Plant-based macro bowl with crumbled tempeh, seasonal summer vegetables, and an oil-free hemp heart dressing. Perfect for meal prep lunches.
Helllllloooooo, friends!
It’s good to be home.
Even on my most carefully planned vacations I always seem to come home with an insatiable craving for vegetables.
Does this happen to you too?
Oh, what I wouldn’t have done for this Garden Tempeh Macro Bowl with Hemp Heart Ranch when I hobbled in the door with my three (yes, three) suitcases Friday night.
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Bring the plant-based sushi bar to your house in 30 minutes! Toasted quinoa, steamed edamame, raw veggies, and avocado with a 2-ingredient dressing.
My first date with Dan was at a sushi restaurant.
It was my first time having sushi, so I let him order for the both of us and tried to play cool.
Tried.
I was actually staring at my chopsticks nervously, debating the best method to transport those rolls from point A (plate) to point B (mouth) gracefully.
After figuring out the whole logistics, I decided that I liked sushi.
Spoiler alert: then I went vegan.
After going plant-based I sorely missed all of the sushi flavors without, well, the sushi.
I thought my sushi days were over until I discovered avocado rolls.
Whoever thought to stuff creamy avocado in a bed of sticky rice was a total genius.
I also found that most sushi places are also equipped to make cucumber, squash, or sweet potato rolls too.
Yum.
We always order an appetizer of steamed edamame, pinching the salty green pods hungrily while waiting for the main course.
I created these Spicy Veggie Sushi Power Bowls to combine all of my favorite sushi flavors from the sushi bar to your kitchen.
Recreating my favorite restaurant dishes at home because it allows me total control of quantities.
And of course, who would I be if I didn’t add extra veg to the mix?
I don’t think I’ve ever left a restaurant complaining about too many vegetables on my plate, how about you?
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BBQ Chickpea Salad with mixed greens and stovetop bbq chickpeas and fresh vegetables served with creamy hemp heart ranch.
Happy Fourth of July weekend, everyone!
It’s been hot hot in Virginia and I want to talk salad.
I’ve never really understood the whole side salad thing.
Have you?
When I order them in restaurants I always end up mixing it with the main course to make an eclectic but scrumptious mess.
Salad might be the last thing on your mind this weekend, but then you haven’t tried this BBQ Chickpea Salad with Creamy Hemp Heart Ranch yet.
Because if you had you wouldn’t be able to get over these flavors.
You’re going to love the mix of smoky sweet warm chickpeas with fresh raw chopped veg, all tied together with a creamy hemp heart ranch.
This recipe was inspired by a salad from “Salad Samurai” by Terry Hope Romero.
I love this book because it takes salad making to the next freakin’ level.
No “wimpy” salads can be found in this gem, friends.
Each page reveals a new protein packed salad with realistic serving sizes, unique flavors, and creative ingredients.
Basically, they make salads that are so much more than salads.
They’re MEALS.
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Easy vegan turtles with 4 ingredients in less than 10 minutes. Oil-free, gluten-free, and refined-sugar-free, these turtles are the ideal treat!
Summer calls for no-fuss desserts that you can whip up in under ten minutes.
Bonus points if they’re cute enough to entertain with.
If you love dipping your dates in tahini or nut butter like I do, you’re already half way to making these 4-Ingredient Tahini Date Turtles.
Let me guide you to the next level of turtles, friends.
If you already love the mixture of chocolate, nuts, and caramel in your average turtle, you’re going to love my version with a tahini twist.
It’s got caramel-y Medjool dates, crunchy pecans, melty vegan chocolate, all enhanced with a ribbon of tangy tahini in the center.
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Strawberry muffins packed with fresh strawberries and hemp heart protein. Naturally sweetened and perfect to meal prep!
Happy Father’s Day, friends!
I love the challenge of taking old family recipes and making them new with fresh updated ingredients.
Altering the original recipe for my mom’s Strawberry Bread to make gluten-free, oil-free, and refined sugar-free muffins might be the best dad’s day gift ever.
I see you, Strawberry Hemp Hearts Muffins.
And so does dad.
I’ve told you about my mom’s Strawberry Bread before, haven’t I?
In case you missed it, let me remind you.
It’s amazing.
She made it before we went to the community pool on Friday nights growing up.
My sister and I waited impatiently in our flip flops until dad came home after work.
