Harissa Spiced Fall Veggie Pitas

The simplest healthy weeknight dinner for fall! Filled with spiced roasted sweet potatoes & zucchini, avocado, and a delicious harissa yogurt sauce.

I make a lot of impromptu tacos. We not only have taco Tuesdays around here, but sometimes taco Wednesdays and/or taco Thursdays. When I’m looking for something quick I usually reach for tortillas, no matter what day of the week it might be. I keep them in the freezer, so they’re always ready. Except this particular night – no tortillas, but I had some sprouted pitas. This wasn’t originally going to be a post, but these turned out so pretty and delicious. And who doesn’t need a quick dinner idea? I roasted chopped sweet potatoes and zucchini and tossed them with dried harissa…

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Gluten-free Blueberry Banana Muffins

Bananas are one of the few foods I really don’t like. Bananas and cantaloupe, in case you were curious. Banana bread, however, is one of my favorite things ever. And because I’m impatient, I often make it in muffin form. Eighteen minutes is long enough to wait, don’t you think? These are gluten free but you wouldn’t know it. In fact, I didn’t even tell Jack until after he had already inhaled three. I used Pamela’s Gluten Free Baking & Pancake Mix and the texture came out just perfect. The flavor – sweet and banana-ey…everything you’d want in a muffin, gluten free or not. I added…

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Healthy Granola

This easy 7-ingredient granola recipe is a delicious healthy snack or quick breakfast. It not only tastes delicious, but it smells amazing while it cooks!

This is my go-to healthy granola recipe. Packed with oats and nuts and naturally sweetened with maple syrup, it’s a great way to get fiber and healthy fats into your first meal of the day. Even better, it clumps well! I add a tablespoon of almond butter to bind the components together, so you get plenty of delicious nutty clusters. I like to make it on Sunday and have it on hand for yogurt parfaits throughout the week! While we don’t have kids that are going back to school this week, I’m starting to think more and more about healthy make-ahead breakfast…

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Mango Habanero Black Bean Tacos

Mango & habanero make the BEST addition to these easy black bean tacos. Sweet, spicy & just 10 ingredients, they're a fresh, fun weeknight dinner.

I love a good mango salsa. (I mean, who doesn’t?) It’s so fun and versatile – some of my favorite additions have been roasted jalapeños, smoked paprika, diced avocado, and even sesame & ginger. Today, I’m stirring in some mango habanero jam to make a sweet, juicy, and spicy filling for easy black bean tacos. These black bean tacos really couldn’t be easier – just chop and mix your ingredients – salsa, avocado, black beans, etc., and stuff them into a tortilla. (Add cheese if you want, but these are plenty flavorful without). Black Bean Tacos Variations If you can’t get your hands on a good mango…

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Gluten-free Skillet Cookies

A lot of gluten free baking experiments happen around here. If you haven’t noticed them, it’s because a good many of those trials never become post-able recipes. I’ll say it (and I won’t be the first!) – gluten free baking is hard. I know many of you are pros, but for the rest of us, it can be frustrating and not to mention expensive. Today, I’m here to relieve you of all of your internet-flour purchasing by saying: just buy a pre-made flour blend. One bag, and you’re done. For years, all of my gluten free friends have sworn by…

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Raspberry Polenta Cake

What do you make with leftover polenta and leftover raspberries? Cake, of course! But not just any cake – cake in a skillet. Because skillets = summer. Aside from the little bit of butter I used to grease the pan, this cake is vegan and made with coconut oil. It’s naturally sweetened with maple syrup and, of course, the sweetness that comes from the raspberries. (note: you can grease your pan with coconut oil). It’s a (smaller) version of this peach cake I made last summer – in my 10-inch skillet this cake is just 4 servings, but you can…

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Mango Matcha Smoothie

This mango matcha smoothie recipe is a healthy breakfast or snack. Mango makes the smoothie sweet & creamy and matcha makes it healthy & green!

I’m not sure if you all noticed, but Jack made his 3rd post a few weeks back. (Check out his Blueberry Smoothie, if you missed it). This guy, I tell you, is crazy about smoothies. If he’s the smoothie king around here, then I am the matcha mistress. But both together? Well that’s just a match(a) made in heaven. (I know, bad pun, I just couldn’t help myself…) If you look at this recipe, you’ll notice that I leave out a common smoothie ingredient: banana. That’s because fresh mango works as a nice thickener on its own, so there’s no…

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Mango & Zucchini Lettuce Wraps

Filled with sweet & spicy components & dipped in a bright sauce, these lettuce wraps are the perfect combination of simplicity & bold flavor.

As the temps have been rising, I’ve been craving food that’s lighter and colder. Lately we’ve spent most evenings dining al fresco trying to live it up before the 100 degree weather sets in. Chill evenings call for chilled food and these lettuce wraps are just so refreshing…. a beautiful appetizer, or (in our case) a light dinner. The thing I love about eating these lettuce wraps is that you can eat lots of them without feeling too guilty. For me, eating light is never about eating less food. But the most important thing you need for outdoor dining is…

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Mostly-veggie Baked Macaroni

Sometimes life is not all about balance. For example, this is by no means a perfectly balanced mac and cheese (I know, way to sell it, right?). There’s some cheese in here, but nowhere close to four cheeses. Nothing is truffled, or bacon-ed, or cauliflower-ed. There’s some mac – but, all and all, it’s pretty light on the (quinoa) pasta to “other stuff” ratio. This is the kind of filling, yet, not-over-the-top meal that I like to eat in an every day sort of way. These days, in particular, I’m into meals that are overwhelmingly jam packed with green things.…

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Arugula Salad with Quinoa, Apricot & Avocado

A lightly sweet cumin-spiced dressing fills this arugula salad with flavor, while avocado, apricots, quinoa & chickpeas make it hearty & satisfying.

I’ll never get tired of an arugula salad with avocado and quinoa. They’re probably my favorite three ingredients to use. I love this sweet combo of dried apricots, peppery arugula, smoky cumin, and fruity Arbequina Olive Oil. (I almost named this Arbequina Quinoa – but try to say that one five times fast). The Key to a Good Arugula Salad is a Good Dressing The cumin-spiced salad dressing really makes this salad shine, and its key ingredient is Arbequina Olive Oil. So what’s Arbequina Olive Oil? It’s a light and fruity extra-virgin olive oil that’s perfect for flavorful dressings like…

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Blueberry Rooibos Tea Smoothie

Learn how to make the BEST blueberry smoothie with this simple recipe! Easy, fresh & healthy, it's a yummy, antioxidant-loaded breakfast or snack.

Today I’d (and this is Jack again, by the way) like to bring you another one of my favorite recipes for a hot summer day – a great, fruity smoothie. You see, Jeanine likes smoothies, but I really, really love berry smoothies. And I don’t need them for a workout, or to wake up, or any regimen – we’ll be walking down the street randomly, and I’ll just decide that it’s smoothie time. I have no smoothie shame. Blueberry Smoothie Recipe Ingredients This yummy blend starts with two of my smoothie favorites: blueberries and raspberries. The blueberries make up the…

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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.