"Meaty" Vegetarian Chili

I've been trying to be good about my cholesterol intake since I found out that mine was really high about 2 years ago.  It scared me when I heard that it was in the 230's.  Don't know about you but I don't want to have a heart attack any time soon.  That's why I really try to monitor my cholesterol intake now on a daily basis.   

Just for the record...  I'm not some weirdo that just walks around eating tofu and "meatless" meats all of the time, ok well I do but it's not because I'm weird.  I have just really fell in love with a lot of meatless recipes because they are so tasty so much healthier than some of the regular meats that I had been eating.  

So tonight I just tweaked my Texas Chili Recipe a little to become a "Meaty" Vegetarian Chili!  Oh and it turned out good!  Gotta love meaty meatless recipes :)

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Chipotle Black Bean Salad

Oh my goodness.. my lunch today was so tasty!  If you are a regular reader of The Best Blog Recipes you probably already know that I've been on a journey to lose weight and that I'm down 50 pounds (you can read my story here)!  Each and every day I have to make healthy decisions about the things I am going to eat  and sometimes it's pretty darn challenging.

I love mexican food and get serious don't mess with me cravings.  But my mexican food cravings come with some seriously unhealthy eating habits too.  I could eat my weight in chips & salsa and don't get me started on tortillas & rice. 

See my problem you guys.

I'm a mexican food-a-holic!   

I've never been much of a salad eater either until recently.  I've figured out that you can do a lot more with salad then just dump some ranch dressing on it.

So I've been busy experimenting and have come up with some pretty amazing salad recipes.  One of my favorites is Chipotle Black Bean Salad for lunch!  Yummy!

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Banana Apple Cinnamon Oat Bread

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I'm not much of a bread maker for the most part.  I really don't enjoy kneading dough or waiting for it to rise so that's why I was so excited when I came across a recipe for some delicious little Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Muffins from Cathlin Cooks that I thought might make a good bread... without the kneading or rising! 

Yep, this is my kind of bread!  It turned out so moist and delicious.  It was a little heavier and crumblier than I thought it would be but I'm sure it was because of the oat flour.  It is the first time I have baked with it and it turned out to be really delicious in this recipe!  What a great way to get more oats and coconut oil in your diet... just make yummy Banana Apple Cinnamon Oat Bread! 

The house smelled delicious while this bread was cooking!  I will definitely be making this again soon :) 

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Guest Post: Pink Monkey Smoothie

Can you believe that it's going to be Easter this weekend... and it's also going to be 60° outside in Utah?!?  That makes me SO happy!  I hate it when it's cold outside when we're Easter Egg Hunting.

Want to know what else makes me happy? Guest Posters!  Yes, I love them!  It's always so much fun getting to know other bloggers out there, creating friendships and seeing the yummy things they have been busy creating.  

Today our special Guest Post comes from Anyonita Nibbles.  She's sharing her Pink Monkey Smoothie recipe with us.  It looks so yummy and easy to make!  I definitely can't wait to try it :)

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Healthy Zucchini & Meatball Pizza Bites

Do you guys ever get a craving for pizza?  I sure do.  Since I've been on a weight loss journey and have lost 50 lbs to date I have been trying to come up with creative ways to make the foods I love a little healthier so that I don't go crazy and eat something that isn't good for me.

Today it was pizza.  My craving for pizza was so bad that there really wasn't any way I was going to get around it.  My options were to either go and get a pizza from our local pizza shop and just eat 1, 2 or 5 pieces.  Or I could make something that was healthier.  So glad I love my new body because it really wasn't even a question as to what I was going to do.

 

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Guest Post: No Bake Chocolate Energy Bites

Hey there my blog peeps.  Guess who's totally been spoiled this week by some awesome Guest Posters?  Me!  I'm going out of town and have a ton to do so I asked one of my blog friends, Jovana over at Taste of August if she'd share one of her delicious yummy recipes with you. Yeah, she's pretty amazing and a total lifesaver!  You should definitely show her blog some love and visit if you haven't already :)

Hi! I'm Jovana and I blog over at Taste of August. I am super excited to be guest posting here at The Best Blog Recipes. I absolutely love all of the posts by Shauna - she really has some amazing and yummy recipes, doesn't she?

