Best of the Bean – Year 5
Hi Friends!
Today’s a special day. My little blog is celebrating its 5th birthday! So hard to believe. You guys, SO MUCH has changed since I first started blogging. In the beginning, I had about 5 readers, blogged only about food, didn’t use any social media, took terrible photos and used ridiculously corny blog titles. Instagram and Pinterest didn’t even exist and I didn’t know what Twitter was.
Over the past five years I’ve expanded by readership base considerably, started working with brands, made friends, figured out how to take decent photos, learned about SEO, joined a million different social media platforms, gone back to school, become a Registered Dietitian, become a mom and so much more.
It seems to be customary in these blogiversary posts to share a list of lessons learned about blogging. Since I know many of my readers are not bloggers, I’m going to do something a little different this year and share some blogging lessons via Periscope. Have you heard of it? It’s another form of social media for you to add to your ever-growing list. Here’s an article that will give you the basics, but basically:
Periscope is a “live video streaming platform”, which basically means you can transmit a live recording of yourself to your Persicope and Twitter followers. Imagine Skyping someone, but instead of video calling a single person, you’re instead linked up to the whole community. Not only that, whoever’s watching you can comment and ask questions. These show up on your screen whilst broadcasting making it easy to answer and interact.
So anyways, I’ve been looking for an excuse to try out Periscope and this seemed like a good occasion. So, here’s the short list:
5 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Blogging:
- Define your ideal reader & write a mission statement for your blog.
- Choose quality over quantity.
- You cannot do it all.
- Know your worth.
- Remember why you started.
If you want hear me ramble on in more detail about each of these things, download the app and follow me on Periscope. Since it’s connected to Twitter, you should find me under my twitter handle @LeanGrnBeanBlog. I’ll probably be broadcasting sometime around 3:00 PM (EST) but I make no guarantees. The good news is if you miss the live broadcast you can watch the replay for up to 24 hours. I’ll be posting the link on social media so you can check it out!
So anyways, on to the main reason for this post. Every year I round up my best posts and recipes from that year of blogging and share them for you all together in one post. See previous Best of the Bean posts here.
Take a look and maybe you’ll find something you missed the first time around. I would LOVE it if you clicked through to a couple of recipes that look good and pinned them!!
Breakfast
Sausage & Egg Vegetable Bake
Berry Crunch French Toast Cups
Apple Cinnamon Blender Waffles
Egg Waffles
Double Chocolate Granola
Sweet Potato Waffles
Breakfast Nachos
Berry Green Smoothie
Pumpkin French Toast Bake
Pumpkin Apple Protein Pancakes
Appetizers/Sides
Mexican Layer Dip
Spicy Red Pepper Feta Dip
Easy Cucumber Tomato and Cucumber Salad
Chili Lime Corn
Pesto Corn Salad
Spicy Roasted Garlic Hummus
Lunches & Dinners
Beef/Turkey/Pork
Crockpot Meatballs
Italian Wedding Soup
Beer Braised Pulled Pork
Mexican Skillet Casserole
California Turkey Burgers
Chili Cornbread Skillet
Paleo Turkey Sweet Potato Meatballs
Chicken
Sweet & Spicy Bacon Wrapped Chicken
Freezer Chicken Tenders
Salsa Verde Chicken Casserole
Zoodles with Chicken & Spicy Almond Butter Sauce
Grilled BBQ Chicken Salad
Kale Panzanella with Chicken Sausage
Sausage & Wild Rice Stuffing
Thai Chicken Salad
Seafood
Baked Shrimp Cakes
Tuna Quinoa Cakes
Curried Tuna Salad with Apples
Spicy Shrimp Tacos
Shrimp Edamame Succotash
Paleo Shrimp Scampi
Vegetarian
Lentil Macaroni & Cheese
Crockpot Loaded Sweet Potatoes
Tex Mex Migas
Cheesy Cauliflower Mash Bowls
Ribollita *omit bacon*
Desserts
Baked & No-Bake
Banana Cream Pie Bars
Chocolate Avocado Pudding
Lemon Cashew Cream
Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars
Almond Butter Banana Cookies
Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies
Pumpkin Cranberry Oat Bars
Frozen
Wild Blueberry Ice Cream
Wild Blueberry Yogurt Pops
Pumpkin Pie Peanut Butter Cups
Frozen Yogurt Pumpkin Pie Bites
Peanut Butter & Jelly Ice Cream Pie
Vegan Ice Cream Sandwiches
To celebrate my 30th bday, I rounded up desserts from my fav bloggers!
30 Healthy Dessert Recipes
Snacks
Pumpkin Energy Balls
Frozen Yogurt Bites
Almond Butter Protein Balls
Coffee Protein Shake
Wild Blueberry Mini Muffins
Pumpkin Gingerbread Muffins
Easy Pumpkin Bread
How To Roast Chickpeas
Homemade Raisin Newtons
Almond Sweet Potato Flatbreads
Wild Blueberry Energy Bars
10 Healthy Toddler Snacks
25 Quick & Easy After Work Snacks
Homemade DIY
Homemade Enchilada Sauce
Homemade Chocolate Milk
Salsa Yogurt Dressing
Maple Cinnamon Sunflower Seed Butter
Frozen Spinach Cubes
How To Make Chia Jam
How To Cook Spaghetti Squash
Homemade Oat Cereal For Babies
Tips & Tricks
7 Tips To Reduce Your Sugar Intake
20 Kitchen Tips and Tricks
12 Ways to Use Leftovers
5 Food Prep Tips For Beginners
Don’t Be Fooled By The Sugar Free Label
Tips For Gluten-Free Baking
Baby
10 Things That Surprised Me About Pregnancy
5 Traits I Hope Our Son Gets From His Dad
Introducing Baby Bean
Breastfeeding is Hard
10 Tips For New Moms
The Difference A Year Makes
Crossfit After Baby
I Want to Freeze Time
You’re Still a Great Mom If
How to Modify Baby Led Weaning
A Baby Wearing Workout
If you’re interested in my Dear Chase monthly letters or the occasional day in the life posts, you can find them here.
Weekly Meal Plans
Check out the direct links below!
A Week of Gluten-Free Meals
A Week of Slow Cooker Meals
A Week of Quick, Healthy Meals
A Week of Vegan Meals
A Week of Spring Meal Ideas
A Week of Grab and Go Meals
A Week of Kid Friendly Meals
A Week of Paleo Meals
5 Easy Weeknight Dinners
A Week of 5 Ingredient Meals
A Week of No Cook Meals
A Week of Grilled Meals
A Week of Summer Meals
A Week of Dairy-Free Meals
A Week of Meals Featuring Blueberries
A Week of Meals with Chicken
A Week of Spiralized Meals
A Week of Meals Featuring Nuts and Seeds
Other
A couple other notable posts:
Registered Dietitians Who Blog
We opened our own Crossfit gym.
Crossfit 1803
[Tweet “All the best recipes from @leangrnbeanblog’s 5th year of blogging!”]
Thank you so much to each and every one of you who reads this blog, whether it’s every day or just occasionally. Your support means the world to me and I wouldn’t be where I am today without you guys!
Enjoy!
–Lindsay–
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