Simple Sweet Potato Bowl

Meet one of my favorite combos: sweet potatoes + feta. In this recipe, they're the perfect hearty, tangy topping for grains, greens, and nuts.

This easy bowl is what I make for dinner most often when no one is looking. It’s my go-to meal when I’m not working on new recipes, when I’m tired after a long day, and when I’ve definitely had too much take-out pho for one week. It’s not a 30-minute meal because roasting a sweet potato takes at least that long, but the rest is so darn simple. Plus, nothing actually calms me more than the wafting aroma of sweet potatoes roasting in my kitchen. There’s no fancy sauce in this recipe. You won’t even dirty an extra bowl to…

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Quinoa Veggie Wrap

A veggie wrap is the epitome of flavor + convenience. These pesto & quinoa salad-stuffed veggie wraps are bright, fresh & perfect for taking on the go.

In my opinion, the world cannot have too many quinoa salads. Don’t get me wrong, I love the other grains too – farro, millet, and wheatberries are all lovely – but my real go-to grain isĀ quinoa. I love to make a big batch and keep it on hand, as it’s the perfectĀ catch-all for the vegetables, nuts, and cheeses that I usually have around. Of course, since this salad was destined for a picnic without any silverware, I decided to have my cake (salad?) and eat it tooĀ by stuffing it in a veggie wrap. My Veggie Wrap Filling The hearty, fresh…

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Heirloom Tomato & Mango Pico

I love pico and I love mango salsa, so I’m not sure why it took so long to come up with the delicious idea to combine the two. This is probably the prettiest salsa I’ve ever made, but I also loveĀ the flavor and texture variety that each tomato brings to the table bowl.Ā Cherry tomatoes are sweet, green tomatoes are more tart and firm. I always find myself adding a pinch of sugar to my tomato salsa for balance, but that’s not necessary this timeĀ because of the sweet juicy mango. Make a big batch, it’ll keep in your fridge forĀ 3-4 days…

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Cinnamon Quinoa Breakfast Bowl

Jumpstart your day with this Cinnamon Quinoa Breakfast Bowl! With fresh fruit, toasted nuts, and warm spices, it's refreshing, healthy, and satisfying.

If you saw what I eat for breakfast every day, you would be so bored. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love my daily eggs & avocado, but lately I’veĀ beenĀ trying to switch things up just because I think change is good every once in a while. Especially if that change means another excuse to smother things in peaches. This quinoa breakfast bowl is inspired by the beautiful bowls of oatmeal that I see all over the internet. You know the ones – they’re chock full of colorful fruit and other various superfoods. They’re so pretty that they make meĀ wish I…

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Oscar Party Appetizers & Wine Pairings

Vegetarian appetizer recipes and wine pairings for your Oscar party! Red Pepper Soup Shooters, Best Dressed Endive Spears, and Mini Pizzas.

The Academy Awards are this weekend – have you seen all of the movies? We’ve binge-watched only a few of them, but soĀ far my favorite is theĀ Grand Budapest Hotel. Does anyone know where I can getĀ Jack a hat that says “Lobby Boy?” Whether or not you’re into the glitz and glam of it all, we love any excuse to gather over food and wine.Ā We’ve partnered with Dark Horse Wine to create 3Ā fun Oscar-themed appetizersĀ along with some unexpected wine pairings. To make things easy, most of this menu can be preparedĀ in advance, and all of these Dark HorseĀ wines are under $10…

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Butternut Squash, Kale & Quinoa Stew

This spiced fall stew is full of butternut squash, kale, quinoa & tomatoes. It's one of our favorite healthy dinners, and it's great to pack for lunch!

And soup season continues! It might not be snowing here, but the fact that it’s been 80 degrees outside doesn’t stop me from craving big pots of stewy vegetables. Plus I just love having theĀ leftovers around for lunch all week. They get better on the second day, and even better on the third day. This stew has pretty much all of my favorites: hearty butternut squash, quinoa & kale. It all gets simmeredĀ in a stewy tomato broth. It’s a pretty simple recipe that you should spice up as much as you like. I used cumin, coriander & smoked paprika, but…

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Stuffed Acorn Squash

I first made this stuffed acorn squash recipe for Thanksgiving, but itsĀ spiced quinoa filling is so good that it's become one of my go-to fall recipes.

The year I first became vegetarian I truly missed the turkey part of turkey day.Ā It seems like ages ago now, but back thenĀ I barely knew how to cook for myself,Ā let alone embrace seasonal foods likeĀ squashes, Brussels sprouts, and sweet potatoes (you know, the kind without marshmallows). Now, with hearty vegetarian main dishes like this stuffed acorn squash, I couldn’t miss the turkey less. When I started working on this recipe, I knew I wanted to make an unconventional stuffed squash. Obviously, you won’t find ground beef or a sausage and apple combination here, but I also veered off the traditional…

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Stuffed Peppers w/ Green Tomato Salsa

Back before there were a (seemingly) endless number of food blogs on the internet, there were a few I followed pretty religiously.Ā 101 Cookbooks,Ā Sprouted Kitchen,Ā Seven Spoons, and one of my all time favorites: Kimberly Hasselbrink’sĀ The Year in Food. I was new to the idea of blogs, but suddenly I spent all my time at the office procrastinating instead of working. What I was going to make that night for dinner becameĀ farĀ more important to me that any client project I had on my plate. I was drawn to these blogs not because I needed to get dinner on the table in 30…

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Arugula Salad with Quinoa, Apricot & Avocado

A lightly sweet cumin-spiced dressing fills this arugula salad with flavor, while avocado, apricots, quinoa & chickpeas make it hearty & satisfying.

I’ll never get tired of an arugula salad with avocado and quinoa. They’re probably my favorite three ingredients to use. I love this sweet combo of dried apricots, peppery arugula, smoky cumin, and fruity Arbequina Olive Oil. (I almost named this Arbequina Quinoa – but try to say that one five times fast). The Key to a Good Arugula Salad is a Good Dressing The cumin-spiced salad dressing really makes this salad shine, and its key ingredient is Arbequina Olive Oil. So what’s Arbequina Olive Oil? It’s a light and fruity extra-virgin olive oil that’s perfect for flavorful dressings like…

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Quinoa Burger

Say goodbye to mushy, bland veggie burgers forever! This quinoa burger is tangy and spicy, with a delicious hearty texture and perfect crispy edges.

I’m not sure where to begin with this quinoa burger recipe. It has a wonderful meaty texture with lightly crisp edges, a spicy, tangy flavor, and a gorgeous red color. Plus, it’s totally vegan and gluten-free! What’s not to love? I’m looking forward to making this quinoa burger for cookouts all summer long, and I hope you are too. On the off-chance that you have leftovers, pop them in the freezer! They reheat perfectly for quick weeknight dinners down the road. Quinoa Burger Recipe Ingredients I set some strict veggie burger criteria for this recipe: no eggs, no cheese, no…

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Easy Pita Lunch Ideas

These 4 easy pita recipes are great packed for healthy lunches! All are vegetarian - prep the components ahead of time for a fast, delicious midday meal.

There’s a category that’s seriously underrepresented on Love & Lemons: lunch. Lunch, for me, is the meal that happens in between all of these recipe posts. It’s usually a quick throw-together meal that utilizes a previous night’s dinner and/or an assortment of random on-hand ingredients… (ie. a half of an avocado, a few leaves of kale, leftover quinoa, an opened container of greek yogurt). I love a big lunch salad, but when I don’t have enough greens & things to make up a full meal, I take what I do have and put it in (or on) a pita. I…

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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.