Kale Quinoa Salad with Pesto

Use your favorite roasted veggies & grains in this easy kale quinoa salad, or make it as Day 2 of our 5-day meal plan with leftovers from Day 1!

Hi, and welcome to my week of meal planning: Day 2! In case you missed yesterday’s post, here’s what’s happening: I started with one base meal – yesterday’s Mean Green Grain Bowls. For 5 days I’ll be making a new meal each day using those base ingredients and components. So you’re basically seeing our real-life dinner, day to day. These recipes are very simple, but this is how we eat in real life – and I thought it would be fun to share that! So here’s today’s: an easy Big Green Kale Quinoa Salad! Something I love to do with leftovers…

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Roasted Veggie Grain Bowl

This grain bowl recipe checks all the boxes: it has plant-based protein, lots of veggies, a vibrant sauce, and a scoop of sauerkraut for pop!

vegan / gluten free

This grain bowl recipe is Day 1 of a meal planning week here on Love and Lemons! Why? Well first and foremost, it’s because our meal planning journal, The Love & Lemons Meal Record and Market List, is out today! If you missed my post last week, click here to read all about it. If you haven’t pre-ordered one, click here to get one now! When I write about meal prep or making quick, easy dinners throughout the week, I often suggest cooking components on Sundays in big batches. I like this approach, but this week I’m doing something a…

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Creamy Vegan Pasta Bake with Brussels Sprouts

The secret to this vegan pasta bake is a velvety, savory almond-miso sauce that creates a creamy coating for the veggies and pasta.

vegan / dinner

Happy first week of spring! With summer on the horizon, at least in my still-Austin-based mindset, I really want to be making lighter and brighter food. But then I’m reminded that it still snowed here last week. Sooooo… a creamy pasta bake it is! This veggie-ful dish is hearty yet cheese-less – it won’t weigh you down, but it will fill you up! Instead of a bunch of cheese and cream, I used my secret creamy blender sauce: almonds, Almond Breeze almondmilk, white miso paste, garlic, lemon juice for tang, and a bit of Dijon mustard for the depth you…

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Kale Pesto Mushroom Pistachio Bowls

Tangy balsamic mushrooms, quinoa, chickpeas & a bright kale pesto top these yummy bowls. Easy & healthy, they're weeknight dinner perfection.

dinner / vegan / gluten free

Last August, we decided to move to Chicago. When we first walked around what would become our new neighborhood, it was sunny, warm, children were playing, and the birds were singing. It was pretty hard to picture the snowy cold weather that would only be a few months away. I grew up in Chicago, but the dreamer in me still thought “maybe this year it won’t be cold.” As the fall weather started to become winter weather, the realist in me spoke up and said, “It’s Chicago. We’re going to hole up in this house, cook all winter, and order…

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Chocolate Zucchini Cake

This chocolate zucchini cake recipe is the ULTIMATE summertime treat! It's moist, fudgy, and decadent, with a rich dark chocolate flavor.

vegan

When your garden (or your fridge) is overflowing with zucchini, there’s no better way to use it than by making this chocolate zucchini cake. It’s a recipe I make every summer, when I’ve already had zucchini noodles, zucchini chips, and zucchini salad, and something really decadent sounds like it would hit the spot. This chocolate zucchini cake is moist and delicious, with a rich chocolate flavor that I can’t get enough of. It’s wonderful on its own, but I like it best with a thick layer of frosting on top. If you want to lean into the green theme, you…

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Falafel Burgers

This veggie-packed falafel burger is a simple, healthy dinner. Slather yours with yogurt dill sauce, and you're guaranteed to want seconds!

