Stop and eat your flowers! Yes, of course, you can smell them too :) Wild foods and edible flowers are some of my FAVORITE things ever. Wherever I am in the world, I am constantly on the lookout.  Walking in Brooklyn, NY or Naples, Italy I've found nettles, reishi, lambsquarters, dandelion (of course!), and always learning new native plants from any continen...

Raw desserts can be extremely intricate... or ridiculously EASY PEASY to make. And these chocolates fall in the easy peasy category. Once you melt the raw cacao butter, you'll have the rest done and ready to enjoy before you know it. And all of your friends and family will be IN LOVE WITH YOU. What a perfect gift for someone's birthday, mother's day, just be...

If you're looking for your new favorite "healthyish" cookie, look NO further. Holy wow. I mean. For years now I've thought that tahini, chocolate, and maple were all just made for each other. I use that combo again and again and it is always beyond delicious. But sometimes you just want a BOMB af chocolate chip cookie. Minus the processed sugar and all that ...

Perhaps one of the most made recipes of 2020 up there with sourdough, banana bread is such a tried and true classic comfort. It makes perfect sense. Baking is so therapeutic. A beautiful art of slowing down, calming, with a bit of chemistry to get the perfect rise, texture, etc. This past year has been just that. A time warp. Turning towards things we can co...

Another classic game day recipe or even just an awesome party pleaser. Party? What’s that? I mean we can 100% make our own lockdown parties for 1 or household style. Maybe with friends on zoom… And someeeeeday we’ll reunite in person and will have SO MUCH FUN together!! I don’t have much rambling for this one, let’s just dive right in! Vegan Jalapeño Poppers...

Not only am I from south of Buffalo from a tiny town in Western New York… my parents first met and lived together in downtown Buffalo in the heart of where the inspiration for this recipe comes from. Buffalo cauliflower instead of Buffalo wings. While I haven’t eaten meat or a chicken wing since I was maybe 17 or 18, the buffalo flavor is signature in my hom...

Who doesn’t love hot chocolate, especially this time of year? I’ll be honest… I drink superfood hot chocolate ALL YEAR round. Sometimes in the summer they turn into iced elixirs on super hot days. Sometimes I add hot or cold brew coffee for a mocha kick. Yippee! Real raw cacao powder is nothing like your store bought cocoa mix. Nothing is added. No added sug...

Looking for a new, filling, healthier breakfast option? Chia pudding is a great option and a great source of plant-based protein. I also love it for a yummy dessert! Try it with some raw cacao powder with fresh mango sliced on top. Fun history fact: Chia is the Mayan word for “strength” and trees were planted all around Mayan cities as a major staple crop. “...

Who doesn’t love a crazy simple, fast side salad dish that holds up really well in the fridge for an extended period of time? Meal prep goals. All you need is a bowl and your hands (and just a few ingredients). This is also a great recipe to easily convert to a ferment if you plan ahead. I love having fun things like this in my fridge for quick easy flavorfu...

Ragu is traditionally a thick meat-based tomato sauce. Italian origins. Very traditional. Enjoyed with pasta and / or bread. While I would never try to say that either lentils or mushrooms can replace meat in one foul swoop, they do the trick for me in this recipe (and many others). Think lentil “neatballs”… lentil loaf… both or which may have mushrooms.. Mu...

I love Indian food. I love Asian food. I love potatoes… I love Indian spices… and they’re really not as intimidating (at least on a basic level) than you might think. Fresh is just so much better, always. There are so many frozen or canned versions of Indian dishes out there, and while they can be okay in a pinch and I sometimes even add alongside loads of f...

Kombucha is probably the most well known fermented drink on the market (after wine and beer, of course). While it has the tiniest alcohol percentage as a ferment, it is not considered an alcoholic beverage. Kombucha is high in B vitamins and is filled with beneficial probiotics for super happy and healthy gut flora! The basis of all health (the gut). You can...

Store bought guac is basically disappointing or even beyond disgusting 99.99%. It often has really weird preservatives that make it taste gummy and gross (in my personal opinion…). Unless you absolutely have no time or can’t find ripe avocado… please do yourself a mega favor and take the maybe 5 minutes or less to make this from scratch. It’s just SOOOOO muc...

Who doesn’t love homefries? I’ll take a potato basically in any form… creamy in a soup… mashed… baked… fried (although that is very rare)… hash brown… etc. This is a great meal prep item to have ready to go for those days / meals you don’t have time. These will last in the fridge in a sealed container for 3-5 days. If you don’t eat them before then that is. ...

