Kimchi Brown Rice Bliss Bowls

Piled high with crunchy, creamy, savory, and spicy components, these hearty bowls are healthy, satisfying, and (most importantly) fun to eat!

I hope you’ve all had a great start to the New Year! I’m popping in today to share these super fun, super healthy Kimchi Brown Rice Bliss Bowls. They’re a delicious mix of crunchy fresh veggies, creamy avocado, spicy kimchi, tangy peanut sauce, and brown rice, with savory marinated grilled tempeh steaks on top. If you’re someone who wants to eat more plant-based recipes in the New Year, you have to try this one! Hearty, satisfying, and fun to eat, it’d be a great make-ahead lunch or easy dinner. I posted this recipe on Instagram a while back, and I…

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How to Cook Perfect Brown Rice

Learn how to cook brown rice perfectly every time! With this easy stovetop method, it's always fluffy and light - just right for stir fries, bowls, and more.

I love days when I have a big container of cooked brown rice in the fridge. It’s a fantastic starting point for curries, stir fries, fried rice, and more, and its earthy, nutty flavor is even delicious on its own. Sometimes, I’ll toss it with a pinch of salt, top it with an egg, and call it breakfast. Plus, it’s not only tasty; it’s good for you too! Brown rice is filled with fiber and other nutrients. When I have it on hand, tossing together a grain bowl for lunch or dinner takes minutes, so I’m less likely to reach…

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Avocado Toast

Love avocado toast? Learn how to take it to the next level with this simple recipe (+5 amazing variations!) and my best tips and tricks!

When avocado toast came onto the scene years ago, lots of people wrote it off as a trend. But as someone who still eats it for breakfast or lunch a few times a week, I have to say that I think avocado toast is here to stay! It’s super easy to make, it’s healthy and satisfying, and it’s a blank canvas for flavorful seasonal toppings. What’s not to love? Below, you’ll find my basic avocado toast recipe along with 5 fun & fancy variations. Whether you toss them together for breakfast, enjoy them for lunch, or make them for a…

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85 Best Vegan Recipes

With everything from creamy pastas to burgers and beyond, these 85 vegan recipes will get you excited to cook (and eat!) plant-based meals at home.

Most days in our house, Jack and I eat vegan recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Of course, there are exceptions, but the food I most enjoy cooking and eating often happens to be plant-based. I love putting vegetables at the center my plate – not only is it good for my health and for the world, but it’s also downright delicious. To kick off the New Year, I’ve rounded up my top 85 easy vegan recipes. This list includes everything from hearty vegan dinner recipes (think creamy pastas, veggie burgers, tacos, etc.) to vegan basics that can serve as…

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Best Shakshuka

This shakshuka recipe is satisfying and delicious for any meal of the day! An easy one-pan dish, it features eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce.

Shakshuka is one of my favorite breakfasts…and lunches…and dinners. Though this Middle Eastern and North African dish is traditionally eaten for breakfast, it’s so easy, filling, and flavorful that it’s a great option for any meal of the day. Below, I’m sharing my go-to shakshuka recipe, which features gently poached eggs cooked in a fragrant bell pepper and tomato sauce. It’s flecked with spinach and spiced with paprika, cumin, cayenne, and harissa. If you like simple meals that go BIG on flavor, you’ll love this. How to Make Shakshuka This shakshuka recipe is easy to make! It only requires a handful…

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Caesar Salad

This Caesar salad recipe is guaranteed to impress dinner party guests! It's topped with homemade croutons, crisp veggies, and a rich, tangy dressing.

If there’s any recipe that’ll convince someone that they love salad, it’s this Caesar salad recipe. Its base is chopped romaine lettuce and crisp veggies, but shaved cheese, homemade croutons, and a bold, creamy dressing fill it with so much flavor and texture that it hardly feels like you’re eating a plate full of vegetables! This Caesar salad recipe would be a fantastic side dish for a holiday dinner party, but, lately, we’ve even been loving it as a meal on its own. It’s the perfect fresh, yet still satisfying, break from the holiday rotation of appetizers and sweets. Pretty,…

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Creamy Potato Soup

We can't get enough of this easy potato soup recipe. Filled with good-for-you ingredients, it's ultra creamy and comforting, but it's nourishing, too!

We’re obsessed with this potato soup recipe! It’s luscious, creamy, and filled with bold, smoky, tangy flavor. If you have any leftovers, it tastes even better on the second day, but in our house, a pot of this soup never lasts long. In my book, this soup is perfect for the holiday season. The weather outside is frightful, so comfort food is what I’m craving. But in between all the cookies and holiday appetizers, I want to sneak in as many healthy meals as I can. That’s where this potato soup recipe comes in. Creamy and flavorful, it’ll satisfy any…

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How to Make Oatmeal

Want to learn how to make oatmeal? You're in the right place. Read on to learn about cooking different types of oats & find fun oatmeal topping ideas!

If you’ve been reading the blog for a while, you know that oatmeal has never been my thing. But this fall, after I tried Amy Chaplin’s whole oat porridge recipe, I started to come around to it. See, in the past, I always had plain instant oats, which I thought were bland and mushy. But as I started experimenting with other types of oats, I discovered that, cooked the right way, oatmeal becomes a rich, creamy porridge that’s a fantastic canvas for seasonal toppings. Lately, I’ve been hooked on two topping combinations, and you’ll find them in the recipe below.…

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Pomegranate Rice Salad

This rice salad recipe will brighten up any fall or winter meal! Studded with pomegranates, pistachios, and herbs, it's a stunning, fresh holiday side dish.

How pretty is this rice salad? If you’re looking for an easy holiday side dish that doesn’t skimp on flavor, this recipe is just the thing for you. It’s simple, you can prep it ahead of time, and it’s richly flavorful. A spiced citrus dressing coats the hearty rice, nuts add crunch, and herbs give it fresh, aromatic flavor. Last but not least, a sprinkle of pomegranate arils takes it over the top! Today, we’re partnering with POM Wonderful because Jack and I love pomegranates! He likes to snack on them and I like to use them in salads, dips,…

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How to Cook Couscous

Learn how to cook couscous! Toss this tiny pasta with herbs and lemon to make a simple side dish, or try one of the couscous recipes suggested below.

If you open up my pantry, you’ll almost always find a box of couscous inside. I love keeping this quick-cooking starch on hand, as it’s an easy side dish that pairs well with all kinds of meals. Because I’m such a big couscous fan, I thought I’d dedicate today’s post to discussing what it is and how to cook it. And of course, I’ll share some of my favorite couscous recipes! First, what is couscous? Couscous might seem like grain, but it’s actually a type of pasta. First made by the Berber people of North Africa, it’s made from rolled,…

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How to Cook Tofu

Silken or extra-firm? To press or not to press? This easy baked tofu recipe + my best tips and tricks will teach you how to cook tofu like a pro!

Everyone has an opinion on tofu, and here’s mine: I absolutely love it…when it’s prepared the right way. If you’ve never worked with it before, cooking tofu can be daunting. But once you learn a little about it, it couldn’t be easier to prepare tofu well. Below, you’ll find my best tips and tricks for how to cook tofu like a pro, plus my go-to sriracha baked tofu recipe! What is tofu, anyway? Tofu is a soy-based food that’s made from curdling soy milk and forming it into a solid block. It’s a good source of plant-based protein that can…

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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.