and your daughters!! It’s not that I can live or re-live my childhood through your stories about you and your girls, but it’s just that it makes me feel so happy to see through your stories how wondeful a mother/daughter relationship can be. And that you and your daughters are so willing to let us know the up’s and down’s and most of all, the love that is so evident in your lives – it just makes my heart sing!! Thank you all so much for being open, honest and letting your lives enrich so many others of us out here!!
7 years! Go Maria!! Love that you’re still blogging. I know from blogging myself there are seasons where it’s fun and exciting and you love the challenge of publishing something new and also times where it feels like a chore.
No matter what season you feel like you’re in right now, know that I love following along. 🙂