mango

Cucumber Basil and Watermelon Salad with Love & Lemons

Fresh fruits of cucumber, mango and watermelon are dressed with a zingy Asian dressing of soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and ginger, with a kick of spice from jalapeño.

Since 2011, we’ve been head over heels for the blog Love & Lemons. Run by Austin-based husband and wife duo Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Matthews, Love & Lemons is brimming with fresh, seasonal, healthy recipes, and bright, colorful photography.

Their little nook of the food blogosphere is one of our favorite spots to spend some time. It’s where we turn for inspiration when we’ve been in an unhealthy eating rut, or feel the need to meet our mostly vegetarian ways.

Jeanine and Jack just published their first cookbook, The Love & Lemons Cookbook: An Apple-to-Zucchini Celebration of Impromptu Cooking, and it’s a new favorite addition to our kitchens.

The book features 100 vegetarian recipes (never before seen on the blog), including vegan and gluten-free options.

The cookbook is categorized by vegetable rather than the traditional appetizer, side dish or dessert categories and is reflective of Jeanine’s approach to cooking.

Her method? Finding “star” ingredients at the farmers market and using them with ingredients she already has on-hand.

“Since this is really the way I learned how to get inspired by cooking, I thought it would be helpful to write a book organized by vegetable rather than by meal type,” she explains. “I want to inspire people to check out their local farmers markets and not to be intimidated to cook with gorgeous fresh vegetables.”

continue to the recipe… about Cucumber Basil and Watermelon Salad with Love & Lemons

Ahi Tuna Poke and Mango Salad

A simple three ingredient dressing tops fresh ahi tuna, mango and avocado on a bed of spring mix in this flavorful Asian salad, perfect for lunch or dinner.

I was reading the latest issue of Food and Wine and an interview with Jesse Tyler Ferguson, the actor who plays Mitchell on TV’s Modern Family—the show that in my opinion is the funniest on television.

In addition to having impeccable comic timing, apparently JTF is an avid home cook.

“I’m really interested in creating things the way that chefs do…I bought a chef jacket, and when I put it on I get superambitious for some reason. It’s like a Superman cape. I just feel like I can do anything. I can’t, but I feel like I can.”

Don the jacket. Wield the knife. Learn the technique. Then make the recipe your own.

Isn’t that what cooking and creating in the kitchen is all about? It’s about finding inspiration, putting on that cape and believing you can.

continue to the recipe… about Ahi Tuna Poke and Mango Salad

Mango and Avocado Salad With The Healthy Apple

The combination of nutrient-packed greens and antioxidant rich fruit makes this a super superfood vegan salad with a tangy ginger and berry dressing.

Some of us deal with minor gluten intolerances, occasional heartburn, and lactose-intolerance. But we’re still able to enjoy most of the foods we love, and frequent just about any restaurant.

But for some, like food blogger Amie Valpone, life can throw a pretty major curveball when it comes to eating food we all suppose is healthy for us.

Amie is the unbelievably friendly and incredibly vivacious blogger behind The Healthy Apple — a wellness blog devoted to clean eating. I first met Aimee at a food blogging event where she exuded boundless energy and vivaciousness.

I don’t know if I’ve ever met anyone so outgoing and so friendly, or who can talk so fast. Anyone who knows her will attest to that.

So when she shared with me her health story, I was shocked. This petite, energetic woman who simply radiated from the inside out and drew you into her passionate world was a far cry from the 20-something year old girl who found herself immobile and deathly ill. She was chronically sice, bedridden and riddled with questions of what was wrong with her, and doctors didn’t have the answer.

But that didn’t deter this ball of fire. She pursued her own personal health crusade. She didn’t have a choice. For her, it was life or death.continue to the recipe… about Mango and Avocado Salad With The Healthy Apple

Thai Zucchini Noodle and Quinoa Salad

Spiralized zucchini is the base of this crunchy raw vegetable salad that features a creamy, flavorful Thai peanut dressing for a healthy lunch or dinner.

I’ve been on a bit of a Thai kick lately, as witnessed by last week’s Shrimp in Thai Coconut Sauce.

Okay, I’ve been on a Thai kick, for, like, forever, as witnessed by this lengthy list of recipes here on le bloggity blog.

And after I ate the original version of this spiralized zucchini noodle aka zoodle recipe, I knew I had to add one more to the lineup.

Most likely, it won’t be the last. continue to the recipe… about Thai Zucchini Noodle and Quinoa Salad

Dreamy Creamy Mango Pops

Mangoes blended with vanilla almond milk and vanilla yogurt make the ultimate creamy homemade pops, plus a video of my kitchen hack for peeling mangoes.

This year I’m partnering with Almond Breeze to create and share recipes using almond milk. I’ve shared several new recipes using it that lean toward the savory side here and here, but with summer in full swing, it’s time to take a sweetened time out and break out the popsicle molds.

“Mom, when can we make more maaaaaannnngo pops?”

Right. Now.

In between hours-long fingernail painting sessions (you’ve seen this haven’t you?) Smudge has been helping me make these creamy mango popsicles. They’re incredibly easy to do (even an 11 year old can do it) and even easier to enjoy (and of course that 11 year old has done that too!)

