So many things have changed for me this past year: a new job, moving back to Minnesota, meeting my boyfriend while on vacation in Arizona, traveling, and devoting more time to this blog.
I’m beyond excited for 2014 though! The chance to bring you more healthy recipes, sweet delights, crazy cookies, and a little bit of my spice for life. I’ve always said that the goal of this blog is to bring you inspiration – whether it’s in the kitchen or in your life. I hope to do more of that this year by adding my favorite food finds, my workout inspiration, style, and a little bit of everyday life. Above all, I want to stay consistent with blogging; never forgetting my passion for food and healthy living. Sometimes I lose sight of that with everything else I have going on.
I love that you all share my recipes; it keeps Ambitious Kitchen alive and growing! Thank you for inspiring me to do what I love.
Here are my Top 10 recipes of 2013! I hope you’ll try some of them out! xoxo
10. Oatmeal Cottage Cheese Banana Pancakes – gluten free, high in protein
These are one of my favorites for a healthy breakfast – just blend the ingredients together, cook on the stovetop, then eat up!
9. Flourless Chocolate Chip Zucchini Oat Brownies –Â low in calories, super fudgy and both vegan & gluten free!
8. Butternut Squash & Black Bean Enchilada Skillet – a vegetarian skillet that only takes 30 minutes to make, plus you’ll love the leftovers! Oh and it’s under 300 calories per serving. YUM. YES!
7. Chewy Chocolate Chunk Coconut Oatmeal Cookies – made with coconut oil instead of butter, these oatmeal cookies stay soft and chewy for days!
6. Skinny Zucchini Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins – one of my favorite muffins ever. Only 153 calories! Zucchini and greek yogurt help these low-fat muffins stay ultra moist!
5. 100 calorie Banana Oat Protein Muffins – made with protein powder, oat bran, greek yogurt and a banana! The perfect snack. Spread them with chocolate hazelnut butter for a sweet treat.
4. Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oat Bars – A clean vegan and gluten free treat that everyone will enjoy! One of my absolute favorites and SO easy to make. Plus they’re only 128 calories each (with chocolate chips)!
3. Flourless Chocolate Chip Chickpea Blondies with Sea Salt – another flourless, gluten free, and vegan treat that tastes like a peanut butter chocolate chip cookie! You won’t be able to tell the difference.
2. Flourless Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies – made without flour or butter. Chewy and perfect in every way!
1. Crunchy Thai Quinoa Salad with Ginger Peanut Dressing – light, vegan, gluten free, and packed with flavor! This was your favorite recipe of 2013! Hope you find the time to try it out if you haven’t already – you’ll fall in love!
What was your favorite recipe of 2013? I’d love to hear!
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It’s difficult to pick a favorite! I loved the quinoa salad (so colorful, it was love at first sight!), but I think the one I was most surprised by was the chocolate chip zucchini oat brownies. I was wary at first, but I’d made your nutella cookies before and reassured myself that you are a lady who knows her dessert, so I gave it a go – they turned out great, and I passed the recipe along to my parents as well! Best wishes for 2014!
I want to make all of these recipes!! I’m especially excited about the Thai quinoa salad and the chocolate coconut oatmeal cookies 🙂
I love that butternut squash & black bean enchilada skillet! My husband and I enjoy it every time I make it 🙂
This salad. . .one of the very best!
Those chickpea blondes make a regular appearance in my kitchen. And I really need to try that salad, as so many people I know have raved about it. Thanks for making 2013 so much more delicious!!
I love seeing your list and I love that all of the recipes that made it feel like “monique trademark recipes”. Like as bloggers and cooks, we all develop our own style, with recipes and with photography, and these are SO YOU! The melty chocolate, the oats, the healthier foods that dont look healthy at all, the vibrant color in your savory dishes…congrats on an awesome year!
I have made so many of you recipes and truly love them all! In our family, a healthy meal means we can indulge ourselves from time to time. So keep creating all the delicious, healthy recipes and the decadent ones too for those of us who believe that there's no harm done in a little sweet reward!!! BTW the brown butter Nutella stuffed chocolate chip are my family's absolute favorite but I love the snickerdoodles and the Best Apple Crisp Ever pops up in my dreams every so often and I find myself in the kitchen cutting apples and waiting for that heavenly smell at 2 in the morning!…Thanks for being amazing! HAPPY 2014!!!!!
Your cookies are great, but I love love love your quinoa salad. I think I make it at least once every month and everyone loves it. Thanks!
Loooooooooooooveeeeeeeeee your recipes!
I Make several of your ‘Top ten’ listed here: Flourless Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (all the time, they’re my personal favorite cookies!!!!!), the Flourless Chocolate Chip Zucchini Oat Brownies are actually my go-to brownies (everyone loves them!) as well as Flourless Chocolate Chip Chickpea Blondies with Sea Salt (awesome!). Oh, the squash and black bean enchilada skillet is spectacular, and I really enjoy several other savory dishes you’ve got here at ambitious kitchen! You rock! Wish you the best in 2014! A huge hug from Portugal!
What a year! Such great recipes, can’t wait for 2014!! The zucchini brownies are my fave!
Absolutely LOVE your recipes! So glad I found your blog a few months ago. Looking forward to more amazing posts from you in 2014!
I’m proud to say I’ve made recipe 10 and 1 and they definitely deserve to make the list. I need to work my way through the others ASAP though! Can’t wait to see what you cook up in the New Year!
I look forward to your new blog posts always! I’m a vegetarian and your Thai crunch salad and zucchini brownies have become regular staples in my house. Keep up the great work and thank you so much for what you do:).
Ahh thanks so much Wendy – so happy you loved them both!
I like you blog SO much! I love that there are both healthy and not so healthy recipes. My favourite so far is the avocado, black bean brownies. Happy new year!
I love the Crunchy Thai Quinoa Salad, I just purchased ingredients to make it…again! I have to say the one that I made most this year was Flourless Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies. Now that I have figured out how to make them vegan my hubby is loving them too! Thanks for sharing your recipes with us.
About 2 minutes ago I pulled up the butternut squash and black bean enchilada skillet and plan to make it tomorrow (to eat during football game!). Will also be making the peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, which are our favorite. Love your recipes – keep up the great work and here’s to a happy 2014!
I am you great fan. I made your nutella cookie and it was delicious.I hope you keep on making delicious meals and I hope that you will have a adventure filled and successful 2014.