Just because you may be egg free or vegan doesn’t mean you can’t have frittata! AND you don’t have to solely rely on soy (usually tofu) to fill this “gap”. Most all egg substitutes are soy-based: think tofu scramble. And I’m soy-free, along with my restaurant… my body / mind doesn’t do well with soy (I’ll save the details on that for another future post). It...

Most of our nervous systems are on overload right now. Whether we realize it or not. Even with all the best practices of getting outside, moving our bodies, meditation, etc. There is SO MUCH great unknown right now. The ultimate lack of control (not that there really ever is complete certainty though). Nothing is as solid as we like to think it is. And that’...

I think we’re overdo for a raw dessert. Don’t you agree? There are (I think it’s a safe guesstimate to say) endless possibilities for raw desserts, especially with bliss balls. Nuts and dates are a common base and are what I’m using here. They’re also an easy way to pack loads of flavor, superfoods powders, plant-based protein, healthy fats, etc. All without...

How about a multi-purpose sauce that also doubles as a soup, tastes bomb, and basically can use almost any veggie you have on hand?? Boom. Now you have pasta sauce, pizza sauce, whatever you want it to be sauce. And you can sneak in more servings of veggies for the kiddos or picky eaters in your life. Make a big batch, portion out into smaller containers to ...

Peanut Noodles are basically my number one (or at least in my top 10) go-to “lazy” comfort foods. I make some version of this at home almost once a week… at minimum probably twice a month. The first time I tried it with red lentils was a wonderful day. Other legumes like garbanzo beans are also delicious. Whatever you’ve got on hand really. But I’m going to ...

“The beet is the most intense of vegetables… the ancient ancestor of the autumn moon” - Tom Robbins, Jitterbug Perfume A good veggie burger is (I think) so important to have in your recipe toolbox. AND stocked in your freezer for those lazy rainy days! There are basically a million and one (and then some) ways you can go with veggie burgers. Grain free, mus...

Simple is always best. I love all the fancy specialty ingredients. But basics always steal the show for me. Highlighting the flavors. Simple simple. As long as you have good clean real food from healthy soil, you’re set. Pesto is one of the most ubiquitous spreads out there and is so quick and easy to make. It also freezes very well! So if you ever find your...

With a simple spice collection, some basic pantry staples, a few standard veggies, and about 30 minutes or less… you can have this delicious chana saag. Make it for dinner, lunch, or prep ahead of time to have ready for later in the week. If you’re solo, you’ll definitely have leftovers for future enjoyment. Yay happy belly and quick nourishment for your fut...

Have you tried your hand yet at making vegan cheeze*? Does cheese making seem daunting? Some recipes can be, but many are ridiculously simple and can be made with staple plant-based pantry ingredients amp; a blender or food processor (no fancy equipment or ingredients necessary). There are so many varieties and ways you can play. Different nuts or seeds, add...

I’m starting week two in self-quarantine over here and if you can’t tell, I’ve been a cooking machine. I mean… I guess that’s my job normally anyways, but my home kitchen doesn’t normally see this much action. I’m loving it! So much fun! I feel a big pull to get you as many easy simply healthy delicious recipes as I can that you can make with what’s in your ...

Roughly a week ago I took a screenshot of a sweet friend in Italy’s instastory with a recipe for Pan d’Arancio (orange bread). It looked SO AMAZING and I knew I needed to prioritize it for my quarantine kitchen recipe list. While the original recipe is filled with regular flour, sugar, and eggs, I’ve been adapting baked goods for over a decade to be vegan, g...

We all know it. Most of us love it to pieces, even if we take it for granted at times. Likely found in every hippie crunchy fridge across the globe, at least frequently. While I am definitely known to buy it at the store more than I really should, sometimes you just have to be that lazy (especially when you cook for other people for a living). Or you’re trav...

No, that’s not vegan girl friend’s French toast… but, hey, that works too. Gluten-free always for me babes. This recipe is specifically for the batter to replace making French toast with eggs. Delicious, nutritious, yummy nostalgia. You can use any bread you’d like, it doesn’t have to be vegan or gluten-free. I use the ancient grain gluten-free vegan bread f...

So, I haven’t really told *too many folks this yet… but I am going to Naples, Italy in about a week to visit lots of beautiful friends and do some very needed mega heart healing and soul filling… it’s my first ever trip to Italy and is relatively impromptu... although you could also say it’s a very long time coming. My mom is full Italian. That is the majori...

Who doesn’t love pancakes for brunch? Waffles and french toast are 100% great too, but I’m not trying to make any comparisons. Just a yummy plate of real clean food! I like to keep things as simple and clean as possible in my home kitchen. One pot wonders, one bowl, etc. Less clean up, the better! But I mostly mean clean as in REAL whole plant based foods, f...