Savory Miso Broccoli + Spiced Lentil Power Plate! Vegan Fast Food.

I was craving lentils. Badly. I will thank Marilu Henner and Ginny Messina The Vegan RD for that craving, via The Marilu Show.

When life hands you healthy cravings... So instead of sulking in front of my computer and grabbing something quick and easy for lunch, I headed into the kitchen for a very last minute hot lunch recipe. The result was this amazing power plate! Or bowl. It combines savory, cheezy miso broccoli florets with toasted and spiced lentils. A quick tahini-maple sauce over top. And some leafy greens, slivers of buttery avocado and sweet and sassy vitamin-C infused citrus completed this super healthy and delicious meal. Get the recipe and make it in under 10-15 minutes (seriously, I did!)

Fast food you can embrace!..

Maple-Cinnamon Peanut Butter Banana Toast. Healthy Snack!

If you love avocado toast, give this sweet spin a try. My Maple-Cinnamon Peanut Butter Banana Toast is a healthy snack or breakfast bite that you can whip up in a flash. You can even get creative by adding toppings like healthy chia seeds, ground flax seeds, granola, cacao nibs or even a sprinkling of raw hemp seeds. You could even make this a dessert-y treat by drizzling some melted coconut oil + dark chocolate on top! Savory toast lovers, try this sweet spin on an easy recipe..

Vegan Donuts + Fōnuts Review!

I'm convinced. Every town needs a good vegan donut shop.

Vegan donuts (doughnuts?) are one of the coolest dessert discoveries I have made as a plant-based eater. I first discovered some at Babycakes NYC. Then just a few weeks ago I stumbled upon Fōnuts in West Hollywood. I still need to make it out to Ronald's Donuts in Las Vegas and the famous Voodoo Donuts in Portland. But for right now I'm swooning over these amazing little circles of bliss. Seriously, I used to be a donut-lover as a kid and these vegan versions are better than anything I have ever tasted - my husband agreed!

Check out Fōnuts and get a few vegan donut recipes + my reasoning on why donuts are a healthy part of my life :) ..

Summer Reboot Salad: Kale + Corn. Sweet Miso Tahini Dressing.

I think I inspired myself on this one. After writing up my 15 Fave Salad Dressings post I found myself craving .. salad! And since my fridge produce drawer was overflowing with summer goodies, I knew I had to whip something up.

This Summertime Reboot Salad features marinated kale, crisp, sweet, lightly cooked summer corn, vibrant red bell peppers, sweet white onion, some carrots, cabbage and a generous handful of finely chopped flat leaf parsley. The dressing contains all my favorite flavors: white miso (rich in probiotics!), tamari, tahini, grade B maple syrup, a splash of rice vinegar and my own custom blend of spices to accent these delicious summertime-infused flavors. Plus, I folded in a generous amount or raw organic hemp seeds to add fiber, protein and omega fatty acids.

Make-Ahead. Or not. I love this salad because you can make it during the day (whenever you have 15 minutes to spare to whip it up) - then just stick it in your fridge and it will be ready to pull and serve at dinnertime. Some salads will wilt in the fridge, but hearty kale leaves, moisture-absorbing hemp seeds and crunchy onion and peppers hold up very well in the fridge.

Or you can eat it right away. It tastes amazing within seconds of tossing the ingredients together.

This salad will remind you how yummy simple veggies can be when properly seasoned and prepped with some TLC.

Craving a delicious salad to reboot your body and make you just feel amazing? Lets go..

Emily Von Euw's VGP Interview!

Next up in my 2013 Veggie Girl Power Interview Series is Emily von Euw, the brilliant and uber-creative blogger behind the raw vegan website This Rawsome Vegan Life. One peek at Emily's beautiful and inspiring dishes and you will fall in love with raw cuisine, and the fun and inspiring lady creating it! So I was curious to meet the talented person behind the beautiful food. Get to know Emily in her VGP interview!...

15 Vegan Salad Dressing Recipes!

Truth: Salad dressing has the ability to make or break your salad. So instead of putting your faith in a bottled, pre-made concoction, you might want to put the fate of your salad in your own hands and whip up a homemade salad dressing. Here are 15 of my personal favorites to choose from!

In-Season. Summer is sort of the unofficial "season of salad." Warm weather and dry sunny days leave us easily craving cool, crisp, fresh, healthy salads. Instead of turning on your oven or slaving over a hot stove, just reach into your fridge and create a chilled out meal filled with colorful, diverse ingredients like greens, chopped veggies, fruit, legumes, nuts, seeds and grains. And a drizzle of amazing dressing on top.

Summer salads remind us that salads do not have to be thought of as "starters or sides," but have the ability to be the main event of the meal. Summer is the perfect time to perfect your "entree salad" creations.

What is the Dressing? Whenever I post a photo of one of my dinner salads on Instagram the most common question I get is "what is the dressing?" It seems that most people know how to throw ingredients in a bowl, but sometimes salad dressings can seem mysterious or challenging to us. So this post will hopefully give you insight into a few of my favorite go-to salad dressing recipes.

Go-To Dressing Inspired. Last week I stumbled on this fabulous article by The Kitchn: 5 Salad Dressing to Know by Heart. And I was so inspired by the article that I wanted to do my own go-to recipe guide, only my version uses vegan ingredients. And I added more recipes because, quite frankly, I couldn't settle on my five faves. Get my 15 Go-To Vegan Salad Dressing Recipes for summertime, and all year long..

