I seem to be drawn to the same ingredients, sweet potatoes, black beans, and a little spice. That's because its oh so good together! 

This weeks recipe is made with plant-based whole foods, a nutrition powerhouse, and is super delicious. There is nothing better than eating something that tastes so naughty but is really so good for you! This is one of those recipes.

Some of the Benefits

Sweet Potatoes - Are high in fiber, vitamin C, potassium, pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), niacin (vitamin B3), vitamin B6, manganese, magnesium, and copper. They also contain over double the daily value for vitamin A and about 4 grams per cup protein when cooked!

Black Beans - Are loaded with fiber, folate. and protein and also contain: 5 mg iron, 84 mg magnesium, 259 mg phosphorus, 739 mg potassium, 331 mg sodium, 1.3 mg zinc, 0.4 mg thiamin, 0.3 mg riboflavin. Wow! Load me up! 

Orange Pepper - Are packed with vitamins and low in calories. They are an excellent source...

I have been so excited about trying to use jackfruit in my blog for the longest time. The first time I bought jackfruit from the grocery store I bought ripe sweet jackfruit which isn't what you need to make vegan pulled pork sandwiches. You have to buy young jackfruit that is not ripe yet. I chose to buy it canned in brine, also an important step because sometimes it can be canned in syrup. I have to admit, buying a fresh jackfruit seemed a little intimidating to me. I had no clue how to prepare jackfruit at all, even the canned version. 

of course, I went to the all-knowing google to learn how to prepare the canned version and I suggest you do the same if you are also a jackfruit virgin. There was plenty of YouTube videos on the subject. I took a few pictures and will post here but I believe a video serves better on this subject and plan to do this for one of my meatless Monday's meals soon!

The jackfruit has a core like a pineapple and you will cut that part off. Within the...

I've been experimenting with this recipe for a while trying to get it just right and I think I finally got it!

I love black beans and rice but kinda wanted to fancy it up a little bit. I added sweet yellow onion, sweet red pepper, and jalapenos to spice it up a bit. I added two to the whole thing, and I think that might be a little too much spice for me. Next time I'll add just one.

The brown rice with the cilantro and lime really balanced it out. The plantain I sauteed was super ripe and sweet and that was the perfect complement to the spicy black beans and the tangy cilantro lime rice. Yum!

What You Will Need

For The Beans:

2 15oz cans of black beans drained and rinsed.

1 Medium yellow onion, diced.

1 Red Pepper, diced.

1 jalapeno sliced whole.

3 Cloves of garlic minced.

1 tablespoon of cumin.

Sea salt to taste.

For The Rice:

11/2 Cups of brown rice.

1 Large handful of cilantro, chopped.

1 Lime, juiced.

1-2 Very ripe plantains, sliced

1/2 Tsp....

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

Salt to...

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

...

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...

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!

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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

What...

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!

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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...

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...