A Simple Saturday Morning

A peek into our at-home ideal Saturday morning - breakfast, puppies, coffee, OJ & more :)

breakfast / at-home

It’s spring(!) and our Saturday mornings are feeling so much happier and brighter now that the sun is shining and there’s finally not any snow on the ground. I love Saturday morning, I love not leaving the house until at least 1pm, and I love watching TV until we run out of things to watch. Somewhere in there, I’m also making a healthy breakfast (or brunch). Here’s a peek at what an ideal Saturday looks like for us: First things first, we wake up next to this cute face: … that is – until “cute” turns demanding. What you’re not…

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Mother’s Day Recipes + a Giveaway!

A group of my favorite recipes that will be perfect for Mother's Day - brunch recipes, group recipes, seasonal recipes and dessert!

spring / brunch

Mother’s Day is this weekend! That sure came up quick! In case you need some recipe inspiration, here are a few of my favorites that I think would be perfect for the occasion. Plus, see below for an extra special giveaway 🙂 For brunch: I love these lightly sweet Coconut Mango Muffins. I often keep them in my freezer for a weekday breakfast or snack. To make them brunch-able, serve with the mini frittatas below: These little Mini Tomato Frittatas with Dill are as cute as they are delicious. I absolutely love the combo of dill and eggs. These little guys are…

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5-Day Meal Plan Recap + Grocery List

A 5-day easy, healthy, vegetarian meal plan, plus grocery list. Perfect for weeknights and busy schedules. Vegan and gluten free options.

meal plan / spring

As promised, here’s a recap of the 5-day meal plan that I posted this past week. First things first, why did I all of a sudden meal plan for 5 days (and never before? ha ha). Well, I’ve had the idea for some time, but like many things, it hit the back burner. With the launch of our new meal journal, I thought: “Welp, now’s the time!” There’s a concept that I touch on in our cookbook… I call it “cooking backward” and it differs from many other meal planning approaches. You see, I’m not a person who plans, organizes,…

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The Love & Lemons Meal Record & Market List

The Love & Lemons Meal Record and Market List is the prettiest meal planning journal you've ever seen! Plan your meals, grocery lists, and social events!

meal planning / new!

Meet the newest member of our L&L family: The Love & Lemons Meal Record and Market List! Also known as the prettiest meal planning journal you’ve ever seen (of course I’m biased). This is for all of you who LOVE to meal plan… and also for those of you who think you might want to start meal planning (raising my hand), but were just waiting for the perfect pretty book, with letter-pressed type on the front, to record all of your wonderful plans and goals. When you open up the hardcover case, it looks like this (below). The pocket on…

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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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Our Trip to the French Wine Region of Beaujolais

travel / France

In 2015, I had the amazing opportunity to visit vineyards all over the Rhone Valley. I loved every bit of it – the hilltop views, the lavender fields, the food, the wine (of course)… the only thing missing was my better half, Jack, who was stuck at work. This past fall we not only got to go to Beaujolais together, but it happened to fall on the week of our wedding anniversary. It was picture perfect, except the little mishap in the beginning where we missed our flight. Oops. We scrambled to get on a flight the next day, landed…

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3-Layer Fruit Smoothie

This 3-layer fruit smoothie is the ultimate healthy breakfast! I'll make the whole thing for a special occasion or just one layer for a quick, yummy treat.

vegan / gluten free / beverage

Nothing says love like a smoothie, right? 🙂 I love love love Valentine’s Day, but not in the fancy-dinner-prix-fixe dinner sort of way. I love it for of all of the cute things that remind me of being a little kid… tiny paper cards, homemade cupcakes with pink frosting, heart shaped candies… so in the spirit of being crafty, I made this 3-layer fruit smoothie! I always see layered fruit smoothies on Instagram and think, “who the heck has time to make three separate smoothies?” – but here I am doing it. It actually was pretty simple, and while I…

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We’re hiring!

Hello friends and readers, I’m looking for a Kitchen/Photo Shoot Assistant to help with food prep for photo shoots, recipe testing/development, and food styling/plating. This position can be full time or part time depending on relevant experience. I’m looking for someone who is excited about what we do here and wants to help get more of it out there! Interested? PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE: – Food Prep for Photo Shoots This means that you love to go to the grocery store and you’re good at choosing photo-ready ingredients. You love going to a second store if store #1 is out of…

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2017 Cookbook Gift Guide

My favorite cookbooks from 2017 - all make great gifts!

holiday / cookbooks

It’s that time of year again! You’ve gone through your list and checked it twice… yet there are still a few friends and family members left and you don’t know what to get for them. How about a cookbook? I always say this, but I think cookbooks make the best gifts because there’s always one to suit every taste. Or maybe I just say this because I personally love (and love to hoard) cookbooks! Anyway, here are my favorites from this past year. Many I’ve written about before, many you’ll hear more about in the next few months. They’re all…

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Vegetarian Thanksgiving Sides

Vegetarian Thanksgiving Side dishes! Vegan and gluten free options too.

holiday / favorites

It’s Thanksgiving week! I think we’re up to 17 people that are coming over on Thursday, so, um, yikes! Thankfully, everyone is bringing something so the cooking won’t be so difficult. Like always, I’ll be making the salad and a vegetable side dish or two. In case you’re like me – still deciding what to make – here are some of my favorite vegetarian starters and side dishes! Click on the images to go directly to each recipe! Harvest Haven Salad A gorgeous seasonal salad that’s a great light way to start off the meal. Simple Roasted Beets with Citrus…

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Favorite Vegetarian Soup Recipes

favorites / soups / fall

Depending on where you live, it may or may not be quite soup weather yet. The temps are cooling off over here in the midwest, but to be honest, I’d eat soup even if it was one hundred degrees out (and I used to in Austin!). I love soup anytime and all the time! I love making it, I love eating it… I also love how it yields lots of leftovers that are almost always better the second or third day after flavors have had the chance to fully develop. If you love soup as much as I do, here…

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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.

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