Mushroom & Quinoa Lettuce Wraps

mushroom & quinoa lettuce wraps / loveandlemons.com

Nutella one day, quinoa the next. This is what I call balance. Tasty balance. Last week, I had this huge head of red lettuce. After a few days of salads, I worked my way down to the small rounded leaves in the center. I thought they were just too cute to tear apart into another salad, so I thought… lettuce wraps. This could be a lovely spring appetizer, or a light meal for two. Especially if you’ve been over-indulging lately like we have been.

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Nutella Stuffed French Toast

nutella stuffed french toast / loveandlemons.com

This might be the most unhealthy thing I’ve made for this site thus far. It’s not “surprisingly” vegan or “by the way” gluten free. And I didn’t make my own Nutella, although I thought about it. But… it’s fast, easy, and super delicious. We’re having some Nutella-loving friends over for Easter brunch next weekend, so I’m thinking this will be sure to impress. If sweets are too much for you in the morning, this can double as dessert with a scoop of ice cream on top. (If you’re reading between the lines here, yes… we ate these for breakfast and…

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Swiss Chard & Egg Casserole

swiss chard & egg casserole

Eggy casserole… fancy fritatta… I wasn’t sure what to call it but our “eggs for dinner” series continues with this new favorite. I realize this looks like a pile of greens (and it very much is), but there are thin layers of egg baked in between the light and flaky chard leaves. The trick is to toss the whisked eggs with the chard leaves raw. In the oven, the greens on the bottom wilt down, the ones on top stay a little bit crispy… a perfect mix of textures. The eggs are mixed with garlic and my favorite part –…

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Sweet Potato & Brussels Skillet

This Sweet Potato & Brussels Egg Skillet is a simple, healthy vegetarian dinner or brunch! This flexible, easy recipe is also gluten-free.

sweet potato & brussels sprout skillet / loveandlemons.com

Brunchy food… it’s perhaps what I cook the most, but what makes it to this site the least. Saturday and Sunday mornings are just not the time to be breaking out the camera. So in an effort to provide a few pre-Easter brunch ideas, we had eggs for dinner… something we should really do more often. I love this sort of meal because it’s a bit of a fridge clean-out. A trip to the store is not necessarily required, you can switch this around to work with what you have. I had a sweet potato and a few brussels sprouts……

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Ginger Citrus Soba & Snow Peas

ginger-citrus soba noodles / loveandlemons.com

I realize I posted soba noodles only a few weeks ago, but I’m back with more. This time, they’re stir fried in a sweet, tangy orange-ginger soy sauce with some crunchy snow peas and edamame. While that one was best served cold, this one is best piping hot. And aside from the tedious task of cleaning the snow peas, this comes together rather quickly.  

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Irish Ale Cocktail

irish ale cocktail / loveandlemons.com

Happy St. Paddy’s day! This one came about all because of these silly little shamrock glasses that I was determined to use this year (last year, I forgot). Awhile back, I went through a glassware thrifting phase. I didn’t notice until I got home that these had little shamrocks on them. Bummed about why someone would put shamrocks on such otherwise-cute glasses, I stuck them up on a high high shelf. So last night we celebrate with this simple little cocktail in the once-a-year celebratory glasses. I have to say – I’m not usually the whiskey person in the family, but…

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Apple Muffins

These easy apple muffins are studded with juicy chunks of apple and toasty nuts. I love enjoying them with tea or coffee on a cool fall morning.

apple muffins / loveandlemons.com

My mom made these apple muffins for us last week while she was visiting. And I made them again for breakfast this morning. These muffins aren’t too sweet, and they’re not too indulgent. Rather, they’re the perfect pick-me-up to start a slow morning or a great healthy snack on a cool fall afternoon. They’re on the healthy side, made with spelt flour or whole wheat flour, coconut oil, and almond milk. My favorite part of them is the juicy chunks of apple on the inside that make them wonderfully moist. Change Up These Apple Muffins! I love this apple muffin recipe…

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Walnut-Mushroom Veggie Burgers

I’m so excited to be guest posting this recipe on A Cup of Jo’s “best you’ll ever have” series. Although, I have to say, it was a little bit daunting to come up with something that was going to be called “the best.” Of course we think this veggie burger is the best we’ve ever had… but since tastes are subjective, I’m hoping you at least find this to be “a pretty darn good one.” While I love both chickpea and black bean patties, I didn’t go that route because I don’t love them between bread… they can get a…

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Apple Pancake

This thick, custardy baked apple pancake takes me straight back to my childhood. Dust it with powdered sugar for a sweet finishing touch & dig in!

apple pancake // loveandlemons.com

My sister and I used to beg my mom for things like Fruity Pebbles and Frosted Flakes. She didn’t cave often, but I remember the few times she did… she’d sigh and say, “If I buy this, are you really going to eat it this time?” We’d smile and nod, excited to be taking home the same colorful boxes our friends had. We’d each eat maybe one bowl full. Then up in the pantry it would go… to collect dust and then ultimately get tossed in the next pantry clean-out. The smiling kids on Saturday morning commercials would convince us…

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Carrot Muffins with Coconut Whip

Healthy non-dairy muffins packed with carrots and topped with coconut whipped cream.

Spring is in the air (at least, here in Austin it is), and I’ve been getting non-stop carrots in my Farmhouse Delivery box. Which means one thing to us… carrot cake. This time, in muffin form. I topped these with coconut whip lightly sweetened with maple syrup. It’s airy, yet creamy… much less indulgent than a more traditional cream cheese frosting, but it was exactly what I was in the mood for this time. With a dusting of cinnamon on top.

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Chocolate Almond Breeze Smoothie

Rich & creamy chocolate smoothies made with banana and almond milk. Vegan and Gluten free.

Chocolate & Almond Smoothie // loveandlemons.com

Now that January is over and Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, I think it’s time to trade in our kale drinks for rich & creamy chocolate-y treats. Because we’ve been good after-all… haven’t we? Something you might not expect that’s a fixture in our fridge is chocolate almond milk. Jack drinks a mocha with it every morning. And he occasionally makes us milk-less milkshakes (kindly accommodating for my my lactose intolerance). He doesn’t cook often but two of his designated tasks are: 1. Coffee Pour-er, and 2. Blender-man. This is his most recent blended treat… frozen bananas with chocolate almond milk and…

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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.