Last week I had all these peppers in my fridge and I kept seeing and hearing all about stuffed peppers over and over again. I figured It's a sign, I'm going to make them this week. 

I used to love the flavor of sausage in stuffed peppers so I decided to add some vegan sausage to the mix. To me, this is what made these so yummy. I decided not to add cheese because I wanted to limit the number of processed ingredients in the recipe. If you wanted to you could add some plant-based cheese but I do add some nutritional yeast to get that cheesy flavor.

This Is What You Will Need

4 peppers with the tops cut off and seeds and ribs removed. Dice the tops and add with onions.

1 medium onion diced

4 cloves of garlic minced

1/2 cup of mushrooms diced

1 1/2 cups of cooked brown rice

1/2 cup Veggie broth, could use water.

1/2 cup of nutritional yeast

1 Tbsp. olive oil

28 oz. diced tomatoes

1/2 tsp. of garlic powder

1/2 tsp. onion powder

3 Vegan sausages diced

1tsp dried basil

S...

I still can't believe after eating these that they're pretty damn healthy! Total comfort food. It felt like such a treat when I was eating these fries, delicious!

For the sauce, I used Plant-based plain yogurt and chipotle pepper adobo sauce with a pinch of salt. Very simple.

The salsa, beans, and the sauce can be made ahead of time so all you have to do is prepare the fries. 

Great for a quick fun dinner or a casual get together! I hope you enjoy!

What you will need

For the sauce:

3/4 Cup of plant-based plain yogurt

1 Tbsp. of adobo sauce

Pinch of sea salt

For the beans:

1-15 oz. can of black beans drained

2 cloves of garlic minced

1/2 Cup of frozen corn

For the salsa:

1 red pepper diced

1 medium red onion diced

1 jalapeno ribbed, seeded,  and diced

1 bunch of cilantro chopped

1 tomato diced

1 avocado diced

1 lime juiced

salt to taste

For the fries:

3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch wide slices

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp sea sal...

I featured this recipe before in my batch cooking blog post and decided I wanted to give this soup it's own spotlight because it's so yummy. You can cook this in a crockpot or also right on the stovetop. It's pretty quick and easy to prepare also!

What You Will Need

4 - 15 oz. of  black beans rinsed and drained

1 Yellow onion, diced

5 Cloves of garlic minced

3 Carrots, diced

1 Stalk of celery diced

1 Jalapeno, sliced

1 tbsp. Chili powder

1 tbsp. Cumin

1/8 tsp. Paprika, smoked if you have it.

2 – 15oz. Can of diced tomatoes

1 ½ Cups of frozen corn

1 1/2-2 Cups of veggie broth (Or to your desired thickness)

What You Need To Do

Add all ingredients, except corn, to the crockpot and cook on low for 6 hrs. after 4 hrs take 2 cups of mixture and put in a blender and puree, add back to soup.

You could also use an immersion blender if you have one. Add corn and let cook for the remaining time. Enjoy!

For leftovers, let cool and freeze in plastic freezer bags or g...

These are becoming my go-to snack in the house. It's great for after a workout or a run. Also, when I start to feel those afternoon lulls and need a pick me up. Or just a yummy snack, these balls of energy are full of protein, taste delicious, and are quick and easy to make! My kids love them too....and my dogs!

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

1 3/4 cup almond butter

2 cups gluten-free oats

1/3 cup finely shredded coconut

2 tbsp chia seeds

2 tbsp ground flax seed

¼ cup maple syrup

3 tsp vanilla

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO

Combine all ingredients and blend. I suggest using a mixer. The mixture will look crumbly but you should be able to squeeze it together in your hand to form a ball. Bite-size is recommended. If needed add more almond butter. Take some extra coconut flakes to roll the bites in. Place in a sealed container in the fridge. This will keep them firm. That's it, super easy and very quick!

To sign up for the blog and get weekly plant-based recipes, click Here

I hope you enjoy...

This is a recipe from my Thursday Random Refrigerator Meals. I go live every Thursday from my Facebook business page, Tina Stinson - Healthy Balanced Living at 4 pm ET. This was last weeks meal and it was so delicious and easy to make I decided to put it on the blog.

You don't need too many ingredients to make this one which makes it easy and pretty inexpensive. This was enough for two people with some leftovers so if you have a family your cooking for maybe double it if you want leftovers. 

I hope you enjoy!

What You Will Need

2 Bell peppers any color, sliced.

1 Large or 2 small onions, red or yellow, sliced.

4 Garlic cloves minced.

2 Large portobello mushrooms, sliced.

1 Jalapeno, sliced. Optional if you want to add heat.

2 Tbsp Olive oil

2-3 Tbsp Chili Powder

1 Tsp. Cumin

Salt to taste. I didn't need to add any.

