This month we are delighted to welcome family food blogger extraodinaire Helen, from The Crazy Kitchen as our blogger of the month. Not only does mum of 3, Helen, share some delicious recipes on her blog, she also writes about having fun as a family – something Helen knows a lot about as she told us that she secretly likes to sneak into people’s gardens when it has been snowing and leave them some snow angels. Not so secret now, eh Helen? We would also like to see some photographic evidence of this!

Helen started her blog back in January 2011 after a friend suggested it might be a good way of giving her business some more exposure. She says, “my business has slightly more exposure but I think my blog has even more now!” And she certainly does have many fans, as Helen was one of the 5 blogs to reach the finals in the family food category of The MAD Blog Awards this year. An amazing achievement!

Helen’s most popular post is a yummy-looking millionaire’s cheesecake, which was recently in the Macmillan ‘Little Book of Treats’ sold in M&S cafes. She says her favourite post is when she and her son made chocolate fudge cupcakes. Helen tells us, “myself and my youngest (Jack) really enjoyed making the cakes and the video in the post – I love the part at 1 min 56secs where he stands chatting & fiddling with a bowl.”

If you enjoy taking photos of your food, and I bet you all do, then you may like to check out the weekly Foodie Foto Friday feature on The Crazy Kitchen. Each Friday, Helen invites you to share a foodie photo on your blog – no words, just a photo. She also has a blog badge you can grab to show you are taking part, so get those cameras out!

This year, Helen is delighted to be one of the Morphy Richards innovators, testing out a range of household appliances and writing up her opinions. She has enjoyed working with several brands in the past and has recently taken part in blogger baking challenges hosted by Whitworths Sugar and Anchor.

In the future Helen says she would love for her blog to continue as it is and she’d also like to improve her photography. She says, “I’d like to become more adventurous with my cooking and baking and hopefully become more involved in brand challenges.”

Here are some of Helen’s top tips for new bloggers:

• Join in with monthly food challenges and linkys as it may gain you new readers as well as help you find new blogs to read
• Use clear pictures that make your reader want to reach into the screen and grab whatever you’ve cooked
• If you want your post to be popular, make sure it’s a recipe that includes chocolate and plenty of it!

We’re especially loving that last tip, Helen!

You can also find Helen over on twitter and facebook so do make sure you go and say hello!