This hearty Bolognese is an easy and satisfying meal, and filled with veggies.  It makes A LOT of sauce, so I either make it for a crowd (5-6) or just for myself, and then I’ll portion it out and freeze it for days when I don’t have the time or desire to cook.  Also note, this recipe can easily be made as a traditional beef Bolognese with one substitution (I’ll explain when we get to that step).  What you need: 

Produce: 

Finely chop the onion, garlic (FYI less is NOT more when it comes to garlic) and mushrooms, and cook on medium heat in about 3 tablespoons of EVOO until onions start to become clear. Salt and pepper.   

Finely chop the carrot and celery.   Add to your pan, and cook for about 5-7 minutes until the carrots begin to soften.  

While your veggies are cooking down, put the dates, 3 sun dried tomatoes, and fresh tomatoes in a blender and pulse.  Do not liquify, just pulse to the consistency of salsa.  NOTE: I used fresh tomatoes here because I had a few left from my garden that finally turned red.  If you don’t have fresh tomatoes, you can use some of the crushed tomatoes to blend.  

Add the blended tomato mixture to your pan.  Salt and pepper again.  

Add the crushed tomatoes and tomato paste.  (If you have some red wine, this would be a good place to add about 1/2 cup.  It adds a nice flavor, but not necessary.)  Cook for 5 minutes.  

Add the cooked lentils and fresh chopped basil, stir through and let simmer for 10-15 minutes (or while your pasta is cooking), stirring occasionally.  Add a few tablespoons of pasta water while it’s simmering to loosen up the sauce if it looks thicker than you’d like.  

If you’re not quite on the vegan bandwagon and want to make this a traditional beef bolognese, instead of the lentils, add in about 1-2 cups of cooked and seasoned ground beef.  You can also skip the mushrooms if you’re going the beef route, but the mushrooms do add a nice flavor, so if you like mushrooms, I’d use them in addition to your meat.  

Enjoy your Bolognese over your favorite pasta, and top it with more fresh basil, parmesan cheese, ricotta, crushed red pepper, a combination of those toppings, or anything else you enjoy on your pasta.  Happy cooking 🙂

I love eating this ricotta substitute as a snack with some yummy flax crackers, or using it for recipes like lasagna (recipe coming later this week!), stuffed shells, etc.  It’s super simple, and definitely does the job if you’re looking to avoid dairy.  What you need: 

Soak the cashews in water for 2 hours.  

Drain the cashews.  In a food processor, blend all ingredients until smooth.  

Enjoy on its own, or use it in your favorite recipe as a ricotta substitute.  

I prefer to not salt and pepper the “cheese,” but rather to season as I make the dish it’s being used in.  But if you choose to season with salt and pepper, it will definitely still be delicious.  Just depends on your preference and what you’re doing with it. 

This fall soup will be one of your go-to’s because it’s so easy, and like a lot of my recipes, you can use pretty much whatever you have on hand already.  I’ll share exactly how I made this variety, and then at the end explain how you can change it up based on what you like and what you have.  For this soup, I used:  

Additional ingredients (regardless of what produce you use): 

First: Peel and roughly chop the butternut squash, carrots, and sweet potato.  In a dutch oven or large cast iron pot, sauté in about 3 tablespoons of coconut oil for about 10 minutes on medium high heat, or until you’re done chopping the rest of the vegetables.  Season generously with salt and pepper.  

Next, chop the squash, apple, onion, garlic, and ginger and add to the pot.  Sauté for another 10(ish) minutes, or until vegetables are softened.  During this process, I usually throw in a few tablespoons of the vegetable stock to help cook down the veggies faster.  

Once your vegetables are cooked down, add the can of coconut milk and approximately 4 cups of vegetable stock.  Put the milk in first, and then pour enough stock in the pot to just cover the sautéed vegetables.  Let simmer for approximately 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  

Remove the pot from the heat, and use an immersion blender to blend until smooth.  Use the immersion blender right in the pot you cooked everything in.  (If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can scoop everything into a normal blender and then return to the pot.  The result will be the same, the immersion blender just makes it so much easier).  

Serve immediately.  I garnished with sage, extra black pepper, and some crispy bread.  