I am a recently married gal who loves to cook, bake and decorate. I love trying out new recipes, especially desserts and snacks. I am a chocolate lover at heart, and so I always try to find healthier options to my sweet cravings. These chocolate energy bites are absolutely my favourite. Packed with all things good for you, both you and your kids will just love eating these when a boost of energy is needed. I take them to work for a little mid-afternoon "pick me up" snack. You can add and/or omit whatever you would like. With the ingredients below, these balls work out to about 100 calories per ball. I also added some ideas for variations, just to get you inspired to make some today! Enjoy!

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Spicy Tomato & Mushroom Tilapia

Oh my goodness... my lunch yesterday was so delicious!

I knew I wanted to have Tilapia but I didn't know how to season it.  I had a ton of fresh mushrooms & cherry tomatoes and I just stood there looking at my ingredients until it finally hit me.

Does that happen to any of you?  You're hungry, you know what you want to use but you don't know the exact way you want to put it together?  My husband is always coming in the kitchen to ask me what I'm doing and usually I'm just standing there in deep thought, lol!

Well, my friends it paid off.  I really loved how easy and quick this Tilapia dish was to make and the flavor turned out really great! 

And it's a perfect dish if you're trying to eat healthy and lose weight!

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Greek Yogurt, Berries & Granola Parfait

About 2 weeks ago I went to a friends house for a play-date and she made us a snack while the kids were playing.  She broke out some yogurt, berries & granola for us. 

Here's my dilemma... I have never tried Greek Yogurt and for those of you who read one of my previous posts I just kind of assumed that Greek Yogurt was really gross.  And granola...  IN... yogurt?  Who does that.  I'm not a walnuts in my brownie kind of girl either.  I like my sweet things plain.  I was having a hard enough time with the "Greek" part to start with and you want to granola me too.     

I just kept talking and decided that I wasn't going to say anything and just eat what she gave me.  My mom would be so proud! And besides,  I really trust this friend since she is such a fantastic cook and I'm so incredibly happy I did because lookout...  THIS TREAT WAS SO DELICIOUS!

Oh my goodness.  I couldn't believe it.  The combination of the delicious honey flavored yogurt, with the berries, banana and wonderful granola were just out of this world!

In 2 weeks I have finished 2 large containers of Greek Gods Honey flavored Greek Yogurt all by myself (but who's counting) and I literally just can't get enough.

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No-Bake Homemade Granola Bars

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So I've literally been searching and searching for a good granola bar recipe to make.  Nothing was really exciting me until I finally found 2 that I wanted to try.  So I made them both and served them to my family to see which one they liked best.  

And I'm happy to announce that this No-Bake Granola Bar recipe was the winner :) 

These little granola bars are so yummy and easy to make.  I had everything I needed in the cupboard so I was really excited about that too!  They've been perfect for after school snacks and for my husbands work lunches.  

And the best part... it was homemade and healthier than store bought granola bars.

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Tofu & Broccoli Scramble

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When I say Tofu does the thought of hippies and tasteless bland food come to mind?  Well, it did to me.  I am one of those people who automatically assumed that I didn't like (hated) Tofu and it wasn't even worth a try... ever!  

I don't know why that is.  Guess somewhere along the line someone must have said how disgusting it must have been and it just stuck with me, like most other people that I know.  

Then I came across a recipe for Tofu Taco's and I decided to give it a try and it turned out to be pretty darn good! 

I wonder how many other things there are in this world that I "don't like" that I haven't even tried yet. 

Oh I thought of one... Greek Yogurt. 

I'm pretty sure I don't like greek yogurt since I heard from someone that it's yuckie...  [mental note:  add greek yogurt to my shopping list this week and see if I actually like it or if I'm just really a dork and that much of a follower].

So anyways, I am so surprised at how much I am in love with Tofu!  Especially what I made today.

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Healthy Zucchini & Tuna!

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Since I've been losing weight over the past couple of months I have really enjoyed making healthy lunches for myself during the day.  I've tried to break out of my norm and find healthier alternatives to the things I usually love to eat.

Today I thought tuna sounded good.  On a normal day I would put it in a bowl with tons of mayonnaise, lemon and onion.  Then I'd toast a bagel and put butter on that. I hate to admit but I'd probably have chips with it too.

Yeah, not the healthiest lunch in the world.... but super tasty!

So, in my weight loss journey I've been learning new and healthier ways to cook.  Mostly for myself since my skinny family can eat whatever they want and get away with it.
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Tofu Taco's

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Skinny Baked Mozzarella Sticks

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Cauliflower Mash

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