I remember making ice pops as a kid with Kool-Aid® or even orange juice and they were always a dismal failure. There was always too much water or not enough flavor so that with each suck, all that would be left was a brittle icy nub of a pop.

These pops are not that. These babies are chilled fruity flavor bombs that are lightened up in sugar and heavy on good old vitamin C.

How’s that for making a mom-approved summer treat.

continue to the recipe… about Dreamy Creamy Mango Pops

Mango Salsa Recipe

Fresh mango and strawberries mix with avocado, cilantro, red onion and jalapeño in this easy to make, zesty salsa that’s sweetened with lime and honey.

My chicken breasts were crying out for help. “Ka-kah! Help me! Just salt and pepper makes me b-o-r-i-n-g”

Because who craves boring chicken? Me? You? Hardly.

“Wait! I have that mango salsa recipe that would be the perfect topper. Let me go to the bloggity blog and find the recipe!”

Actually, that was me “asking” my husband to go to the blog and find it. And he couldn’t.

“But I know it’s there.” And it was. But not in plain sight.

You guys may think that food bloggers have each and every recipe we’ve created formatted directly into our brains like the hard drives of our computers. That, my friends, is a fallacy.

The more likely scenario is that because we’re always dreaming of recipes akin to sugar plums dancing through our heads that we can’t remember a dad gum thing.continue to the recipe… about Mango Salsa Recipe

Mango Margarita with Chile Salt and Lime

Frozen cocktails aren’t really my thing. I save my frozen tendencies drinkable with a straw for milkshakes and smoothies.

My idea of a great margarita is to make it strong and put it on the rocks.

That is, until, it’s a Mango Margarita. Then I say make it fruity, a bit limey and add some spice and bring me another.

The first time I had a mango margarita was on a Mexican vacation in the small beach town of Todos Santos (if you haven’t been, you HAVE to go) with my little family of three and my BFF Kim and her husband. We’d rented our other friend’s vacation house (see it here) where we blew up the pool toys and made the very necessary trip to the Mexican market to stock up on essentials: Chips and salsa, Mexican pancake mix (loaded with sugar and insanely delicious,) Nutella, mangos, lime and tequila.

Bienvenidos! Let’s get this party started.

continue to the recipe… about Mango Margarita with Chile Salt and Lime

Mango Smoothie Plus 11 Favorite Smoothie Recipes

This week the internet exploded. Not because of political scandals, the return of Downtown Abby or even because some guy raised a baby duck in his beard.

No, it’s because with the new year comes new resolutions for better health and a plethora of new smoothies recipes. It’s a cool and refreshing domination of the www. and perfect timing to add mine to the pack with my mango, banana and coconut tropical smoothie.

Back in the day when I would drag myself into the office after my morning torture weight training session with my trainer, I would somehow will my legs one. step. at. a. time. to the community kitchen, meagerly toss a handful of ice into the blender, peel a banana, add a dash of milk and pour in a packet of protein powder. In my post workout trance I’d refuel with a fantastic protein-powered shake that nourished my rebuilding-muscle tissue and keep me full and satisfied til lunch.

Since I don’t work in the office anymore, I can invest a little more time and effort into my smoothie cravings. Sometimes I get a even get a little exotic. Okay maybe more tropical than exotic. Ah hell, who cares. I’m going big, and going with exotic.

continue to the recipe… about Mango Smoothie Plus 11 Favorite Smoothie Recipes

Dessert Nachos with Strawberry, Mango and Avocado Salsa

This is the thing I like about nachos. If you agree, you’re invited to the party. If you don’t, I’ll be the first to pass along an elementary-style lunch tray to ensure all of your primary food groups stay at arm’s length of one another.

Nachos. They’re layers upon layers of my favorite tastes. A little bit of salt, a lot of spice, maybe a little bit of protein—if I’m feeling the urge to act like a well-rounded adult—all blanketed in cheese, aka the glue that melds this flavor bomb together.

Last week I asked my friends on Facebook for help on what recipe they wanted to see this week: spring pasta or salsa? By the looks of today’s post I think you can see which dish came out as the clear winner.

The confirmation that this recipe was the clear winner came from my Smudge who declared it would had judiciously been added to her birthday party menu. This is serious stuff folks. Maybe it received this exclusive validation because she had become invested in the recipe as my scribe, studiously practicing her cursive skills as I dictated the ingredients and portions. By the way, I DO know there is no “t” in avocado. Most of the time. Can you even tell the difference between my handwriting and a 3rd graders? Aye—yi—yi. Scary.

Cinco de Mayo is on the calendar for this weekend’s celebrations replete with menus full of chunky guacamole, tacos (you gotta try this fried avocado version), enchiladas and a serious round of salsa. I thought about adding to the Mexican madness by recreating a standard savory affair, but headed off on a bender, pointed South and conquered the sweeter side of the border, thanks to mangos in my refrigerator in dire need of a destination resulting in this Mango, Strawberry and Avocado Salsa.

continue to the recipe… about Dessert Nachos with Strawberry, Mango and Avocado Salsa