Avocado Sandwich

Bursting with bright pickled onions, lots of greens, and a creamy, lemony edamame spread, this avocado sandwich is a must-try lunch recipe!

This avocado sandwich is the ULTIMATE vegetarian sandwich. Yep, I said it. I don’t know about you, but I’ve certainly had my fair share of disappointing veggie sandwiches. They’re bland, boring, and not at all filling. Not the case here! This avocado sandwich is jam-packed with flavor and texture, and it’s guaranteed to keep you full till dinnertime. I’m obsessed with it, and I think you will be too! Aside from the avocado, the key ingredient here is a lemon edamame spread. It’s super creamy and bright, and it packs this sandwich with plant-based protein. Along with the other fresh…

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Broccoli Pasta Salad

This bright broccoli pasta salad recipe is chock full of fresh veggies and coated with a tangy no-mayo tahini dressing. Perfect for summer picnics!

This is not your regular pasta salad. In fact, Jack (who is not the biggest fan of traditional pasta salad) said “Omg, this is the best pasta salad!” It’s healthy and packed with lots of veggies, and unlike a lot of pasta salads, it’s light on the mayonnaise – in that it has none. With Memorial Day coming up, I figure you may need a packable potluck salad that won’t spoil if it sits out for a little while. This one, made with a creamy tahini dressing, is just right for that. How to Make Pasta Salad – the Healthy Way! Bring on the veggies! This broccoli pasta…

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Tart Cherry & Mint Sorbet

An easy refreshing summer dessert. Vegan & gluten free.

This is the dessert I’m going to make all summer. With just 5 ingredients, it’s so easy! The best part is that (if you have a decent blender) no ice cream maker is required here. Just blend and freeze. It’s tart, sweet, and so so lovely with the little unexpected hint of mint. Jack and I both love Montmorency tart cherries for many reasons (see all of these recipes that use them). They have some wonderful superfood qualities, they’re known to help soreness after a workout, and they’re a natural source of melatonin which helps regulate sleep. We love them most of all, of…

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Avocado Cucumber Sushi Roll

Learn how to make sushi with this easy sushi recipe! Filled with mango, avocado & cucumber, it makes a healthy, delicious sushi roll.

We love sushi. We love it so much that we rarely make it at home, well, because Uchi is just down the street. But this homemade sushi recipe is a fun kitchen project to do with your significant other when you’re looking for something new to do together in a Friday night. Plus, making this sushi roll is way less expensive than ordering sushi at a restaurant. Sushi Roll-Making Tips! First things first – don’t be scared! The only thing required for “sushi date night” is a bamboo mat and a positive attitude. You need to be in the kind of…

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Berry Superfood Smoothie Bowl

Learn how to make a smoothie bowl with this delicious, antioxidant-packed recipe! Almond butter gives it protein and amazing PB & J flavor.

This scenario happens often: I get on a smoothie kick, and I make the same one again and again and again. Same time, same place, same smoothie. Tell me that this happens to you too? This berry-spinach smoothie bowl recipe is my new latest obsession. Why You’ll Love this Smoothie Bowl Recipe It tastes amazing. Instead of banana, I add a scoop of almond butter for creaminess (and a little protein). As a result, it has a hint of PB&J flavor – it’s SO delicious and also husband-approved. Which means that I’m pretty sure it would be kid-approved too. It’s easy to keep the…

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Spiralized Daikon “Rice Noodle” Bowl

Healthy daikon "noodles" are tossed with cucumber, carrots, herbs and avocado with tamari-lime and creamy cashew sauces. Vegan & gluten free.

I’ve made zucchini noodles a whole bunch of times (here and here, to name a few). Zoodles seem to be all the rage, but have you tried “doodles”? Doodles (that’s what I’m calling them) are noodles made out of daikon and they’re awesome. They’ve got a little bit more bite to them than zucchini noodles and I find them to be less watery. I love how they look like rice noodles, yet these noodles are all vegetable. To go along with the daikon noodles, I made these bowls with cucumber, carrots, radishes, tofu and fresh herbs. These are all bahn mi…

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Kiwi Avocado Salsa Verde

Change up your usual avocado salsa with a surprising sweet ingredient: kiwi! It's a vibrant, fresh & fun dip that's perfect for parties.

My husband Jack really loves kiwi. He grew up in Florida, so I always envisioned him growing up among kiwi trees. His grandfather had quite the green thumb, and Jack always tells stories of the fruits and vegetables they would pick and eat together. He talks about kiwi so much that I had just assumed that this tropical fruit was part of that picture as well. Last week when I was trying to dream up a unique salsa recipe, I thought kiwi would be fun and different, and most importantly – Jack would love it. It’s not a fruit I typically…

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Boozy Root Beer Floats

made with homemade vegan vanilla ice cream.

Let’s cut to the chase – I love root beer floats. Oh, by the way, this is Jack posting once again. That’s not to say that Jeanine doesn’t love root beer floats, but when we got an opportunity to work with a beer company that brews alcoholic root beer, I knew I would be writing this post. The first question I had, of course, was “boozy root beer? Is it good?” Well I’m glad to say that yes, BEST DAMN Brewing Co.’s hard root beer is really good and tastes just like root beer. Root beer floats may be one of my favorite…

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Vegan Scones with Raspberries

Coconut flour is the secret to giving these gluten-free vegan scones the perfect texture. Dotted with raspberries, they're a yummy breakfast treat.

My sweet breakfast kick continues. For over a year, I was on a nonstop savory & spicy breakfast kick. Next came the carrot-ey baked goods, and now we’re onto these vegan scones. Or I should say, the royal “we” are on to these scones. Jack loves them too, but my dirty secret is that he only has one or two out of every batch because I hide the extras in the freezer – where I know he will never look (well, until he reads this). Vegan Scones Ingredients These little treats are vegan and gluten-free. Instead of butter and cream, they’re made…

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Collard Wrap Tacos with Citrus Slaw

Collard green wraps make these tacos one of the healthiest dinners around. With a bright citrus slaw & tangy sunflower cream, they're delicious, too.

I love tortillas as much as the next person. Actually, I take that back. I probably love tortillas more than the average person, but today I’m ditching them to wrap taco-like things with green wraps instead. This lightened-up “taco” recipe is inspired by these gorgeous collard greens that were in my Farmhouse box a little while ago. How pretty are they?? Along with local oranges, a chunk of red cabbage, a few limes, and an avocado, these wraps became a brighter, healthier version of fish tacos. The collard greens make delicious wrappers, but the key is to blanch them a little bit first. By dipping them…

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Chickpea Flour Pizza with Asparagus

This chickpea flour pizza has the best gluten-free crust around! Top it with your go-to pizza toppings, or use this beautiful hummus & asparagus combo.

Move over cauliflower crust pizza, we’ve got chickpea flour pizza! Whenever I announce that we’re having “pizza night!” Jack gets excited. But when I follow it with “gluten free pizza night!,” he knows that he’s about to work with overly sticky dough that he can’t toss in the air. Air-tossing aside, this chickpea flour dough was easy to work with, and we both enjoyed making (and eating) this pizza, which comes from the book Chickpea Flour Does it All, by Lindsey Love. Lindsey is also the creator of one of my absolute favorite food blogs – Dolly and Oatmeal. I’m sure…

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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.