I’m celebrating spring with this warm spring salad featuring asparagus, leek, peas, strawberries, and parsley all tossed in a simple lemon olive oil dressing. It’s very light and veggie-packed with some protein provided by quinoa. If you’d like to add even more protein I’m sure it would be nice with some white beans, chickpeas, or French lentils thrown in too. Behold, non-wimpy asparagus! Normally I don’t consider asparagus to be one of the most exciting vegetables, but it always surprises me every time I make it. I enjoy it way more than I think I do. A simple, light sauté leaves it tender ..read more

Today I put out a plea on Twitter asking for Parsnip fry recipes! Ricki pointed me to her post  and as soon as I saw the pictures, I was salivating. You know when you just look at a picture and you know it will taste amazing? That’s how I felt about these fries. They did not let me down! Nut Butter Crusted Parsnip Fries Adapted from Diet, Dessert, & Dogs. Yield: 1-2 servings. Ingredients: 3 medium parsnips, peeled and cut into thin fry-like strips 3 tbsp nut butter (I used 2 tbsp chunky peanut butter + 1 tbsp almond butter)* 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1/4 tsp kosher sa ..read more

Protein-packed and perfect for spring, this asparagus French green lentil salad makes a lovely side dish, main course, or spring potluck dish, ideal for Easter gatherings. If you are looking for another salad option for Spring or for Easter dinner — check out my Warm Spring Salad. Roasted Potato and Asparagus Lentil Salad with Tangy Mustard-Lemon Dressing Vegan, gluten-free, grain-free, nut-free, refined sugar-free, soy-free ★★★★★ 5 from 26 reviews Yield 4 servings Prep time 25 minutes Cook time 30 minutes Total time 55 minutes Protein-packed and perfect for spring, this French green len ..read more

Spiced Buttercream Frosting Vegan, gluten-free, grain-free Yield 2 cups Prep time 5 minutes Cook time 0 minutes Total time 5 minutes Buttery, sweet, fluffy, spicy…and vegan to boot! The perfect Fall-spiced frosting. Ingredients 1/2 cup Earth Balance Butter Stick, softened 1 3/4 cup icing sugar (aka: confectioner’s sugar) 1 tsp pure vanilla extract 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice (yes, a full tablespoon!) 1 tbsp almond milk (as needed to thin out to desired consistency) Directions Whip the Earth Balance with a mixer until smooth. Now add half of the icing sugar and blend well, stopping to sc ..read more

Not only is it the month that my baby will turn one*, it’s also the time of year when my nut-free recipes are getting a lot more action. Yup, back to school season. After receiving a request from a blog reader recently, I decided to share this sunflower seed butter recipe that’s been raved about by my testers. It’s so creamy and delicious! (I recently heard that some schools are now banning seed butters too, so I realize this recipe won’t work for those schools.) This blog post is also proof that I’m still alive! Not that you are waiting with bated breath for my next post or anything, but I w ..read more

Basic Chia Seed Pudding Vegan, gluten-free, grain-free, no bake/raw, oil-free, refined sugar-free, soy-free ★★★★★ 4.7 from 30 reviews Yield 3-3.5 cups (4-6 servings) Soak time 2.5 hours or overnight Prep time 5 minutes Cook time 0 minutes Total time 5 minutes Thrown together in just a couple minutes! Be sure to make this in advance (I like making it before bed) so it has time to thicken up. The thickness of the chia pudding will vary based on the kind of almond milk you use, so don’t worry if it looks a bit thick or thin when you first try it out. If your pudding is too thin you can add m ..read more

Vegan Overnight Oats Vegan, gluten-free, no bake/raw, oil-free, refined sugar-free, soy-free ★★★★★ 4.9 from 52 reviews Yield 1 bowl Soak time overnight or 2 hours Prep time 5 minutes Cook time 0 minutes Total time 5 minutes Vegan Overnight Oats are the time-crunched person’s breakfast secret weapon, since they take just a couple minutes to make at night before bed. When you mix together rolled oats, chia seeds, and almond milk, the chia seeds absorb the milk and the oats soften, creating an effortless chilled porridge. Place it in the fridge at night and forget about it until morning, whe ..read more

Your comments on my Kitchen Quirks story were quite hilarious. They also led to even more funny stories here at home and among our friends and family. I got a text from a friend shortly after posting. “I’m reading your kitchen quirks post aloud to my husband (because he is absolutely nuts about the dishwasher just like Eric is). I finish reading it to him and he goes, “Ugh, I wonder what some of Eric’s tricks are? Did he write specifics?” There are many inquiring minds as to what Eric’s dishwashing tricks are, it seems. Eric is in the process of penning an e-guide for dishwasher enthusiasts ..read more

Carrot cake lovers, this one is for you! Refined-sugar free and packed with carrots, this baked oatmeal has all the taste of the popular dessert with a healthier whole-grain twist. Try it for a lazy weekend breakfast and enjoy the leftovers in the days to come. I’m still digging up cookbook recipes that I didn’t include in the final book. It’s like finding buried treasures in my Google document! The beauty of all the recipe testing that went down over the past 2 years is that I have so much inspiration leftover to tweak and share here – such as this baked carrot cake oatmeal. It was a big hit ..read more

Granola bars have to be one of my favourite things to make. I’ve had a soft spot for them since running the bakery. I look back to those days with (mostly) warm, fuzzy memories. Maybe making + shipping 500 bars a week by hand wasn’t ideal, but it was the experience that I enjoyed the most – the process of growing a business and having others enjoy something I created from scratch. I still look back at the pictures and laugh, seeing a 9-foot table buried in packaged bars while I stuck on the front and back label as fast as possible. My mother-in-law used to help assemble all the boxes for me ..read more