Papaya Bowl with Chia Pudding and Fresh Fruit recipe, inspired by a dish from the Hau Tree restaurant in Honolulu. This recipe has a beautiful presentation, simple assembly, and nutritional benefits, is vegan and customizable.
Once summer hits, I start to want to cook with fruit, especially peaches and berries. Luckily, we have some great sources for peaches in Southeast Florida. This homemade peach crisp recipe could not be easier. Summer peach season is upon us and this recipe is a great way to use up some of the beautiful...
We eat a lot of granola around here. It is a perfect whole food snack that we all like. At one point, we imagined opening a granola business so that we could share our creations with the world. That didn't happen. Instead, we like to experiment with granola recipes as much as possible. This granola...
The holidays are a time to celebrate and that doesn't have to include alcohol. This is one of my favorite fall mocktail recipes. I realize that since it is only September 8th--the holidays are still a ways off. But, it doesn't really feel like that to me. The grocery stores are filled with great fall...
I cannot get a good photo of air fried tofu. It is just not that photogenic. But, it is a great staple and building block for so many different recipes. I have been making this air fried tofu every week and use it for Vietnamese Banh Mi, Tofu Curry (recipe coming soon), tofu poke, and...
I couldn't think of what to call this. I told the kids we were having green bean bake. You know, green because of the cilantro rice and beans because of the chipotle beans. But, they were more thinking of the traditional Thanksgiving side dish and were not impressed. You should have seen their relief when...
Around here, we tend to get more excited for the super bowl than for Thanksgiving. It really isn't about the football, although we like that too, but we love the snack foods . With an interest in eating more vegan food, I have been searching the interwebs and chatting with other bloggers for amazing vegan...
Everything you need to know about this smoothie recipe is in the title. It has chocolate. It has banana. It has peanut butter. It is a smoothie. But, I didn't mention that it is a super quick easy breakfast filled with protein. If you are vegan and will like to find a chocolate that goes...
Chocolate peanut butter protein balls are a great lunch snack anytime of day. A cross between cookie dough and a power bar--how can you go wrong? We have been packing a few of these in our lunch bags all week for a perfect sweet treat in just the right size. On a personal note, I...
Looking for a great recipe to take to your office party? Your friends baby shower? For any occasion at all, I turn to these brownies. Everyone loves a great brownie and these are no fail. Hi Friends! Missed me? I haven't been posting as much as I would have liked. I have been cooking though--recipe...
This chocolate coconut pudding might be my favorite dessert ever. It was inspired by a craving for Ted's bakery coconut haupia pie on the North Shore of Oahu. My craving caused me to search through the house to make a pie only to find that making a pie crust from on hand ingredients was just...
Do you ever have those nights where you just don't want to go out to eat but you also have nothing in your house to make? This vegetarian tortilla soup was created in one of those moments.
This watermelon-basil-feta salad is not really a recipe. It is more of a suggestion. I read about this recipe years ago in some autobiography and it has stuck with me. Until then, I only thought of watermelon as a fruit. Something that you eat a big bowl of for a summer dessert. I had never...
I am a sucker for quick breads, see pumpkin bread, chocolate fig bread, and now this, the best ever banana bread. There is something about using super ripe produce and making an entirely new creation. Plus, I feel that it is sort of good for you, since you know, fruits and vegggies. Ahem.... Anyhoo.....I seem...
Looking for a light summer salad? This Puerto Rican bean salad is for you! Recently, we had a potluck baby shower at my office and I had no idea what to make. I always get nervous about what to cook for a group. I usually don't want to bring a dessert and I really try...
Chocolate fig banana bread is a decadent way to use up leftover bananas for an elevated quick bread recipe. I bought dried figs to serve on our cheese platter for the holidays and then just forgot about them. During some digging through our too deep cabinets, I found them and decided they must be used...
This recipe for chocolate protein energy balls started as a fail. I was trying to make chocolate sea salt Rx bars and it just didn't work out. The mixture was a tad too sticky to cut nicely into bars and I had given up trying. I was at my kitchen counter, pulling the failed chocolate...
Sometimes, you just need a cookie. It helps that these are refined sugar free, flour free and ready in minutes! Ever have one of those days that you just can't seem to get anything done? Like, you have a list a mile long but don't seem to make any progress on it. This was me...
Looking for a sweet treat for your Valentine? These Kahlua Fudge brownies will do the trick. I actually made these at Christmas time and going back through old photos, I realized I never posted the recipe. I had to get on here to do this today because you want to make these brownies! It seems...
I meant to post this Instant Pot vegetarian chili BEFORE Super Bowl Sunday so you could make it for your parties. But, I didn't and that is still OK. This takes about 30 minutes from start to finish and is made with mostly things you likely have around. You can still make it in time...
This curried carrot soup has been on constant rotation since I started the Whole 30. I am not used to eating meat at every meal so I have been making an effort to make meals that are not so meat based to eat. This soup fits the bill--it is warm and comforting and really very...
It's flu season and it's a bad one. I'm downing these berry and green smoothies to keep my immunity up. It is just one of those morning where nothing really sounds good but I know I need some nutrition to get going with the day. This berry and greens smoothie usually does the trick--loaded with...
