Almond Milk Cold Brew Coffee Latte

Homemade cold brew is easy to make yourself. Freeze it into convenient ice cubes that you can drop into your iced coffee or almond milk latte!

To say that we’re obsessed with cold brew coffee is an understatement. It’s the only coffee we drink at home now – the only reason we still own a coffee maker (which is now stored up on the highest shelf) is for when parents come to visit. I didn’t know it was possible to make cold brew yourself, but it’s more than possible, it’s easy. I’ve been buying my cold brew by the bottle, but when I started seeing homemade versions all over the internet (here, here, here, here), I was intrigued. But let’s back up – what is cold brew coffee…

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Green Pineapple Smoothie

Made with mint, ginger, lime & kale, this healthy pineapple smoothie recipe is a vibrant, refreshing smoothie riff on a classic mojito cocktail!

This green pineapple smoothie has become my most recent breakfast kick. It’s super fresh, vibrant, and healthy, and it leaves me feeling energized at the start of the day. Between all the food that’s been around during our cookbook testing and all of the food I’m about to eat in Italy – I’ve tried to clean (and green) things up over the last few weeks. Cheesecakes and pizzas aside, I’ve gotten back to my salad-ey lunches and green drink routines. So it was perfect timing that Tess Masters (a.k.a The Blender Girl) sent me a copy of her new book The Blender Girl Smoothies.…

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Strawberry Basil Avocado Toast

My favorite avocado toast recipe! Creamy avocado, balsamic strawberries, and fresh basil make the perfect fresh toppings for this light spring lunch.

There are some food trends that I wish would end (sorry, oatmeal). There are others that I hope never end – like avocado toast. In my opinion, this one’s not going anywhere simply because avocados are awesome. And I’m totally fine with that. A few months ago, I posted a fall/winter version of my favorite smushed green snack and now here’s my spring take on the classic. I love the sweet/salty/creamy combination of avocado, coarse sea salt and strawberries. These are delightful little appetizer bites (or, for me, lunch), that take 2 minutes to put together. Don’t forget the fresh basil! My Best Tips for Perfect Avocado…

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Healthy Breakfast Smoothies

Learn how to make 5 different fun and healthy breakfast smoothies! These cool, refreshing smoothies are my go-to start to a summer day.

Let’s eat the rainbow! Or, with these healthy breakfast smoothies, drink the rainbow through a straw (or scoop it up with a spoon… how you like to enjoy your smoothie is really up to you). How to Meal Prep Healthy Breakfast Smoothies Today we’re continuing our “grab & go” series with Almond Breeze. The idea with these breakfast smoothies is that you assemble all of your fruits & vegetables ahead of time so that your morning smoothie is fast and easy to make. Chop up your fruit (and veggies if you want a green one), and pack them away in…

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Sesame Basil Soba Noodles

There are times when I cook that I like to pack in every vegetable and also the kitchen sink. And then there are nights when I just crave something simple. This is the latter, obviously, and it’ll take you only ten minutes to make. The ingredient combo here is a little strange, but hear me out – soba noodles, sesame oil and good parmesan cheese all have a delicious nutty flavor in common. Basil and fresh peas are sweet which offer a nice simple balance. I love the subtle flavor of fresh peas here, if you don’t have any, just skip them…

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Green Bean & Purple Potato Salad

If you’re at a picnic, do you go for the potato salad or the cole slaw? I’m a cole slaw person always – the really sweet mayonnaise-y kind. But potatoes smothered in mayo? No thanks. Why is cabbage in mayo better than potatoes in mayo? No clue. But while I don’t go for “potato salad,” I do like a potato salad. Of course, what I mean is that this is a salad… with potatoes (and green beans and yellow wax beans and some other things). Instead of mayo, it’s dressed with everything that I think goes best with potatoes: olive oil, good dijon…

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Waffles with Strawberries & Cacao Nibs

Nothing beats crisp homemade waffles on a weekend morning, and this waffle recipe is the best one I know. Freeze extras for busy mornings!

It’s national doughnut day, so obviously, I have a waffle recipe. The thing about doughnuts is that I like them best when other people make them. But homemade waffles – I like them, well, right at home, piping hot off of the waffle maker. (Or the next day out of the toaster). These are vegan, because I actually like how they get crispier around the edges without any eggs in the batter. Though this recipe calls for spelt flour, these will turn out equally well with all-purpose flour or a white/wheat mix. How to Make Waffles Never made waffles? It’s super easy,…

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Sara’s Strawberry Tabbouleh

A beautiful strawberry tabbouleh recipe adapted from The Sprouted Kitchen Bowl + Spoon by Sara and Hugh Forte. With vegan & gluten-free options, it's great for a picnic.

After I posted my list of favorite spring cookbooks, I could tell that this is the book you’ve all been waiting for – and I’m here to tell you that Sara & Hugh Forte’s new book, Sprouted Kitchen Bowl + Spoon, doesn’t disappoint. The photos are of course gorgeous, and the food… well it makes you want to dig in with a spoon because all of it, like this tabbouleh recipe, looks so incredibly vibrant and delicious! The book has been sitting on my desk for a little while now, among a slew of papers, books, and other messy-desk things – which is how this tabbouleh recipe…

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Avocado & Lemon Zest Spaghetti

A quick and easy weeknight dinner - especially great for avocado-lovers. Use brown rice spaghetti to make it gluten free.

As I’m putting the finishing touches on our book, (T minus 3 days!) I thought now would be a good time to start making recipes from other peoples’ books… Last week, I briefly talked about Anna’s book, A Modern Way To Eat. While it’s been out for awhile now, it’s only recently been released in the US and I finally got my hands on a copy. What I love about it is that it’s more than just a book full of recipes (although there are over 200 of them!)… she offers tons of delicious ideas for how to mix flavors and textures together in creative but not-fussy ways.…

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Matcha Milkshakes

In case you haven’t noticed, I sort of have a thing for matcha. I know it’s SO trendy… but I personally think it’s exciting to see really great healthy foods become insanely popular. Everyone’s drinking matcha lattes and matcha mochas these days – but now that it’s almost summer, here’s a really simple ice cream treat. This one’s really more of an idea than a “recipe.” I didn’t even bother breaking out the blender to make these milkshakes because in the spirit of our “grab and go” monthly series with Almond Breeze, I wanted to make these simple enough to…

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Vegan Spinach Mac & Cheese

A creamy vegan mac & cheese made with cashews, nutritional yeast, smoked paprika, balsamic, and cayenne. A healthy & delicious weeknight dinner.

Jack here, writing for the blog today while Jeanine writes for the book… I have something to admit that I’m having a hard time with. I’m starting to prefer vegan “mac and cheese” to actual mac and cheese. Now, this is a hard one for me. You see, I love cheese. Almost every time we go to Whole Foods, I raid the “under $3 cheese” bin to find crazy new cheeses that I can barely pronounce. And a great grilled cheese is work of art. But these vegan “mac and cheese” recipes Jeanine comes up with pretty much hit everything I…

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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.