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Ultimate Crudité Platter

Move over, grocery store veggie tray - here's the ultimate crudité platter for any party! Full of sweet & savory components, it's a delicious appetizer.

spring / summer

I love a good crudité platter. I feel like they get a bad rap because the grocery store versions with the sad celery, raw cauliflower, and grubby carrots are never the most exciting appetizer at a party, but this board fixes that by being bright, fun, and delicious! It’s a yummy mix of fresh things, salty/savory bites, and even a sweet element from the delectable Tart Cherry Thyme Compound Butter. Each little recipe is made up of super simple combinations of creative ingredients that, together, make a really unique crudité platter! I brought this board to my family’s Father’s Day…

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Chipotle Cauliflower Nachos

The ULTIMATE vegan nachos, these are loaded with smoky cauliflower "cheese" sauce, sweet pineapple salsa, black beans, cilantro, and tomato.

vegan / gluten free

If you made Thursday’s stuffed peppers and have leftover pineapple salsa and leftover chipotles, this recipe is for you! And if you didn’t, well that’s ok, you can still make it anyway 🙂 This is a nacho plate that you can feel good about! Instead of weird boxed nacho cheese, we’re making an oozy, spicy cheese-like sauce out of cauliflower. Seriously, is there anything that the mighty cauliflower can’t do? What’s in Chipotle Cauliflower “Cheese” Nacho Sauce? Good question! This irresistible sauce consists of 10 simple ingredients: Cauliflower makes up the bulk of the sauce and contributes to its luscious creamy…

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Stuffed Mini Peppers

Serve these stuffed mini peppers as a crowd-pleasing party appetizer, or pair them with smoky chipotle pinto beans and enjoy them for dinner!

summer / vegan / gluten free

These stuffed mini peppers are the perfect summer party appetizer! They’re bursting with bright, zesty flavor, they’re easy to make, and they’re just so darn cute. I already have an affinity for miniature things, so when miniature vegetables come into the picture, I’m automatically on board. I always love making stuffed red bell peppers and stuffed poblanos in the summertime, so when I saw these Organic Mini Sweet Peppers at ALDI, I immediately knew that I wanted to make a stuffed mini peppers recipe. They take everything I love about regular stuffed peppers and shrink it into a miniature, shareable…

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Four Simple Summer Snacks

Four easy, healthy, delicious snack ideas that are easy to make - perfect for busy weekdays or fun weekend bites.

vegetarian / gluten free / snacks & dips

On social media, everyone always talks about the concept of “not a sad desk lunch”… but what about “not-a-sad desk snack?” For me, snacks can get SO boring. Often, at 3pm when my stomach is growling, I reach for a handful of plain raw almonds because that’s all I’ve got (when I’ve already eaten through the roasted ones). And then I’m kind of bummed that I didn’t have something a little more flavorful and that I just wasted a perfectly good snack opportunity. So today – better snacks! Whether you work at a desk or you’re constantly on the go,…

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Nori Wraps

If you love sushi but don't love rolling it at home, these easy nori wraps are for you. They taste just as good, especially with spicy mayo drizzled on top!

gluten free / vegetarian

Meal #2 this week: Nori wraps!  If you missed Monday’s post, I made these Mango Black Bean Ginger Rice Bowls as part of this week’s three meal series showing how ingredients from one meal can work into the next, and then again into one more. I did a similar five part plan a few months ago, and many of you wrote to tell me how helpful it was… so here we are again! At the end of the week, I’ll recap it all with a full grocery list. For this recipe, I started with these ingredients that I had on hand…

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Grilled Avocado with Veggie Ceviche

If you've never tried grilled avocado, break out the grill ASAP! Tart veggie ceviche over lightly charred, creamy avocado is a delicious grilling side.

vegan / gluten free

Grilling week continues! For the 3 recipes I’m sharing this week (the first was a grilled asparagus recipe if you missed it), I really wanted to choose produce that’s less commonly grilled. We’ll have all summer to grill my favorite staples like peppers, zucchini, and eggplant. I’ve never grilled avocado, so I thought “ooh, that’ll be fun!” It was fun, we loved it, and so will you: How to Make This Grilled Avocado Recipe Start by making the veggie ceviche filling with hearts of palm (they have a fish-like texture), tomato, serrano pepper, cilantro, and diced red onion for crunch. Toss…

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Asparagus Ribbon, Mint & Pea Pesto Toasts

Have you ever tried peeling asparagus into ribbons? Lightly crisp, fresh & delicious, they're just the thing to top these yummy spring-themed toasts.

breakfast / spring / vegetarian

If you love asparagus, but the people you’re living with don’t, this post is for you. Even if you’re just blasé about asparagus, like I used to be, give it a chance by ribboning it! The thin, raw ribbons tossed with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper are so fresh and delicious that you’ll completely avoid the unpleasant fibrous, stringy experience that asparagus sometimes causes. You can toss them in salads, put them on pizza… last weekend we ate them on fancy toast because these happened to be the ingredients that I had on hand. To make the ribbons, you…

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Vegan Seven Layer Dip

This healthy recipe for seven layer dip is a guaranteed party hit! Refried beans, guac, spiced quinoa, cashew cream & fresh veggies load it with flavor.

appetizers / vegan / gluten free

I have a huge weakness for seven layer dip. Growing up, my mom made it for SO many holidays and gatherings. I’d be sure to grab a seat at the table right next to it so that I could gobble it up, chip after chip after chip after chip. In my family, this was (and still is) called Tex Mex dip. When Jack and I were first dating, he thought this was hilarious, and once I moved down to Texas with him I learned why – this dip is neither Tex nor Mex. In the intervening years, I also learned…

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Kale Guacamole

This kale guacamole has classic guac's addictive zesty flavor & creamy texture, but steamed kale leaves makes it extra green (and extra healthy)!

vegan / gluten free

This recipe was inspired by a kale guacamole that started showing up at Whole Foods last summer :). Yes, that’s right, I don’t always make my own guacamole. If I’m heading to someone’s house, sometimes it’s just easier to pick it up on the way. That delicious kale guacamole inspired me to make my own version at home. Not only is it healthy, but also adding in the kale bulks it up a bit without taking away any of the flavor. Plus, I somehow found a way to make guacamole *more* green! Who doesn’t love that? This recipe is easy as…

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Loaded Potato Skins

You'll love these loaded potato skins with black bean salad, sunflower sour cream, and crispy coconut bacon. Great for parties!

vegan / gluten free / snacks & dips

I wanted to share this fun healthi(er) “game day” recipe before the Super Bowl even though, admittedly, we’re not big football fans. And by “we,” I mostly mean me. Jack will socially watch a game at a party, but my relationship with football didn’t exactly start off on the right… foot. Beginning in 1st grade, every year in gym class, we started the year with a football written test. Way to get kids interested in sports, right? The teacher would hand out worksheets to bring home and study (which I never did) and every year I’d bring home a failing…

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Butternut Hummus with Feta & Pomegranates

A healthy fall or winter appetizer - great for Thanksgiving, the holidays, or just for snacking! Vegetarian, vegan and gluten free.

fall / holiday: / appetizers

I hope you need a last-minute Thanksgiving appetizer because this butternut squash hummus dip is so insanely good! While I was making it, I couldn’t stop eating it. Now that the leftovers are in the fridge, I can’t walk by the kitchen without grabbing a cracker for a quick swipe. It’s easy to make, especially if you’re roasting butternut squash for another recipe – just roast an extra cup of cubed squash and swirl this hummus together in no time. It’s thick, creamy, tangy, and nicely spiced from the cumin, coriander, and a bit of cayenne. Now the important part…

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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.

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