Healthy Hot Chocolate

This healthy hot chocolate recipe is the perfect cold weather treat! It's totally vegan and dairy-free, but it's still rich, chocolatey, and delicious.

Lately, Jack and I have been guzzling mugs of this healthy hot chocolate for breakfast. If you’re thinking, “Hot chocolate for breakfast?!”, you have to hear me out. This healthy hot chocolate recipe is a far cry from the Swiss Miss hot cocoa I drank as a kid. It’s naturally sweetened, and nutrient-rich cacao powder takes the place of processed cocoa. Plus, I make it with almond milk, so it’s totally vegan and dairy-free. Fair game for breakfast? 100% yes. Now, if you think “healthy” is code for “watery” or “bland,” think again. This healthier hot chocolate is rich, creamy,…

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Pumpkin Pudding

This pumpkin pudding recipe is far easier than pie, but it's just as delicious! I love to serve it with toasted pecans for extra richness and crunch.

This pumpkin pudding is my grown-up version of the pumpkin pie I adored as a kid. Back then, my favorite thing about Thanksgiving was hands down the pumpkin pie. Or, more accurately, the pumpkin pie filling. My sister and I (being the picky eaters that we were) would scoop out the creamy pumpkin middle and leave the shells of our crusts behind. The adults would shake their heads. Sometimes I’d eat the crispy edge piece, but the soggy bottom crust? No thank you. Now that I’m an adult, I wouldn’t push my crust aside, but pumpkin pie’s creamy filling is…

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Lemon Cake

This light, 10-ingredient lemon cake recipe is lightly sweet and bright - the perfect treat to enjoy with an afternoon tea or coffee.

“This not-too-sweet, very simple cake is perfect for that ‘it’s four o’clock and I need a little something with a cup of coffee’ moment,” says Julia Turshen about this lemon cake recipe, and I completely agree. I’ve had a little slice of this lemon olive oil cake every day this week, and it’s been delightful. This easy lemon cake recipe comes from the book Small Victories by Julia Turshen. If you think you’re not familiar with her work, you probably actually are, as she’s co-authored books with Gweneth Paltrow and Mario Batali, to name a few. I am head-over-heels for her easy…

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Coconut Macaroons

Here it is: the only coconut macaroons recipe you'll ever need! They're crisp on the outside, soft in the middle, and oh-so-good with a chocolate drizzle.

Truth: I have a hard time writing cookie posts without getting up to eat at least one. two. For this reason I usually like to post salads and other lighter foods on Mondays, but I’m switching things up today because sometimes you just need a #cookiemonday (or in this case a coconut macaroon Monday) and that’s ok. This coconut macaroons recipe is from Angela Liddon’s new book, Oh She Glows Every Day. I’m sure you all have it by now, right? If you don’t, and you’re vegan (and even if you’re not), you’re going to love it. It’s packed with SO MANY…

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Pumpkin Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies

These pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are everything I want on a fall day. They're soft, puffy, deliciously spiced, and full of gooey chocolate goodness.

I was originally planning to post these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies in October, but we finished them early, they turned out great, and I just couldn’t wait. Fall or not, these cookies are SO good! Oats, pumpkin, cinnamon, spices, and chocolate baked into big soft pillowy cookies – what’s not to love? These pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are vegan & gluten free, and they will be so perfect for lunch boxes because they’re nut-free(!) as well. I know so many of you have asked how to make these carrot cookies without nuts. That recipe really needs the almond butter to bind them but THIS recipe holds together…

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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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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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Summer Strawberry Crumble

This 10-ingredient strawberry crumble is the easiest summer dessert! It's nutty & delicious, and a splash of balsamic vinegar gives it a little pop.

I’ve had a torn page from last month’s Bon Appetit issue sitting on my desk for the last few weeks. Whenever I’d look away from the computer or pace around the room while on the phone (P.S. does anyone else need to walk while they talk?), I’d glance at this pie recipe out of the corner of my eye and think “strawberry pistachio, YES! Why didn’t I think of this combo before?” This red and green ingredient pairing of pistachios and strawberries is like Christmas in July, er… June. This strawberry crumble recipe works just as well with walnuts or pecans, but it’s just so pretty with pistachios. While I got…

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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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Oatmeal Energy Balls

I make these oatmeal energy balls just about every week. Nutty, sweet, and packed with good-for-you ingredients, they're the perfect healthy snack!

This oatmeal energy balls recipe resulted from a massive cookie flop. I was craving a cookie, but I didn’t have the exact ingredients for my oatmeal cookie recipe on hand. I messed around with it, swapping in what I did have, and I ended up with a sweet and nutty “dough” made from oats and almond butter. It was never going to bake into perfect oatmeal cookies, but it tasted so good that I immediately thought, “Energy bites!” A few tests later, and these oatmeal energy balls have become my favorite healthy snack. They’re rich, nutty, and chewy, and they…

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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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A food blog with fresh, zesty recipes.
Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Welcome to Love & Lemons!

I'm Jeanine Donofrio, a New York Times bestselling cookbook author and recipe developer. I share fresh, delicious vegetarian recipes that celebrate seasonal ingredients and flavors.

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