Peach-Provolone Grilled Cheese (Vegan) + Summer Picnic Tips!

Bold (vegan) provolone cheese, melting over the edges of toasty golden sourdough bread is paired with sweet, juicy slices of organic summertime white peach, accented by spicy cayenne and a hint of caramel-y golden grade B maple syrup.

Serve up this Peach-Provolone Grilled Cheese Sandwich to swoon over these dreamy savory meets sweet flavors. Plus peek inside my beach picnic basket and get my summer picnic tips.. (And another book + tee giveaway!)

How to Make Vegan Arancini, aka Fried Risotto Balls.

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed me obsessing over my new favorite recipe: Arancini, aka fried risotto balls.

These famous golden balls, a classic Italian recipe, are the reason why it is always ok to make "too much" risotto. This traditional dish uses "next day" risotto, a few simple coating ingredients and optional fillings. But the classic recipe is not vegan, with its egg was coating and such. Luckily, I have been testing several vegan variations of Arancini and thrilled with the dreamy-delicious results. So go on, break your "no frying" rule and give this famous dish a try using my vegan-version recipe..

Sweet Roasted Corn Risotto. Simple Ingredient Summer Entree.

This Sweet Roasted Corn Risotto is warm, creamy and dreamy with "cheezy" accents in each golden risotto bite. The silky, nutty rice is topped with a pile of steamy, buttery, sweet roasted summer corn. A pinch of freshly chopped parsley, dash of cayenne on top. I added some vegan "Beer Brat" slices to the plate as well, for extra protein. This simple-ingredient recipe tastes elegant, fancy yet farm-fresh and inspired for summer. Grab some arborio rice and an ear or fresh summer corn and whip up this wonderful dish. Oh and try to save some leftover for my newest obsession recipe!..

Lemonade Parfaits with fresh summer berries & crunchies.

Sink your spoon into this summertime treat: my Lemonade Parfait. Dairy-free and filled with lemonade and fresh berry flavor, accented by nutty crunchy toppings like crushed walnuts and nutty granola.

Lemonade by the Spoonful. This tall tower of lemonade bliss makes a beautiful dish to serve for breakfast, brunch, an afternoon pick-me-up or even a lively dessert. My silky lemonade pudding is rich and creamy with bright fresh lemon flavor in each bite. This protein-rich, fiber-rich and antioxidant-rich parfait is a pretty summer treat to feel good about enjoying! Easy recipe too!..

Smoothietude Winners Announced!

The DOLE/HHL "Show Me Your Smoothietude" contest comes to an end as I announce the contest winners and hand out $2,000 in smoothie lover prizes...

Swooning for Strawberries & Cream. Dairy-Free Version.

Watching loads of Wimbledon tennis this past week exposed me to so many of those luscious bowls of strawberries and cream that they traditionally serve at the British tennis tournament. Simple summer strawberries with a generous dollop of silky, cool cream on top is such a perfect culinary combo. So I was swooning for some strawberries & cream..

Funny I'm not the only one wishing for a dairy-free version. I read this article: Novak Djokovic Ditches Wimbledon Favourite Strawberries & Cream in Title Quest .. he avoids gluten and dairy (so it seems.) Well this one is for you Novak! Dairy free strawberries and cream..

This traditional dish is easy to veganize using coconut milk instead of heavy cream for whipping. This "coconut milk whip" version is ridiculous. Crazy-mazing yummy. It is so delicious that I couldn't even imagine how dairy could be preferred after trying this creamy coconut whip version. Maybe Wimbledon should try this next year. (hint hint) And the recipe for coconut whip couldn't be simpler.

So grab a pint of fresh summer strawberries and a can of coconut milk and happily whip up this summer-perfect treat!

Plus get my ten uses for coconut whip!

Sara Sohn's VGP Interview!

Next up in my summer-long 2013 Veggie Girl Power Interview Series is Sara Sohn, the lady behind the genius creation of Sweet & Sara Vegan Marshmallows - the original manufacturer of 100% gelatin-free, 100% vegetarian and vegan marshmallows.

Vegan smores? Vegan rice crispy treats? Yes! Thank you Sara...

Easy Creazy Broccoli Soup!

Wait a minute? We are rounding the curve towards a hot start to July and I am crazy enough to post a soup recipe?? Nutty yes? OK, well before you change browser tabs let me explain. This soup is not a steamy hot soup. It is served warm. You could even chill it if you'd like. But I like it freshly blended, creamy and silky - slightly warm but in no way hot. So warm summer soup. This one is super easy, healthy and super yummy...

This easy soup is creamy and cheezy, thus why I call it my Easy Creazy Broccoli Soup!

Vegan 4th of July / Summertime: 50+ Recipes. Fireworks Photo Tips!

Ready, set, celebrate. Lets all pour ourselves a tall glass of something super frosty and refreshing and cheers *virtual glass clink!* to the 4th of July .. and the long, laid-back, summer holiday weekend that comes with it.

Fill your holiday with fabulous healthy/delicious food, fun and flashy fireworks and some solid happy family time. Check out my wide array of vegan recipes to help inspire your holiday menu. Whip up some veggie burgers, chill some watermelon slices, blend up a frosty smoothie, toss some cole slaw, make some potato salad or whip up a few fun holiday appetizers like jalapeno POPpers or RED beet-walnut dip. And for dessert, some homemade sorbet or maybe a classic Flag Cake.

Plus my three tips for taking fireworks photos with your cell phone. (It is not an easy task!) Food, fun and fireworks!..