Frozen Chocolate Bananas

This is Jack – the “and” in Love and Lemons – and this is my first post. For awhile now, Jeanine has been mentioning that I should make some posts. But I didn’t want to tread on her writing territory, and I’m used to the “video gamer” view of the internet, where people are mean and petty. This “food blog internet” where people are sweet and polite is frighting and confusing to me. As the one year anniversary of the blog has come and gone, my apprehension went from “what do I say” to “what do I make?” I can…

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Fried Egg & Mango Salsa Waffle

breakfast / spring / mango

Happy Friday! This one makes me so happy that the weekend is just about here… This is part 1 of a fun project I’ve been working on with the Mango Board as part of their “Mangover” campaign. (makeover + mangoes, get it?) It’s about simply adding mango to ordinary food for an unexpected pop of color & tangy sweetness. Once a week they’re asking their facebook fans for meal ideas they would like to see made over with mango. This week (breakfast week), the choice was waffles and eggs. So I made a quick mango salsa with avocado, smoked paprika and a pinch…

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Gluten-free Almond Coconut Bars

snacks & dips / gluten free / book review

This recipe is from the hilarious new book Gluten is my Bitch: Rants, Recipes and Ridiculousness for the Gluten Free, by April Peveteaux. If you’ve been recently diagnosed with Celiac disease and are feeling sorry for yourself, this is a must-read. If you’re like me and you deal with other food sensitivity issues, you’ll have a good laugh reading April’s stories because you totally “get it.” And because she is just so freaking funny. My favorite part has to be the chapter about traveling as a gluten-free person. It’s called “Paris doesn’t have to suck, but it might.” I had…

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Coconut Mint Ice Cream

Dairy free mint ice cream - a delicious holiday treat with vegan chocolate magic shell topping.

spring / vegan

Let me start by saying that mint chocolate chip has never been my top choice. It’s always been my sister’s favorite, I was more of a cookies & cream kind of girl. But this blog makes me try things I might have otherwise not… For example, I bought turnips the other day at the farmers market just because they looked cute. When I saw this green mug, I craved just one thing: Mint ice cream. To my surprise (and Jack’s too), mint ice cream made with fresh mint is amazing! It’s a completely different ice cream flavor altogether. First off,…

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Creamy Tortilla Soup

Blended corn tortillas thicken this creamy vegan tortilla soup. It's boldly flavored with cumin, oregano, chipotle powder & a splash of sherry vinegar.

soups / vegan / gluten free

I have this tortilla rotation: I buy (or make) fresh tortillas, and I freeze the ones I don’t use within a day or two. I’ll use those frozen tortillas for a while reheated directly on the gas stovetop. But before that batch is gone, I’ll inevitably acquire new ones. Soon enough, I have a random assortment of tortillas filling my freezer, all at various stages of pre-freezer burn. And then I make this vegetarian tortilla soup. About this vegetarian tortilla soup There are two types of tortilla soup: the thin brothy kind, which is usually made with chicken, and this creamy style.…

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Cinco de Mango

Mango recipes! mango salsa, mango margarita spritzer, mango black bean tacos, and a mango avocado salad.

spring / summer / entertaining

We celebrated Cinco de Mayo a little early this year with a mango fiesta. You should too because mangoes are on sale (like, $1 something) at Whole Foods until the end of April. I brought home muchos mangoes last weekend and mixed up this sweet & spicy salsa. Then (from the same salsa recipe), I made black bean tacos and an avocado-mango salad. And, of course, no fiesta is complete without tequila. I made a lighter version of a margarita – a mango margarita spritzer. Cheers!

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Vegan French Toast

No eggs? No problem. This vegan French toast recipe is easy to make with simple ingredients. Fluffy, light, and crisp, it's a delicious breakfast.

brunch

This vegan French toast recipe is just as good as the classic kind! It’s fluffy on the inside, crisp around the edges, and has a lightly sweet cinnamon flavor. You might think that it takes fussy ingredients to make French toast without eggs, but this recipe is secretly simple. Made with 9 pantry basics and ready in 20 minutes, it’s an easy, comforting, and delicious breakfast. I first tried vegan French toast years ago (like…25) at the Pick Me Up Café in Chicago. Jack and I went there regularly when we had just started dating long distance and he would…

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Parmigiano & Fig Grilled Cheese

vegetarian / whole foods

A few weeks ago Whole Foods set out to break the Guinness World Record of number of Parmigiano Reggiano wheels cracked simultaneously. Jack and I were the “official” witnesses of Parmageddon at our Austin store. I know what you might be thinking… how does the lactose intolerant girl get herself into these things? Well, first of all, Jack will not ever turn down an opportunity for free cheese. And second, in recent years I’ve learned that hard cheeses don’t have very much lactose, and that I don’t have as much of a problem with really high quality cheese. (ie. just…

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Nutella Stuffed French Toast

breakfast / holiday

This might be the most unhealthy thing I’ve made for this site thus far. It’s not “surprisingly” vegan or “by the way” gluten free. And I didn’t make my own Nutella, although I thought about it. But… it’s fast, easy, and super delicious. We’re having some Nutella-loving friends over for Easter brunch next weekend, so I’m thinking this will be sure to impress. If sweets are too much for you in the morning, this can double as dessert with a scoop of ice cream on top. (If you’re reading between the lines here, yes… we ate these for breakfast and…

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Apple Muffins

These easy apple muffins are studded with juicy chunks of apple and toasty nuts. I love enjoying them with tea or coffee on a cool fall morning.

dairy free / gluten free-optional / brunch

My mom made these apple muffins for us last week while she was visiting. And I made them again for breakfast this morning. These muffins aren’t too sweet, and they’re not too indulgent. Rather, they’re the perfect pick-me-up to start a slow morning or a great healthy snack on a cool fall afternoon. They’re on the healthy side, made with spelt flour or whole wheat flour, coconut oil, and almond milk. My favorite part of them is the juicy chunks of apple on the inside that make them wonderfully moist. Change Up These Apple Muffins! I love this apple muffin recipe…

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Walnut-Mushroom Veggie Burgers

dairy free / favorite

I’m so excited to be guest posting this recipe on A Cup of Jo’s “best you’ll ever have” series. Although, I have to say, it was a little bit daunting to come up with something that was going to be called “the best.” Of course we think this veggie burger is the best we’ve ever had… but since tastes are subjective, I’m hoping you at least find this to be “a pretty darn good one.” While I love both chickpea and black bean patties, I didn’t go that route because I don’t love them between bread… they can get a…

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Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.