Winter

Blood Orange Sorbet with Red Wine Hot Fudge Sauce

February 7, 2017ALL, Sauce, Sweets, Winter1

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This Blood Orange Sorbet with Red Wine Hot Fudge Sauce recipe is perfect for Valentine’s Day or to make after a romantic dinner at home.

Let’s talk about Valentine’s Day! I’m obviously not the super cutesy, deck the house out in pink kind of person (as you can tell by my somewhat normal photos for this post). I do, despite not getting super into the spirit of it, enjoy setting aside an evening to just hang out with Wyatt. After being together for almost seven years, it’s good to have a reminder to spend some romantic time together. For the first few years, we’d cook together on Valentine’s Day. Then it turned into me cooking for him. And now we are at the point where we just get pizza from our favorite place (they make it heart shaped on Valentine’s Day) and make a dessert together. I’ve really learned to love this routine – when I cook every night, taking a break and ordering take-out feels like such a wonderful treat.

Healthy Vegetarian Lentil-Walnut Meatballs

January 23, 2017ALL, Entree, Winter37

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These Healthy Vegetarian Lentil-Walnut Meatballs are the perfect meat-free meal. Serve them with spaghetti and your favorite tomato sauce for a hearty main.

Hiiii! I’ve got ANOTHER veg main for you all today (BOOYAHH – take THAT New Year’s resolution). I’ve been spending a lot of my free time this month cooking up homemade meals (hellooo irresistible chili and addictive tacos), listening to inspirational podcasts while getting my steps in (gotta please that Fitbit), and snuggling under the covers on the couch with my boxer pup and a feel-good novel. What have you been up to to curb the winter blues?

Blueberry Citrus Sour Cream Coffee Cake Loaf

January 17, 2017ALL, Bread, Breakfast, Snack, Winter4

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This Blueberry Citrus Sour Cream Coffee Cake Loaf is perfect for breakfast or a healthy snack. It’s naturally sweetened with maple syrup and dried blueberries.

Hope everyone had a wonderful long weekend! You may have noticed that I kept my intro pretty short in the last post and it may not be much here either. It’s not that I don’t like sharing with you guys…there just isn’t too much to report (which is a good thing!). The January lull has set in and I’ve been spending more time reading in bed, taking long walks with podcasts and my boxer pup, and making healthy dinners for Wyatt and myself. All nourishing things that are ideal for cloudy, cold days but not necessarily the most exciting things to write about. All of this is to say that all is well over here despite the silence.

Creamy Vegetarian White Chili

January 3, 2017ALL, Entree, Winter121

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Creamy Vegetarian White Chili recipe that is cozy and filling (with vegan option). Ideal for healthy weeknight meals or chilly afternoons.

First post of 2017 – woot woot! How are you all feeling? Refreshed? Excited? Or overwhelmed at the thought of all the things you put off at the end of 2016? I’m honestly feeling a little bit of all three. Instead of getting a head start on my taxes and working ahead on freelance projects, I’ve been spending most of my free time researching what to do / eat / see on our west coast trip next month.

I’m headed out to the west for a weekend blog retreat but it seemed silly to fly so far just for two days so Wyatt is going to meet me out there for a week of adventuring afterwards. We’ll be traveling down the coast, starting in SF, making our way through Big Sur, and then eventually ending up in LA. Knowing I want to see the ocean, cliffs, and Redwoods is the easy part – trying to figure out how to cram everything into 48 hours in LA / SF has been the trickier part…

I’m what you would call a bit of an over-planner (and really love it) so I have an Evernote going of our trip that is broken up into 4 hours segments (yup – I’m crazy, I know). Is it too crazy to plan 3 breakfasts in one day? Because the brunch scene in SF seems pretty insane according to Pinterest. Also, got any suggestions for us? Where are the best vegetarian places to eat in SF and LA? Please let me know because I don’t want to miss ANYTHING!

Okay, now back to why you came here – this Creamy Vegetarian White Chili! One of my 2017 goals is to share more vegetarian main recipes with you all and this chili fits the bill. I make this vegetarian chili recipe often in the winter and was honestly starting to fill a bit burnt out on it. Then, the other week, I came across this chicken white chili recipe and just knew I had to develop a veg version. Honestly, I didn’t even know ‘white chili’ was a thing until I saw this recipe! All the amazing flavor and spices of chili + creaminess? Sign me up! And you know what? It didn’t disappoint. Loaded with tons of nutrient-rich veggies, protein-packed beans, and flavorful spices, I can already tell this is going to become a regular in our house.

Pumpkin Eggnog Oatmeal

December 19, 2016ALL, Breakfast, Fall, Winter3

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This Pumpkin Eggnog Oatmeal recipe is an easy seven-ingredient vegetarian breakfast that takes less than ten minutes to whip up. Perfect for a healthy fall breakfast before work for to serve the whole family during the holidays.

It’s almost Christmas (less than a week away!) and if you are anything like me, it’s probably getting pretty busy in your neck of the woods. Because of that, I’m not sugar coating this recipe post with lots of ingredient photos and long winded stories about the holidays. Today’s recipe is simple and quick to keep you energized for all of your last minute tasks. While frantically running around getting last minute gifts and whipping up Christmas cookies, I seem to have forgot to buy normal everyday groceries. This recipe is the outcome of sourcing my fridge and cabinets to see what I could whip up without adventure out into the 5 degree Midwest cold.

