Chocolate Zucchini Cake

This chocolate zucchini cake recipe is the ULTIMATE summertime treat! It's moist, fudgy, and decadent, with a rich dark chocolate flavor.

When your garden (or your fridge) is overflowing with zucchini, there’s no better way to use it than by making this chocolate zucchini cake. It’s a recipe I make every summer, when I’ve already had zucchini noodles, zucchini chips, and zucchini salad, and something really decadent sounds like it would hit the spot. This chocolate zucchini cake is moist and delicious, with a rich chocolate flavor that I can’t get enough of. It’s wonderful on its own, but I like it best with a thick layer of frosting on top. If you want to lean into the green theme, you…

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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.

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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Dark Chocolate Olive Oil Cake

This olive oil cake is the perfect treat for dark chocolate lovers. It's not too sweet, deeply chocolatey, and delicious with a dollop of cardamom cream.

We sold our house yesterday. In case you haven’t heard, Jack and I are moving(!?), and lately I’ve been feeling a really mixed bag of emotions about it. We left Austin a few weeks ago and are spending the summer temporarily in Chicago (living with my parents – so glamorous!) until we find a new place to call home. We’re excited for a new adventure, but of course, it’s always sad leaving homes and friends (and kitchens! aahh, what am I doing!) behind. Don’t worry, the blog isn’t going anywhere – I have tons of new recipes and other special projects in the…

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PB Cookie Dough Vegan Milkshake

Nothing beats this yummy vegan milkshake made with blended chocolate chip peanut butter cookie dough balls, almond milk, and vegan ice cream!

There’s a vegan restaurant that we love in Chicago called The Chicago Diner. Jack and I make it a point to stop there nearly every time we’re in town. The food is really good, but the thing to get there is the vegan milkshake – the peanut butter chocolate chip cookie dough milkshake to be exact. And yes, it’s as decadent as it sounds. A few weeks ago, we ate lunch there and I tried to not order one. Then Jack’s shake came to the table and I said, “I’ll just have one little sip… ok, well maybe just one more…” and before I had stolen nearly his…

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Kentucky Derby Party Recipes

As you know, the Kentucky Derby® is right around the corner (did you see last week’s Sparkling Mint Juleps?). Today I’m partnering with 14 Hands Wine to share some Derby Day party tips, recipes, and a few great wine pairings. It’s time break out your fancy hats, pour some wine and get started! First up are these colorful open-faced (crust off!) tea sandwiches. These are super easy to make if you make the spread ahead of time and assemble these just before your guests arrive. Instead of a cream cheese spread I made an herbal creamy dill spread by blending sunflower…

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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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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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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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No Bake Energy Bites

I make these no bake energy balls just about every week. Nutty, sweet, and packed with good-for-you ingredients, they're the perfect healthy snack!

This no bake 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…

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Tart Cherry Tartelettes

Tart Cherry Tartelettes. A no-bake Valentines Day dessert. Vegan and Gluten Free.

There seems to be a national holiday for every type of food imaginable… I’m usually the last to know until my Instagram feed is chock full of deliciousness for National Chocolate Cake Day (January 27th), National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day (May 15th), and the one I’m most ashamed to have missed, National Taco Day (October 4th). But this month, I’m covering all my bases because February is not only National Chocolate Lovers’ Month, it’s also National Cherry Month. To celebrate, we’ve partnered with the Cherry Marketing Institute to bring you these decadent (no-bake) chocolate tart cherry tartelettes. These start with a…

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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.