|
The Best of 2025
A year in review...
|
|
|
|
Crazy year! Since we last chatted, I moved across the country to Vancouver, Washington with Vanessa and The Assistant. After a few months of settling in and exploring the PNW, I’ve been quietly publishing a ton of new recipes. (32 since August, to be exact.)
I’m more excited about cooking and working on Kinda Healthy Recipes than I’ve been in years. Hope you’re ready to cook along with me in 2026!
ut first, I’ve reviewed everything I’ve made this year to pick out my favorites.
My Top 10(ish):
|
|
Chicken Lasagna
It’s hot off the press and fresh on my mind. The most recent recipe on the blog might be my favorite of the year. It only takes 6 ingredients to make it, and every serving has 50 grams of protein.
|
|
|
Honey Chipotle Chicken Tacos
I’ve been putting together cookbooks for frozen lightly breaded chicken breast bites and rotisserie chicken this year. And these tacos were a favorite from the bunch. (I’ll email you the free cookbooks when they’re done, btw.)
|
|
|
Mediterranean Turkey and Sweet Potato Bowls
If I’m picking a favorite mince or ground protein recipe of the year, this takes the cake. The feta sauce is so good. And macros wise, each bowl has 51 grams of protein with just 9 grams of fat and 500 calories.
|
|
|
Stuffed Sweet Potato Series
I spent a couple weeks in September hyper fixated on roasted sweet potato halves. You just slice the potatoes lengthwise, rub ‘em down with a little olive oil, and bake cut-side-down until they’re nice and caramelized. They taste like candy. So good. I made three recipes for stuffed halves with chipotle bbq ground chicken, Japanese bbq beef (with Japanese sweet potatoes), and ground beef + spinach.
|
|
|
Chicken Bolognese
Bolognese never gets much attention on my blog. I think because it’s a bit labor intensive, but maybe I just suck at marketing it? Either way, I keep making a new variation each year. This is a spin on bolognese bianco or white bolognese made without any tomatoes. Just ground chicken, mirepoix, chicken bone broth, and milk. 28g protein, 5g carbs, 6g fat, and 175 calories per serving to make great spag-bol, lasagna, sandwiches—all kinds of stuff.
|
|
|
Gochujang Ground Beef & Sweet Potato Bowls
Remember when ground beef, cottage cheese, and sweet potatoes were having their viral moment? This was my response to that. I thought the basic version sounded pretty boring and wanted to zhuzh things up a bit. Didn’t get much attention. A travesty.
|
|
|
Chili Crisp Ground Beef & Cauliflower Skillet
This one got more attention than the beef and sweet potatoes combo, and I think rightfully so. It’s a one-skillet situation that pan roasts cauliflower before the beef is browned then tossed in an umami chili crisp sauce. It’s easy but the chili crisp makes it a little higher in fat than some others on this list.
|
|
|
Ground Chicken & Cauliflower Taco Skillet
We’ve definitely missed Tex-Mex and Mexican food since leaving Austin. One of my favorite tacos there was, surprisingly, a cauliflower taco. This recipe draws inspiration and adds some ground chicken to make a taco filling with 25g+ of protein.
|
|
|
Chili Crunch Chicken Salad
I knew it was a little too obscure when I made it back in March, but I hope you will take my word and try it. Blended cottage cheese (I hate it, but it’s good here) + cucumber + TJ’s smoked chicken or rotisserie chicken + chili crunch, soy sauce, and a few other things. Makes a super high protein chicken salad that’s incredible for lettuce wraps, wonton chips, crackers, or whatever.
|
|
|
Smoked Korean BBQ Chicken
Don’t worry. there’s only one smoker recipe on the list. I haven’t done a lot of cooking on the grill this year, mostly due to the renewed focus on Kinda Healthy. This one is an exception. It’s smoked and shredded chicken that you can use to make killer protein bowls, quesadillas, or—you guessed it—stuffed sweet potatoes.
|
|
|
Chicken Parm Sandwiches
Made one with frozen chicken bites and one with rotisserie chicken. Both very high protein (around 50g protein per sandwich). It’s pretty rare that I repeat recipes since I need to keep making new things. But this is one I’ve returned to post-workout or times I need a larger snack. The rotisserie chicken version, in particular, can be assembled in minutes.
|
But that's just my opinion. What were the best things you made this year? Doesn't have to be a recipe of mine.
I'm always curious to hear what everyone is digging at any given time. Pinterest predicts 2026 will be cabbage's big moment, and I think they might be onto something. LMK your thoughts.
And if you have any special requests or notice any glaring holes in my recipe catalog I need to work on, LMK that as well.
Look forward to chatting more in 2026. In the meantime, have a happy/safe NYE! - Mason
|
|
|