Then we sliced the bread warm, served thick in hearty pink pieces.
These Strawberry Hemp Heart Muffins are an ode to that delicious bread!
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Green chickpea salad wraps made with an avocado and almond milk yogurt base. These wraps are perfect for a light refreshing lunch!
It’s HOT here.
I open the windows in the morning to let warm air in while slurping down a frosty shake, quickly shutting them post-brain freeze because it’s just too humid.
It’s all OK because I have the perfect recipe to share for a heat wave.
Two firsts are going down with this post— first wrap AND first chickpea salad!
I’ve been making these Green Chickpea Salad Collard Wraps for the perfect light yet satisfying summer plate.
The first time I tried collard ‘wraps’ I was totally skeptical.
You want me to stuff all of my sandwich toppings into…that?
I’m sorry I so grossly underestimated you, collards.
After stuffing them with copious amounts of this Green Chickpea Salad, I’m pretty sure these sturdy greens can withstand anything!
Allow me to convince you.
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Summer Beet Macro Bowl with Sweet Beet Tahini made with beets, quinoa, raw veggies, and a date-sweetened dressing.
Is it summer yet?
OK, so, not officially, but the signs of summer are all here.
My comfy flip flops evicted the TOMs and boots resting on my shoe rack, big bulbous green watermelons are parked at grocery store entrances, and our local pool down the street is splashing with activity.
You can totally see summer in my bowls, too.
I’m currently loading them up with raw vegetables and brighter dressings to welcome summer with open arms.
You’re going to love this Summer Beet Macro Bowl with Sweet Beet Tahini to BEET the HEAT.
(Sorry, I had to.)
I genuinely feel lighter when the weather is warmer.
Life just feels a little easier, you know?
I’m reminded of this every year after Memorial Day, when my mind is full of summer adventures and my heart is already at the beach.
And my stomach is clearly ready for lunch, because looking at this bowl is making me hungry!
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Butternut Squash Pesto Pizza made with a butternut squash crust topped with hummus and roasted veggies. Perfect for a healthy pizza night to share!
In high school my favorite pizza was pineapple pizza.
Not Hawaiian, but plain pineapple.
I loved the unexpected sweetness of the pineapple paired with the salty tomato sauce and cheese.
“Hi, I’m Lauren, I like pineapple pizza.”
It was one of those trademark “likes” I made a part of my identity.
My pizza tastes have changed over the years, though, and now I’m all, “Hi, I’m Lauren, check out this Butternut Squash Pizza with Kale Pesto Hummus that completes me.”
Guys. It’s going to complete you, too.
Although I adhere to a plant-based diet, I like to be mostly gluten-free and oil-free as well, just because that’s what makes my body feel the best.
Because of this, I surmised that a vegan gluten free oil free pizza (that tasted good) wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.
But oh, how wrong I was!
I just needed to develop a killer crust for myself.
This Butternut Squash Pizza with Kale Pesto Hummus has become a classic for me and I hope it will for you too.
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Plant-based bowls with pickled cabbage, pea pistachio pesto, toasted quinoa, and herbed tofu. The perfect nourishing bowl for spring lunch.
A few years ago Dan and I ate at an eclectic restaurant down the street that was big into pickling.
I was beyond excited to eat there, because it was one of those rare places that had several completely vegan dishes.
So I ordered a seasonal dish with pickled pumpkin, because, pumpkin anything, right?
Well, let’s just say that I’m now a firm believer that some things should remain un-pickled.
Cabbage, however, is not one of those things.
These Pickled Cabbage Quinoa Bowls are fun, fresh, and perfect for Spring.
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1-bowl healthy cookies made with chickpeas, peanut butter, and Japanese yam. Sweetened with maple syrup and your favorite jam.
Remember that time I made Spiced Cashew Chickpea Cookies and ate them all the time?
They’re my absolute favorite snack cookie because they’re so moist, low in sugar, packed with protein, and totally portable!
Well, after eating tons of those perfect little morsels on the go, there was one fateful day where I decided to sit down and spread a bit of jelly on top.
This made the cookies even more moist and delicious, so I’ve been dunking them in fruit spreads ever since.
I set out to create PB & Jam Thumbprint cookies to share my news finds, but found I had half of a steamed Japanese yam in the fridge,
And jam rhymes with yam, so…
PB Jam ‘N’ Yam Cookies happened.
I think you should make them happen, too.
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