Heidi’s Spicy Green Soup

I love the simplicity of this spicy green soup. Just simmer a paste of fresh herbs, ginger, chiles & almonds, and you have a piping hot, cleansing meal.

I’ve made this soup three times in the past week and a half. I know – it’s not quite soup season yet, but you probably still have bunches of summery herbs, and this recipe is such a wonderful way to use them. This one comes from Heidi Swanson’s book Near and Far, which has been a favorite in my kitchen since it came out last fall. I just love Heidi’s recipes because they’re so unique and usually very simple to put together. This one takes no longer than 15 minutes, and it packs a bright punch of flavor. Basil, cilantro, ginger, almonds, lemon… all…

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10 (Mostly) Healthy After School Snacks

A mix of healthy sweet and savory treats - Carrot Quinoa Oatmeal Cookies, Vegan Soft Baked Pretzels, & Apple Cinnamon Muffins, to name a few!

It’s been awhile since I’ve been to school, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t appreciate a good 3pm snack. Here are some of my favorite fall treats – for little kids and big kids alike. (Click on the recipe name or the photo itself to go to each recipe) Carrot Quinoa Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies (pictured above) A reader favorite – these cookies are packed with so many wholesome ingredients that it’s ok to eat for breakfast… or as a snack any time of the day. Tip: they also freeze well. Vegan Soft Baked Pretzels What kid wouldn’t love coming home to homemade soft baked…

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Almond Butter Brown Rice Crispy Treats

Almond Butter Brown Rice Crispies are a delicious & healthy vegan & gluten free take on the classic rice crispy! Great for dessert or after school snack.

You can never be too old for a little back-to-school snack, right? My sister and I used to love rice crispy treats as kids. Since I rarely eat marshmallows these days, I’ve been loving this slightly healthier alternative that uses almond butter and brown rice syrup as a binder instead. I also packed in omega-rich hemp seeds, almonds, and shredded coconut – making these a filling treat to get you over that 3 o’clock slump. To make these lightly sweet treats a little sweeter, I smothered them in chocolate. At first I was going to be good and just do a…

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Vegan Poke Bowl

This vegan poke bowl recipe swaps cubed watermelon for raw fish. Its pink color mimics the fish perfectly, and it makes these bowls refreshing & fun!

There’s a new poke bowl shop in town called Poke Poke, and we’re just a little obsessed. Jack and I have eaten there at least 2x per week since it opened. In fact, we’ve just returned from eating lunch there. We might be late to jump on the poke trend, but there’s something so crave-able about these sort of deconstructed sushi bowls. Please tell me that we’re not the only ones that get hooked on the same type of food for weeks on end? What is a poke bowl? The easiest way for me to describe a poke bowl is…

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10 Favorite Weeknight Dinners

Healthy meatless dinner recipes - Sweet Potato Quinoa Bowls, Easy Vegeterian Pho, Curried Red Lentil Stew and more!

Happy Wednesday! If you need a healthy mid-week dinner idea, you’ve come to the right place. Here are 10 recipes that part of our regular dinner rotation. Some of them are super simple, all of them are pretty darn delicious. And, speaking of weeknight dinners, today is the last day to vote in the Saveur Food Blog Awards. It would mean the world to me if you would take a second to vote for us – click HERE and scroll down to the “Most Inspired Weeknight Dinners” category. THANK YOU! And now for the recipes! Simple Sweet Potato Quinoa Bowls (pictured above) When…

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One Pot Penne Pasta

We love this vegetarian one-pot penne pasta on weeknights. Veggies, herbs, and lemon make the penne burst with flavor. Ready in 20 minutes!

Today’s penne pasta recipe is brought to you by…our dishwasher! Here’s what happened: Our dishwasher recently broke, which has made me realize just how many dishes we (mostly I) use in a day. For example, I start with a big glass of water first thing in the morning before I make a smoothie. Next comes iced cold brew coffee. When it’s time to make lunch, I’m usually too lazy to go upstairs to get my previously used water glass, so I’ll grab another. In case you aren’t keeping track, I’m up to 4 glasses by about noon. There’s also one by…

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Skinny Caipirinhas

With the Rio Olympics coming to a close, it’s time to celebrate with Brazil’s national drink – Caipirinhas! Jack and I have some fond Caipirinha memories – we actually spent our honeymoon in South America and our first stop was Rio. On our first night we had dinner at a great restaurant in Ipanema, the name of which I can’t remember (before the blog I was terrible at taking travel notes). The waiter insisted that we have the “national drink of Brazil.” He explained to us what Cachaça was and we felt like we were experiencing a truly special exotic…

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No-Bake Sweet Pea Enchiladas

If you're hosting a dinner party, make these crowd-pleasing vegetarian enchiladas! They're a flavorful, creative main dish that's sure to be a hit.

I know you love cookbooks as much as I do, so I’m excited to share this recipe from Kristen Donnely’s new book, Modern Potluck. I met Kristin about a year ago while she was an editor at Food & Wine Magazine. When she told me about the concept of her book, I knew I’d want to share it with you I love this… In her intro, she talks about the perfect dinner parties (with perfect hosts) that they would feature in the magazine, and how she’d always felt embarrassed that she didn’t grow up knowing how to throw a “proper” dinner party.…

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Peach Tostadas & a Saveur Nomination(!)

First off, I wanted to say a big THANK YOU for nominating us in this year’s Saveur Blog Awards! I’m so flattered and thrilled that you find our little corner of the internet to be an inspiring place. It’s times like these that I really don’t know what else to say besides thank you, thank you, thank you! If you have a second, it would mean the world to me if you could click here and go vote. Scroll down a tad to the “Most Inspired Weeknight Dinners” category. You can vote every day until August 31st. I owe you big 🙂 Speaking of weeknight dinners,…

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Chocolate Pudding Pops

Cool off with this yummy pudding pop recipe! Creamy from avocado & almond butter, these healthy treats are perfect on hot summer days.

Today I’m sharing my new favorite summer treat: chocolate pudding pops! I got the idea to make a healthier version of the classic pudding pop from memories of hot summer days when I was growing up. When my sister and I were younger, our goal in life was to catch the ice cream truck. We’d play outside in the yard with our neighbor friends all day until one of us yelled “sshhhhhhhh!!!!” and then we’d all run to opposite ends of the yard to figure out which direction that whimsical sound of The Entertainer was coming from. When we would close in on the…

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9 Recipes To Make Before Summer Ends

Some of my favorite vegetarian recipes to use up summer produce - Summer Squash Vegetable Pizza, Peach Salads, Crumbles and more!

As a self-declared “summer person” August is always a little bittersweet for me. Five minutes ago it was May, and all of a sudden back-to-school supplies are on store shelves. Which shouldn’t matter to me – it’s been years since I’ve been in school – but the thought of notebooks and number two pencils still sends a little chill up my spine. No matter how old I am, I’ll never be quite ready to let the summer go. Today’s recipes use all of my favorite late summer produce – zucchini, summer squashes, peppers, corn, eggplant, and (the one I’ll be most sad…

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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.