Healthy Breakfast Smoothies

Learn how to make 5 different fun and healthy breakfast smoothies! These cool, refreshing smoothies are my go-to start to a summer day.

Let’s eat the rainbow! Or, with these healthy breakfast smoothies, drink the rainbow through a straw (or scoop it up with a spoon… how you like to enjoy your smoothie is really up to you). How to Meal Prep Healthy Breakfast Smoothies Today we’re continuing our “grab & go” series with Almond Breeze. The idea with these breakfast smoothies is that you assemble all of your fruits & vegetables ahead of time so that your morning smoothie is fast and easy to make. Chop up your fruit (and veggies if you want a green one), and pack them away in…

TO THE RECIPE >>>>

Matcha Milkshakes

In case you haven’t noticed, I sort of have a thing for matcha. I know it’s SO trendy… but I personally think it’s exciting to see really great healthy foods become insanely popular. Everyone’s drinking matcha lattes and matcha mochas these days – but now that it’s almost summer, here’s a really simple ice cream treat. This one’s really more of an idea than a “recipe.” I didn’t even bother breaking out the blender to make these milkshakes because in the spirit of our “grab and go” monthly series with Almond Breeze, I wanted to make these simple enough to…

TO THE RECIPE >>>>

Breakfast Bowl with Amaranth Granola

An easy, healthy breakfast bowl! Amaranth-oat granola, almond milk and fresh blueberries. Vegan & gluten free.

Let me start out by saying: I’m not a cereal person. I’ve told this story before – my sister and I used to BEG my mom for all of the artificially colored sugary cereals with fun cartoon characters… sometimes she’d give in but always with the disclaimer “only if you actually eat it this time.” We would excitedly make this promise only to go home, have one bowl and never touch it again. This granola, however – I’ll happily eat cereal-style. But with almond milk instead of regular milk because we all know that Almond Breeze is my go-to milk. Amaranth is a…

TO THE RECIPE >>>>

Toast with Radishes & Dandelion Greens

I’ll never forget the first time I bit into a radish. I was in Sunday school and I was maybe seven or eight. I’m not sure if they ate radishes in Bible times, but for whatever reason that morning’s lesson involved passing around new raw foods to try. I don’t remember much else about that day except the shockingly bitter taste that I couldn’t get out of my mouth until my family picked up Dunkin’ Donuts on the way home. I spent years picking radishes out of salads until I slowly came to love the crunch and slightly bitter bite – especially when thinly sliced,…

TO THE RECIPE >>>>

Tart Cherry Grilled Cheese with Sage

Ultimate Tart Cherry (or Sour Cherry) white cheddar grilled cheese recipe with sage. Superfood meets comfort food!

When it comes to grilled cheese sandwiches, I think more is more. I say, skip the white bread and American singles and instead opt for: 1. thick grainy bread 2. fancy sharp cheese 3. fresh herbs 4. something sweet or tart, to balance it all out In this case, component #4 – the tart cherries – are sweet and tart, making this my ultimate grilled cheese. Plus, I like to sneak in superfoods wherever I can. Tart cherries (also called sour cherries) have some unique super-fruit benefits. They’re a natural anti-inflammatory as well as a source of melatonin. Nutrition aside,…

TO THE RECIPE >>>>

Loaded Sweet Potato Avocado Toast

Loaded Chipotle Sweet Potatoes & Kale with Pickled Radishes are fun, healthy, and filling toppings for classic avocado toast! A perfect vegan snack or main.

I know – avocado toast is SO over, and even if it weren’t, you don’t need a recipe for it. This trend might be on it’s way out, but you’ll still find me (and pretty much everyone else on Instagram) happily smashing & snapping away. I usually keep mine simple – avocado, lemon, salt, pepper, and a sprinkle of hemp seeds. It’s a perfect combo that doesn’t need to be messed with, but since this was “dinner toast” for us one night last week, I thought I’d get a little fancier with the toppings. (Also, Jack is still claiming that he…

TO THE RECIPE >>>>

Goji & Mango Guacamole

Even if you're a guac purist, you'll love this mango guacamole. Sweet goji berries, mango & lime cut through the avocado, making for a light, fresh dip.

Hi everyone, Jack here again. Super Bowl Sunday is right around the corner and you know what that means? Dip! Even though I’m not traditionally in love with avocado, I love the way Jeanine makes guacamole, and plus, nothing says “go team” like go-ji, right? Right? Now you may be thinking “oh, Jeanine has Jack writing this because he’s a football man or something.” Well, I have to admit, team sports are not my thing. Three things that ARE my thing, and the reasons I’m manning this post, are Super Bowl parties, food dipped in other food, and goji puns. This mango…

TO THE RECIPE >>>>

Green Quesadillas

In this frigid weather, nothing sounds better to me than soups and sandwiches. But if you’re like me and you keep tortillas on hand more regularly than bread – quesadillas are the perfect little soup or salad accompaniment. I always love to sneak a few greens into my food but today there’s no hiding it. These green-on-green-on-green quesadillas start with spinach tortillas that I stuffed with cheese, jalapeños, cilantro and sliced collard greens (feel free to sub spinach, kale, or whatever you have on hand)… and pickled shallots for a bright tangy bite. These are especially good with our Spicy Black Bean Soup.

TO THE RECIPE >>>>

Peanut Butter Goji Berry Granola Bars

Delicious & healthy homemade granola bars made with peanut butter, goji berries, pepitas, pistachios, and a little chocolate. Gluten-free and easy to make!

Happy New Year! Today I’m guest posting over at Better Homes and Gardens’ Dish Delish Blog. These granola bars were inspired by their recipe for Chocolate-Peanut Butter Granola Bars, which reminded me of the ones my mom used to pack into my school lunch everyday. I might not have that Barbie and the Rockers lunchbox anymore, but I thought it would be fun to recreate this favorite afternoon treat in a healthier way. My version is packed with goji berries, chia seeds, pistachios, pepitas, (and of course, chocolate)… These are so quick & easy to make. Click over to the BHG Dish…

TO THE RECIPE >>>>

Buttercup Squash Crumble Bars

The ultimate fall dessert - these crumbly, creamy butternut squash bars are topped with chocolate and coconut. (Plus a video!!)

I had this buttercup squash (perhaps the funkiest looking squash of them all), sitting on my countertop for the longest time. It likely would have become soup had it not been for the name itself –  “buttercup” which spoke to me and said: let’s make a crumbly & buttery dessert! I won’t go as far to say this is healthy, but hey, it’s the holidays and we’re making dessert, so let’s live a little. These bars are made with good quality organic ingredients (and remember: squash). This recipe is loosely based on my recipe for raspberry crumble bars. I switched out…

TO THE RECIPE >>>>

Vegan Kale & Artichoke Dip

Vegan Kale & Artichoke dip is a healthy spin on the classic spinach artichoke dip. It's the perfect appetizer for holiday parties or winter gatherings!

Hey all, Jack here – now that it’s the end of the year, it’s holiday party time! And what does it normally mean to eat at a party in the winter? To a lot of Americans, that means spinach artichoke dip. I mean, what makes you feel like partying more than eating an entire loaf of bread dipped in cream cheese and mayonnaise? Well, Jeanine and I don’t really think that’s much of a party any more. Our idea of a party is one where the next day you (or your guests) don’t feel awful. So we took a bit of…

TO THE RECIPE >>>>
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.