Hot Tip! Blog "Best of" Lists

I'm still pretty new at this blogging thing and learning all of the time. One interesting tidbit that I picked up over the New Year's Holiday was that a lot of bloggers wrote "best of" lists and then published the lists on their blogs. Farty Girl wrote about the best (and worst!) foods for IBS, other bloggers listed out their favorite posts of the year, and the most important thing of all for me, food bloggers listed their favorite dishes of the year. That is so cool! I mean, no more making things that aren't extraordinary. Just pick off of the best of list from any active food blogger that you admire and viola! you have a recipe that's company worthy.

The first list that I ran across was actually a guest post on Choosing Raw where Leslie from The Whole Plate shares 5 of her favorite veggie recipes. Collard Greens in Peanut Tomato Sauce, Roasted Beets with Cocoa Sesame Sauce, Raw Zucchini Boats with Tomato and Oregano, Thai Coconut Corn Soup, Coconut Sweet Potato Dip . . . oh la la!

Then I got notification in my inbox that Susan over at Fat Free Vegan had done her own best of 2010 list. I think I've discovered something! "Best of" lists are for me! Susan's Roasted Eggplant Pesto here I come! But first, back to Leslie's lovlies . . .

The ingredients for Leslie's Cocoa Sesame Sauce are all staples in my kitchen, which made this a very easy recipe to whip up before I left for work in the morning.

Roasted the beets as soon as I walked in the door and they were ready just in time to be served with the collard greens.

Oh, that cocoa sauce is soooooo good! Leslie was right, this is a "best of" recipe! And don't make fun of my hat, it's really cold here in Cleveland right now.

Leslie's Collard Greens in Peanut Tomato Sauce also couldn't have been easier. . .

or tastier! Two totally winning dishes. Two dishes that I would be proud to serve to a guest. And I did. Thanks to my niece Emily for being a guinea pig. And thanks Leslie! Your recipes rock!

Have you seen any best of lists that rocked your world?

What are the most memorable dishes that you made this past year?

What are the changes that you made in 2010 that you are proud of?

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Blog Subscriptions and a Raw Vegan Chocolate Mousse

When you are trying to lose weight, or even trying to maintain, there's just something really nice about subscribing to a variety of healthy weight loss/eating blogs. This has probably occurred to you, but in case it hasn't, I'll suggest it here. Subscribing puts each new blog entry into your e-mail inbox from all of the blogs that you have happened upon that really speak to you. And it's really easy to unsubscribe if you just don't love that blog that you thought was so cool at first glance.

Here's what subscribing to blogs does for me: it keeps me motivated and it keeps me inspired. How? Well, I'm going to my e-mail multiple times a day and I'm guessing you are too. New blog postings from bloggers with the same goals as mine are a great and positive reminder to stay the course. And I need that reminder continually. There are positive thoughts and things to aspire to. Most people with food issues can connect with each other on a deep level, even if they don't know each other. These blogs are a way to tap in to that energy.

In addition, healthy recipe blogs are a zaftig foodies best friend. There's just no excuse to fall back into bad eating habits when the world of healthy eating and recipes is so available to everyone right now. Just this morning I was reading a new posting from a blog called Loves Veggies and Yoga (http://www.lovesveggiesandyoga.com/) and a recipe for Raw Vegan Chocolate Mousse caught my eye. I happened to be going over to a friend's house for dinner tonight and I thought it would be fun to try it out on the crowd. I tweaked the original recipe a little by adding 25% less agave syrup than the recipe called for and it was plenty sweet for me.

This dessert is incredibly rich and decadent tasting, and highly caloric, but is made with nutritious ingredients. A little goes a long way, so you don't need to eat a lot to satisfy a sweet tooth, chocolate tooth, or cream tooth!

Raw Vegan Chocolate Mousse

4 ripe avocados

2/3 cup organic cocoa

1 cup real maple syrup

1.5 tsp vanilla extract
 
Place all ingredients in a high powered blender and blend until smooth.  Put mousse in refrigerator until time to serve. Any extras can keep in the freezer for a frozen chocolate treat.

I plan on serving the mousse with strawberries. Here's to hoping it's a success!

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