4-6 Small Tortillas. I used whole wheat.

1 Avocado as a topping. Optional.

Plant-based yogurt. To use in place of sour cream as a topping. Optional

Wha...

I had a completely different recipe planned this week but I decided with all the freezing weather going on I would do something to warm you up!

To sign up to get delicious plant-based/vegan recipes sent to your inbox each week CLICK HERE

Minestrone is basically a vegetable soup so don't be afraid to do freestyle!

What You Will Need

2 15.5 oz cans of beans rinsed. I use cannellini or garbanzo.

1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 yellow onion, diced

2 carrots, sliced

2 celery stalks, sliced

1 cup of shredded cabbage

4-5 cloves of garlic, diced

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried parsley

1 bay leaf

½ tsp red pepper flakes, optional

4-5 cups of veggie stock(might need more if you're adding pasta or rice)

Salt and pepper to taste

Things you can add:

2 small potatoes, diced.

1 small zucchini, diced

4 cups of chopped spinach

½ cup pasta

½ cup brown rice

What you need to do

In a Medium to large stock pot heat olive oil on med...

When I first decided to try a plant-based/vegan diet I did lose weight, about 8 lbs. I wasn't trying to lose weight but when you start eating plant-based whole foods you end up adding in tons of healthy foods which end up crowding out the bad stuff!  Here are a few of the reasons you might lose weight.

1. If you decided to try a Plant-Based diet for health reasons then you will be eating a lot of whole foods which include low-calorie fruits, veggies. Whole foods have lots of fiber and are nutrient-dense. This will keep you full longer.

2. You're not eating a lot of animal-based foods like meat, cheese, and dairy. Most of them have high calories saturated fats and are not usually full of all the great nutrients that fruits, veggies, and whole foods have.

Also, when your eating plant-based whole food you automatically cut out processed foods loaded with sugar, heavy amounts of salt, and unhealthy fats, all of which add to weight gain.

3. When your body is getting an abundance of vi...

Try This Stress-Relief Method for Quick Results

Whenever I come across a stressful situation I use this method for instant relief. It's called the 478 Method by Dr. Andrew Weil.

It's very easy. You just take a deep breath in expanding your chest as much as you can in 4 seconds, hold for 7 seconds, and then exhale for 8 seconds. Do this a few times and you will feel calmer.

Just like any exercise, this will take some practice to master it but this will be a valuable tool for you to calm that stress quickly. And an added bonus, you can do this anywhere!

Learn more about Dr. Weil's Method and why it works HERE.

To get more tips like these along with weekly plant-based recipes sign up for my newsletter HERE.

Want to hang out with a bunch of like-minded people and learn more about plant-based cooking, self-care, and stress relief? Come join the free group on Facebook, Healthy Balanced Plant-Based Living HERE.

Ready to go all in? Grab my 30 Day Plant-Based Trans...

Crunchy Chewy Vegan Granola

I absolutely love making my own granola. You save a ton of money, you can customize it to fit what you like, and it tastes so much better.

When I say customize what I mean is you can pick what kind of nuts you mix in there and decide if you want raisins or dried cranberries or other dried fruit. You can also pick the spices you add like cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice is yummy too. You can even get creative with adding different extracts instead of vanilla like almond or coconut.

I made this recipe vegan by swapping honey for maple syrup which changes the flavor a little, for the better as far as I'm concerned.

Once you make your own granola you won't go back, it tastes so much better, it's so fresh, and it's personalized!

Use this recipe as a base and customize it to make it yours!

Preheat oven to 350°

What You Will Need

4 Cups of old fashioned rolled oats.

1 Cup of pecans, chopped. Or nuts of your choice.

½ Cup of pepitas (pumpk...

I know I'm a little late to the game this New Year. I was set back by a bad cold but now I'm back and ready!

This is my New Year Meal to bring health and prosperity to you!

Last year I made a soup and just wanted to do something different. I was in the mood for chili, so chili it was.

I'm very happy the way this came out and there was enough to freeze and share. As a matter of fact, I'm having this for lunch today.

So let me get to it!

What Do I Need?

2 tbsp Olive Oil

1 large or 2 small Onions, diced

2 Peppers, diced. Whatever color your heart desires

5 Cloves of garlic, minced.

2 Carrots shredded.

2 15.5 oz of black eye peas, drained.

4 Cups of veggie broth.

28oz of Diced Tomatoes with liquid.

½ to ¾ Cup of uncooked, rinsed quinoa. Depends on how thick you would like it.

1 tsp Garlic powder.

1 tsp Onion powder.

2 tsp Cumin.

2 tsp Paprika.

3 tbsp Chili powder.

1/2 tsp Liquid smoke.

1 Small bag of fresh spinach, chopped.

1 Avocado for garnish, optional.