This soup is so versatile, and you can really make it with any vegetables you want.  This time I stuck to orange vegetables.  I’ve also made it with all green veggies (zucchini, kale, spinach, an extra apple, etc.).  Regardless of what vegetable theme/color you decide to go with, you always want to use onion and garlic, as well as the fresh ginger and an apple.  The ginger and the coconut milk are what make this soup so creamy and fresh tasting.  You can also garnish with whatever you’re in the mood for: for example, any other herbs, toasted pumpkin seeds, or croutons.  

Enjoy, get creative, and comment below with your own unique blend of veggies! 

Simple and clean is definitely the way I personally like my avocado toast. I’ll go for a wild or unique order if I’m out to brunch; but at home, I don’t usually stray from this go-to recipe.  All you need is: 

Mash the avocado in a bowl with the juice of the lemon.  Split evenly and spread on top of two slices of toasted bread.  Top with diced red onion and chopped tomatoes.  Salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper to taste.  

Yes, I prefer my toast on the darker side… not only do I just like borderline burnt toast, but it gives a firm and stable base for all the delicious goodness that’s about to go on top of it. To each their own, right?

Note: even if you’re not a fan of heat, I wouldn’t skip the crushed red pepper — just go very light.  The bit of heat pairs perfectly with the creaminess of the avocado. If you try it and still hate red pepper, well thank you for at least trying! 

The secret to my perfect avocado toast is, without a doubt, Heidelberg bread from Herkimer, New York.  (Here’s a link to their Instagram for some additional inspo). Whenever I travel to upstate New York, I stock up. (Shoutout to my Cooperstown gang!) I always try to have a few different loaves in the freezer, and I put them in the toaster directly from the freezer.  If you get the opportunity to try it, do yourself a favor and buy a few different varieties.  Today I used the Cracked Wheat, but I’m also a fan of their Sourdough and Hearty Flaxseed. You will NOT be disappointed.

My incredibly precise and super secret recipe: whatever dried fruit and nuts you like and/or already have in your pantry, plus some coconut oil. I try to do equal parts of dried fruit to dry ingredients (nuts, seeds, etc.) and slowly add the coconut oil to bind. I love that they come out a little different each time. These here are made with: 

Use a food processor to coarsely grind up dried fruit and then the dry nuts/seeds (do fruit or “wet” ingredients separate from dry ingredients).

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and slowly add melted coconut oil (rub solid coconut oil between your hands to melt to liquid) until the mixture is a dough-like consistency. Roll mixture into 1-2” balls, depending on preference. Store in the fridge.

These are one of my favorite snacks to keep in the house because they’re fun and easy to make, they’re delicious and satisficing, and I usually am able to make them mostly from ingredients I already have in my pantry. There’s really no rules to these other than to use what YOU like! The only recommendation I would advise to stick to would be to use as much of a 1:1 ratio of dried fruit to “dry” ingredients as possible. I have found that it just makes the consistency better and ability to bind easier; not too dry, not to gooey and messy.

Be sure to share with us your favorite combinations of ingredients! Enjoy xx

Welcome to my world of food, yoga, and my ongoing journey with mindfulness and intention setting. To be very transparent, I am not “vegan” in the traditional sense of the word. I have gone through extended periods where I eat 100% vegan, and I do have to say, I’ve felt amazing while doing it. I also look at food and cooking as a hobby, and its always been interesting to me to learn and experiment with vegan alternatives to my favorite traditionally non-vegan dishes and ingredients. Additionally, not only do I feel my best when I eat vegan because it’s just what I’ve found my body responds best to, but of course I also feel very strongly about the ethical treatment of animals, not just in farming, but in every scenario.

With that being said, I wish I could live a totally vegan lifestyle for the rest of my life, but I just haven’t been able to make it 100% work for me. I’ve felt very healthy, strong, and accomplished when I’ve completed 30, 60, or 90 days on a vegan streak, but then when I would make a “mistake” or eat my mom’s lasagna or other nostalgic favorites, I would feel like I failed.

But what I’ve learned is that whether I commit to it 100% (and this is where you can totally judge me for not being able to commit and end my relationship with cheese), eating primarily vegan is what fuels and feeds my body best. However, I’m a human, and I do make mistakes.

If you can relate to any of that at all, I hope you’ll stick around and check back in with me for some new recipes, ideas, inspirations, and encouragement. We’re all human, and we’re all in this together. #zerotohero