dinner / vegetarian

This falafel burger recipe comes from our friends Sonja and Alex’s new book Pretty Simple Cooking, and we’re completely obsessed with it! Unlike many veggie burger or falafel recipes, this one uses simple ingredients that you’ll be able to find in nearly any grocery store. It’s easy to put together, and it’s absolutely delicious. The patties have a nice hearty texture and a robust, aromatic flavor, thanks to a slew of spices and fresh herbs. They’re the kind of thing I’d be happy to eat for dinner any night of the week, as they’re fresh and healthy, but flavorful and satisfying…

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Adzuki Bean Bowls

Never tried adzuki beans? Learn how to cook them for this tasty grain bowl recipe! And don't worry, if you can't find them, black beans work here too.

vegan / gluten free / dinner

Have you ever tried adzuki beans? If you haven’t, you totally should. Like most bean varieties, they have a host of health benefits. They’re packed with protein and fiber, and they’re even said to promote heart health by lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Because of their small size, they cook quickly, and last but not least, they’re delicious! Their unique sweet, nutty flavor is at home in everything from hearty grain bowls to Japanese ice cream. If you’re ready to try them, find my method for how to cook adzuki beans below, along with my all-time favorite adzuki beans…

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Iced Tea with Fancy Herbal & Fruity Ice

A fun, summery, creative way to serve iced tea. Freeze herbs, fruits, citrus, and cucumbers (whatever you want, really) inside ice cubes!

summer / beverage

You might not know this little factoid about myself and Jack, but we freaking love iced tea. Black tea, green tea, tea in our cocktails – we’re obsessed, especially now that we’re in the heat of the summer. Although, we’re weirdos that drink iced tea in the winter too, but I digress… Today’s recipe is less of a recipe and more of a really fun, summery way to serve iced tea. What you do is freeze herbs, fruits, citrus, and cucumbers (whatever you want, really) and serve it with yummy iced tea! I think this is such an easy and pretty party…

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Avocado Smoothie

Made with banana and coconut milk, this avocado smoothie recipe is deliciously creamy without any dairy. An easy, refreshing vegan breakfast!

vegan / gluten free

A recent trip to Dallas inspired me to make this creamy avocado smoothie recipe. While we were there, Jack and I went to a popsicle shop that had this dairy-free avocado lime pop that I went crazy for. I’ve wanted to recreate it all summer, and I finally did…in smoothie form! Don’t worry – this avocado smoothie doesn’t taste at all like guacamole. Instead, it’s like a fresh lime sorbet. Thanks to the avocado and banana, it has a delicious creamy texture that makes it a really satisfying breakfast or snack. In fact, it’s so good that I’d even eat…

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Cucumber Mango Miso Noodle Bowl

The star of this easy noodle bowl is the miso-ginger peanut sauce. Its savoy, tangy flavor is perfect against sweet mango, bright lime & fresh mint.

summer / vegan / gluten free

A few weeks ago, while I was making a list of potential upcoming summer recipes, I asked Jack, “Hey, what’s a recipe you really want me to make?” In the past, answers to questions like that have been “Pretzels!” or “Pizza!” but this time it was “An Asian noodle salad.” I asked if he could be more specific, but he said, “I just really really love noodles – you know, when they’re tossed in an Asian-y kind of dressing.” Not a huge help, but at least it was something. So on a Monday when I felt I could use a little reset…

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Farmers Market Potato & Asparagus Pizza

Celebrate spring with this light & bright asparagus pizza! Fresh herbs, crisp radishes, and a sprinkle of cheese make it an explosion of flavor & texture.

summer / dinner / vegetarian

If you caught Monday’s post, I wrote all about my strategy for coming up with a dinner recipe while shopping on the fly at the farmers market. And, drumroll please… here’s what I made! It’s a big green, veggie potato pizza loaded with chopped asparagus, asparagus ribbons, cheese, flowering thyme, chives, and those pretty chive blossoms that I got at Chicago’s Logan Square Farmers Market. It’s spring on a plate… or rather, spring on dough. I know I say this all the time, but I LOVE letting local produce lead my meal planning. These fresh impromptu meals just really make…

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Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.