Vegan Chocolate Cake

The BEST vegan chocolate cake recipe! It's moist and deeply chocolatey, with a rich chocolate frosting made from a secret healthy ingredient.

This vegan chocolate cake recipe comes from my new cookbook, Love & Lemons Every Day. Today, I’m sharing it in honor of the book’s launch, but this vegan cake recipe would be perfect for any celebration. It’s moist and delicious, with a rich dark chocolate flavor. Topped in a luscious frosting, it’s a dessert that everyone will love, whether they’re vegan or not. Vegan Chocolate Cake Recipe Ingredients This vegan chocolate cake tastes rich and decadent, but secretly, it’s healthy. Healthy for a cake, that is. 🙂 Here’s what you’ll need to make it: All-purpose flour and whole wheat flour…

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Matcha Baked Doughnuts

These doughnuts are a fun naturally green treat for St. Paddy's Day! They're both baked and decorated with matcha green tea.

With St. Paddy’s day coming up this weekend, I got in the mood to make green-colored treats…. and there’s no better way to naturally color things green than with matcha! Last year, I made zucchini cake with matcha frosting, and this year I thought it would be fun to make (and eat) doughnuts! If you’re new to matcha – it’s a powder made from Japanese green tea leaves. Because the whole leaf is ground (vs. steeping the tea leaves), matcha is packed with antioxidants. Which almost makes these doughnuts count as a health treat 🙂 You can mix matcha with hot…

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Macro Veggie Bowl

A vibrant turmeric tahini sauce is the star of this delicious veggie bowl! It adds a pop of bright flavor to the mix of fresh vegetables, rice, and beans.

When we lived in Austin, I headed to a macrobiotic restaurant called Casa de Luz whenever I craved a nourishing, cleansing veggie bowl like this one. Instead of offering a menu, it serves one rotating meal that always contains a grain, a legume, blanched greens, steamed vegetables, a pickled vegetable, and a delicious sauce. It may sound limiting, but I’ve honestly had some of the best sauce and vegetable pairings of my life there. If you’re ever in Austin, make sure you check it out! Inspired by years of enjoying delicious, nourishing meals at Casa de Luz, I used the…

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Vegan Banana Pancakes

If you like banana bread, then you'll love these vegan banana pancakes! They're lightly sweet, thick, fluffy, and filled with yummy banana flavor.

This stack of vegan banana pancakes pretty much sums up my ideal Saturday morning. Except, well, I don’t eat 7 pancakes on my individual plate, but Jack would if I put them in front of him. Portion control aside, if you have ripe bananas hanging around, give these vegan banana pancakes a try! They’re easy to make in one bowl, and they’re thick, fluffy, and full of yummy banana flavor. I think you’re going to love them! Vegan Banana Pancakes Ingredients These vegan banana pancakes aren’t just delicious – they’re good for you, too! Here’s what’s in them: Bananas, of…

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Avocado Sweet Potato Tacos

Topped with creamy avocado lime sauce, these simple chili-spiced sweet potato tacos make a delicious vegetarian dinner.

This sweet potato taco recipe is an old favorite that I wanted to re-share with you. I first started making these sweet potato tacos years ago, but it’s one of those recipes that I come back to time and time again because it’s such a filling & flavorful vegetarian weeknight dinner option. The list of ingredients is short and the steps are easy – what’s not to love? Plus, I just think roasted sweet potatoes are such a cozy wintertime food, especially when they’re wrapped up into warm tortillas like a big hug. There are basically two steps to the…

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Banh Mi Sandwich

Instead of stuffing this banh mi sandwich with meat, I fill it with zesty marinated tofu. Pickled veggies and cilantro leaves take it over the top.

When I lived in Austin, I got a tofu banh mi sandwich from two different Vietnamese restaurants as often as I could. Stuffed with sweet and tangy pickles, herbs, creamy mayo, and more, the sandwiches were hearty and comforting, but still refreshing. My mouth is watering just thinking about them! Since we’ve moved, I’m still searching for a great banh mi in Chicago (let me know if any of you have suggestions!). Until I find one, I’ll be making this yummy banh mi recipe to curb my cravings at home. What is banh mi? Banh mi sandwiches are a Vietnamese…

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Crispy Roasted Chickpeas

Roasted chickpeas make a great protein-packed vegan snack! Enjoy them on their own, or add them to your favorite healthy dishes for crispy texture.

If you like chickpeas, you’re going to LOVE this roasted chickpeas recipe! It’s no secret I’m a fan of chickpeas – they’re a great addition to soups, stews, salads, sandwiches, you name it. Not only are they a good vegetarian protein source, but they can also bump up the textural contrast in a dish. If you’ve been reading the blog for a while, though, you know that I’m not a fan of mushy food. Sometimes I’m craving something crispy in a salad, and chickpeas’ soft texture won’t satisfy me. Enter: roasted chickpeas. They still have all the protein and heartiness…

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Valentine’s Day Recipes

These treats, snacks, date-night dinners, and desserts are perfect for a Valentine's Day celebration! Vegan and gluten-free options included.

I hope you have some special Valentine’s plans this week! Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve had a soft spot in my heart for heart-shaped treats. As an adult, it’s one of the most special holidays that Jack and I celebrate. Traditionally, it’s the one night a year that he cooks by himself, and whatever he decides to make is always a surprise. His trip to the grocery store, with zero guidance, is an approximately 2-hour adventure, and by the time dinner is done, every pot in the kitchen has been used. Suffice it to say that we’ve…

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Healthier Game Day Recipes

My favorite fun & flavorful vegetarian main dishes, appetizers, and snacks for game day! Plenty of vegan and gluten-free options included.

It’s game day week! Not that we’re big sports fans, but I am a big fan of any day where it’s perfectly acceptable to eat all of the spicy, salsa-smothered, avocado-filled foods that I crave. So I’m sharing my healthier versions of traditional party favorites that don’t sacrifice in flavor because, well, foods like avocados, black beans, spicy peppers, and fresh salsa just taste good and are good for you! Chipotle Cauliflower Nachos with Pineapple Salsa (pictured above) The star of this nacho recipe is the oozy, smoky chipotle cauliflower “cheese.” Yep, that’s right, the queso you see pictured is actually a…

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Announcing: The New Cookbook!!!

Exciting news! Our new cookbook - Love & Lemons Every Day - comes out soon! It’s packed with over 100 all-new vibrant recipes for every meal.

I’ve been keeping this a secret for a while now, but today’s the day that I can finally tell you about my new cookbook, Love & Lemons Every Day! The main thing that I want you to know about it is that, well… it’s packed with all of my absolute favorite recipes, ones I’ve been obsessively making, eating, serving, and testing nearly every day for the past three years. It’s a big fat beautiful book packed with all-new vibrant veggie recipes (none are on the blog – you’ll only find them in the book) and lots of beautiful visuals to…

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How to Cook Spaghetti Squash

Spaghetti squash is such a fun, underrated vegetable! Here is my favorite way to cook it, along with a few tips and recipes.

I get so many questions about how to cook spaghetti squash, so I thought I’d share my go-to method for roasting it, a few tips, and a couple of my favorite spaghetti squash recipes. How to Cook Spaghetti Squash First thing’s first: use a sharp knife to cut it in half lengthwise. After you slice the squash in half, use a spoon to scoop out the seeds. Next, drizzle the insides lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. I find that adding too much oil and too much salt at this stage makes the squash a bit…

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A food blog with fresh, zesty recipes.
Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.