Cranberry Orange Champagne Mimosa with Candied Rosemary

December 14, 2016ALL, Drinks, Thanksgiving, Vegan, Winter22

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This simple two-ingredient Cranberry Orange Champagne Mimosa (plus garnish) cocktail is perfect for holiday parties or Christmas morning. Dress it up with an orange slice and candied rosemary or keep it simple with just the juice and champagne.

Ever since I’ve been old enough to drink (almost a decade), it’s been a holiday tradition to wake up on Christmas day to my mom preparing a simple egg bake with lattes and tall glasses of mimosa waiting for us on the counter. We lug everything into the family room with the tree and presents and enjoy while opening gifts.

Almond Toffee Shortbread Cookies

December 7, 2016ALL, Sweets, Winter6

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These Almond Toffee Shortbread Cookies are the perfect holiday cookie to fill out your cookie tray! Made with a hefty helping of butter, almond meal, and chocolate drizzle, these cookie bars are irresistible.

I’m in full-on unapologetic holiday mode. We put our beautiful tree up last weekend but it looks a bit lacking without any gifts under it. I poked and pryed at all the family members to TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT RIGHT NOW so I can rush to get the tree filled with gifts. To keep my holiday momentum from deflating while I waited for them to respond, I pulled out the fir scented candle, my big slippers, put on my favorite jazz holiday record, and headed into the kitchen for a weekend of holiday themed baking.

I’ve been really obsessed with digging up family recipes these past few years (mostly because we have few and far between – besides the unspeakable jello mold that I refuse to write about – and I’m looking to change that). We have exactly 3 holiday family cookie recipes: 1 of which was always my favorite growing up and is made with an obscene amount of green food coloring (and basically taste like crunchy butter…in a good way), one of which is a chocolate pizza recipe that my mother always made for our teachers, and the last is these Almond Toffee Shortbread Cookies. My family makes two variations of this cookie recipe: the traditional one has you press the dough out onto a jello roll pan so that the dough is so thin that it crisps up like toffee and has nuts on top. Then there is the thicker shortbread version (which I made here) which yields a softer cookie and gets it’s toffee flavor from the toffee crumble on top. Both are delicious cookies but my loyalty is with the second version.

Vegetarian Gift Guide + A Giveaway

December 2, 2016ALL, Giveaway, Round-Up, Winter, Wrap Up1

A vegetarian gift guide with holiday kitchen, home, fashion, and stocking stuffers ideas for the vegetarian in your life.

And here we are again – already at the last month of the year. Seriously, 2016, where in the world did you go? Last year’s vegetarian gift guide focused on cruelty-free brands and shopping locally. I, of course, included some of my favorite cruelty-free (read: doesn’t test on animals) brands again this year (vote with your money!) as well as favorite cookbooks for helping you thrive on a cruelty-free diet and a few favorites from small brands and makers.

In addition to the vegetarian gift guide, I’m so excited to also introduce a GIVEAWAY! It features a ton of the items featured in this guide! I really really appreciate you for following along with VV and want to say thank you in the form of this giveaway! I’m giving over $300 worth of gifts to one lucky reader so make sure to scroll all the way down and enter! And THANK YOU again for being a part of this community. <3

Vegetarian Thanksgiving Side Dish: Rainbow Carrots and Chard

November 17, 2016Appetizer, Side, Spring, Thanksgiving, Winter8

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This recipe for Rainbow Carrots and Chard is a stunningly colorful side dish perfect for the holidays or your next gathering. Colorful carrots and chard stems are blanched and then tossed in a light lemon vinaigrette for a healthy and simple recipe.

This post is part five of a six part series on Hosting a Vegetarian Thanksgiving. Please visit post one for the full menu and tips a hosting your own meat-free holiday.

WOAH, Thanksgiving is NEXT WEEK! Are you ready? I’m ready! To be completely honest, I’ve already been rocking my Christmas playlists (eeep – don’t tell anyone!). I’m so so so ready to take a little road trip up north to hide out on my childhood couch and catch up on a few novels (in between eating, of course). I do this thing where I get so wrapped up in my head (thank you, election + work + my over growing to-do list) that the only way for me to fully reset is to get out of my environment and travel somewhere. I’m really hoping this trip next week refreshes me in that way (and so does my clenching jaw). Hoping you all have some relaxing plans for next week as well!

Vegetarian Thanksgiving Menu

November 1, 2016ALL, Entree, Fall, Thanksgiving, Winter, Wrap Up23

Today’s post is all about celebrating the season with a Vegetarian Thanksgiving! Below you’ll find a Vegetarian Thanksgiving menu, vegetarian recipe suggestions, and tips and tricks for how to host your own meat-free dinner.

I am so freaking excited that it is officially November 1st! This means it’s finally socially acceptable for me to begin talking to you about THANKSGIVING (sorry non-US readers as this post will be very helpful for you…)! I’m extra excited this year because I’ve spent the past few weeks working on a Vegetarian Thanksgiving menu for you. Inspired by several tabletop pieces sent to me by Bomisch, a rad home goods store run by a fellow veg head, this SIX part Vegetarian Thanksgiving series will be rolled out over the next three weeks.

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Winter

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