Hello friends!  Happy New Year!  Twenty-eighteen, yahoo! How did you celebrate last night?  I went out to grab dinner at a yummy Indian food restaurant, then to a high school friend’s party and then a pajama party.  It was busy, but fun – a great way to end the year.

This is the time of year for resolutions, new goals, a reset of sorts.  Before I dive into my new goals for 2018, I wanted to bring to you the best of 2017 vegan recipes chosen by YOU.  2017 was a year of gigantic growth for the blog.  I’ve really enjoyed creating recipes for all of you readers; not only has it helped my become a better cook but it’s helped me develop a better relationship with food.  Thank you.  Enjoy this look back at the most popular vegan recipes of 2017 as well as what you can expect of me this year.  Linking up with Deborah and Sarah of Meatless Monday to review the best of 2017 recipes.

Sweet Potato Breakfast Cookies – great for pre-run fuel, or as food during a long trail run.  I love how easy these are to make!

Black Bean and Quinoa Enchiladas with Ranchero Sauce – this recipes is a fantastic vegan main dish.  Full of protein and flavor, I make it for meal prep quite frequently.

Vegan Chickpea Flour Omelettes – I had a reader request a soy-free breakfast option that WASN’T oatmeal.  Chickpea flour is really high in protein and has no soy.  It’s great for making a savory protein-packed breakfast.

Jackfruit Chili – It’s currently negative 5 degrees here in Chicago and -20 with the windchill.  The perfect day for a hearty bowl of spicy chili, and maybe some pumpkin cornbread on the side.

Cherry-Beet Recovery Smoothie – another popular runner recipe from 2017 was this recovery smoothie.  I drank it after almost every long-run this summer.

Orange Miso-Glazed Tempeh and Broccoli – rounding out the best of 2017 vegan recipes is this asian-inspired vegan main dish.  It’s high in probiotics and promotes gut health.

What’s Next in 2018

• Post at least 2 recipes a month on the blog.  This has been difficult for me because of my posting process!  The teacher in me wants to show you all step-by-step instructions.  I would make the recipe once to test on myself, then make the recipe a second time to test on others, then make the recipe a third time to take pictures of each step. But after polling followers on Instagram, I realized that most people just scroll to the bottom anyway.  SO! In an effort to post more, and to avoid going insane, I will be just posting pictures of any difficult step.

• Make at least 2 recipe videos.  I’ve been wanting to get into the video-making arena for a few months now.  My obstacle is the equipment.  Anyone have good recipe video making recommendations or tips?  While I research this, you can follow me on Instagram – I tend to walk through making a recipe at least once a week in my Stories.

• More restaurant and product reviews.  Another one of my best posts from 2017 was my Chicago Vegan Ice Cream Crawl.  I had a BLAST and want to do more local vegan restaurant reviews or product reviews.  There isn’t much coverage of the vegan scene in Chicago yet and it is definitely growing!

Thank you for following along with the recipes.  You can check out my review of the year in my running and personal life in this post.  It’s much more candid and personal.  Also make sure to subscribe to the newsletter so you never miss another post!  I occasionally send recipes to subscribers that I just haven’t had time to publish.

What was your favorite recipe from this year? What would you like to see on the blog? I love requests! Leave a comment below or send me a message on Instagram or Facebook. Can’t wait for what 2018 holds!

Happy New Year!

Becca

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