This recipe comes from my favorite vegan cookbook, Veganomicon but I revised it a bit to be Whole 30 and Paleo compliant. Eggplant Moussaka or Vegan Lasagna (as I call it around here) has been in rotation in our home since the recipe crossed my path, many years ago. I made it for a dinner...
I think there should be some sort of lesson given to that explains the HUGE benefits of using sauces when cooking. True Food Kitchen, one of my favorite restaurants, takes a bowl of quinoa, sweet potatoes and grilled chicken and elevates it with the addition of cilantro pumpkin seed pesto. Just a simple addition of...
Chia pudding to the rescue! It's an absolute lifesaver, especially when you're embarking on another Whole 30 journey and the thought of having eggs for breakfast again is starting to feel monotonous. We all reach a point where we crave something different, like a comforting bowl of oatmeal or a refreshing yogurt parfait. But fear...
Looking for a quick meal that is warm and comforting too? Look no further than this roasted fresh tomato Parmesan pasta! Even though right now, Florida is in the middle of a cold front (YAY! Cold front = waves), it is the growing season here. The rest of the country is growing cabbage and kale...
It's 2018---time to take care of ourselves! These raw brownies are a great way to start. They are vegan, gluten free, and refined sugar free! Are you just here for the recipes? Well, this is a good one. But before we get to it....... Happy New Year! Hope you had a great time celebrating with...
If you are tempted by the soft sugar cookies at the grocery store, try this recipe instead. This copy-cat recipe of the Lofthouse Sugar Cookies tastes even better than the ones at the store. I hardly ever buy pre-made sweets at the store but I get tempted every holiday season when the stores start rolling...
Trying to redeem my earlier blogging skills with these mini Momofuku Crack Pies---oatmeal and buttery goodness in a bite sized dessert. Seven years ago, I attempted to make the famous Momofuku Crack Pie. I was so proud of my creation that I wanted to share it with the world. I delivered some to neighbors, wrote...
Plain old pinhead oatmeal cookies don't get the credit they deserve. They are passed over for their better looking cousin, chocolate chip and their brother, oatmeal raisin gets all the attention. I think this needs to change. Why don't we look past all the glitter and glitz that these other cookies possess and look at...
Every year, just after Thanksgiving, we look forward to cranberry bliss bars showing up at Starbucks. They are one of Aaron's favorites, loaded with cranberries, white chocolate, candied ginger, and cream cheese frosting. When I first started my previous blog (in 2009), I tried to make these as one of my first recipes. I encourage...
One of my favorite restaurants, The True Food Kitchen, has an amazing bowl on their menu that is filled with miso-glazed sweet potatoes among other goodness. I knew I had to re-create these at home because the restaurant is over two hours from my house. I have tested this recipe now four times and have...
You may have noticed that other food blogs have been all about Thanksgiving for a month or more and over here I haven't posted very many Thanksgiving related dishes ( I did post Grandma's Macaroni and Cheese , wasabi mashed potatoes, and instant pot apple cider . Plus, I have a good sweet potato recipe coming up). ...
Wasabi mashed potatoes are on our Thanksgiving table every year. I find that regular mashed potatoes are just slightly boring (especially without gravy) and I really like the extra spice and depth of flavor that comes from adding a bit of wasabi. I once brought these to an office party and they were thoroughly enjoyed...
This recipe is hearty comfort food at its finest. Grandma Jennie makes this for us every time we visit her in Vermont or when they come to visit us. We know if we are seeing the grandparents, we will be eating this mac and cheese. We were in Vermont a few months ago, during the...
How was your Halloween? Are you reeling in the candy? We aren't. Unfortunately, the kids weren't too excited about dressing up and going trick or treating this year but I finally managed to get them to dig through the Halloween bin and go out. Aaron and I dressed up more than the kids. I used...
I had such high hopes for this Halloween. I was planning to make multiple festive cookies, a savory dish, and a few fun cocktails. I had big decorations planned and a great and easy costume. But, I am not sure what happened and now Halloween is tomorrow and the only fun treat I made was...
I am obsessed with cashew butter and have been using it in lots of recipes lately. Did you see my granola with cashew butter and chocolate? It is so good! I made a big batch of cashew butter to make the granola but then had cashew butter leftover. I thought since the holidays are fast...
I am not currently a full time vegan but tend to make lots of vegan recipes. I like every recipe that I test and put on this site but these five layer cookie bars, I LOVE. I have been so excited to share this recipe with you because these are AMAZING. I mean, just...
Sawyer is obsessed with this particular chocolate and cashew butter granola and eats it multiple times a day. We started by buying it from the store but it is just getting too expensive. Every couple of days, Sawyer announces that he needs more granola and we head back to load up the cart. In an effort...
I was first introduced to cashew butter a few months ago at a new restaurant in downtown Sarasota called Lila's. We ended up there because 1) it was new, 2) I love to support new businesses and 3) it had all kinds of options for various food restrictions. One of my most memorable parts of...
I bought a special pan just to make doughnuts at home and I finally used it to make these baked pumpkin doughnuts (or donuts!?). This was a spontaneous creation that was triggered when I was looking through my cabinets for my Halloween placemats and I found my doughnut pan. In the same moment, I...