Somewhere, in the deep recesses of my kitchen drawers, lies a sushi rolling mat. I have used it once, perhaps five years ago, during my first and last attempt at rolling sushi at home. I made some lumpy rolls that day. Sushi is an art form, and it’s not a picture I can paint.

Homemade sushi bowls are the answer to my sushi-at-home conundrum. There’s no rolling involved, which means they’re much easier to make. You can get quite creative with your ingredients, too, since we’re simply piling them on top rather than rolling them up. Best of all, these fresh but hearty bowls keep me fueled for hours.

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These sesame noodles are colorful and completely irresistible! I’m always excited when I find sesame noodles amongst a plethora of dishes at a gathering. As a solo dish, I crave noodles with a little more color, perhaps, and more texture and flavor. Must be the “maximalist vegetarian” in me. Always more veggies!

This riff on sesame noodles is exactly what I’ve wished for. This recipe features tender noodles and green onions, of course. I replaced some of the noodles with tons of crisp raw veggies, plus I added tiny sesame seeds, toasted to bring out their best.

The bold but simple seasonings include soy sauce, sesame oil, fresh ginger and garlic, and a generous sprinkling of fresh cilantro (omit it if you don’t like it). I added some chili flakes for extra heat, which you can scale up or down to suit your preferences.

From what I’ve read, sesame noodles likely originated in the Sichuan province of China (please let me know if you know more). These noodles are not authentic, but they are tasty. I can’t stop going back for more.

Bring these noodles to a gathering or serve them as a side dish. They are nice at room temperature or chilled. Or, turn this recipe into a light meal by adding shelled edamame, crispy baked tofu or a fried egg or two. This recipe keeps well for several days in the fridge, and packs well for lunch.

Watch How to Make Colorful Veggie Sesame Noodles

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This colorful recipe has been slowly taking shape in my kitchen over the past few months. I’ve seen “Buddha bowls” all over the internet and menus lately, so I set out to make one.

What are Buddha bowls, though? How did whole-grain-and-veggie-bowls-with-tasty-sauce all become abbreviated as “Buddha bowls”?

I found some guidance in this Epicurious article by Katherine Sacks. In summary, Buddha carried a bowl with him on his journeys and accepted food as donations, which he would eat at the end of the day. Katherine also mentioned that Buddha bowls are similar to macrobiotic (macro) bowls with whole grains and steamed or raw veggies.

I created this versatile bowl with those factors in mind. This Buddha bowl recipe includes the five essential components: whole grains (brown rice), plant-based protein (edamame), veggies and greens (you have options), healthy fats (avocado), and a flavorful sauce to bring it all together (carrot-ginger).

It’s easy for Buddha bowl recipes to become complicated with the preparation of many different components, but I was careful to keep this recipe manageable. It’s unbelievably tasty and nutritious, too! I love eating leftovers all week long.

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Minneapolis is one delicious city. I haven’t unpacked my bags yet, but I have a list of recipe ideas from the past week and can’t wait to recreate them. Let’s procrastinate on unpacking and catching up on emails for a bit longer and talk about a much more pressing matter—edamame hummus. Have you tried it yet?

I got a taste of edamame hummus at a nearby sushi restaurant recently, then I discovered a tubbed version at Trader Joe’s, and then I had to make some myself. It’s rich, lemony, and high in protein (so is the traditional chickpea kind). It’s green, too, thanks to the edamame, which are green soybeans. I buy frozen, shelled edamame and defrost them in a pot of boiling water.

The word “hummus” is derived from the Arabic word for chickpeas, so this chickpea-free hummus is quite untraditional. To balance edamame’s very green flavor and fibrous texture, I had to use a little more tahini, lemon juice and water than my go-to herbed hummus recipe.

Combined with crisp veggies or whole-grain crackers, edamame hummus is a delicious, healthy snack or appetizer.  If you need a break from standard hummus (horrors!), please give this one a shot! I’ll be sharing a fun appetizer concept featuring this hummus in a couple of days.

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Hello from Kansas City! I’m glad to be home with Cookie. We have a lot of snuggles to catch up on. I’m still mentally processing my post-cookbook Morocco vacation, but I’ll share more about it soon. I’m actually thinking about creating a separate travel/lifestyle section of the blog, with its own separate email list—would you be interested?

Today, I’m sharing my next giant salad challenge recipe—the idea being that you make the salad and dressing at the beginning of the week, and store them separately. That way, you can enjoy salad all week long! I loved your enthusiasm for the concept.

Here’s an enormous version of the little side salad with carrot-ginger dressing that you met a couple of weeks ago. It’s exactly what I’m craving after two weeks away from home.

This one’s full of leafy greens (you know those are healthy), cruciferous veggies (remarkable free radical fighters), and beta carotene-rich bell peppers and carrots. I added some cooked edamame (soy beans) for protein. Bottom line, it’s crisp and delicious and I think you should make it!

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Reset with this healthy beet salad recipe featuring superfoods like carrot, quinoa, spinach, edamame and avocado. This salad is as flavorful and nutritious as its bold colors would suggest.

This beet salad is tender, crisp and irresistible! The light apple cider, lime and herb dressing brings it all together.

Yesterday was not my day. I stayed up too late the night before (will I ever learn?). I ate lasagna for breakfast, forgot several important items on my grocery list, and fell over in yoga class. More than once. Maybe it was a normal day after all.

I managed to piece together this mega colorful beet salad with ingredients from the store and some substitutions based on what I had at home.

It’s a meal-in-a-bowl version of my simple beet and arugula salad that helped me find some much-needed balance during my totally ungraceful day. The recipe comes from a brand new cookbook called Inspiralized, by my friend Ali Maffucci.

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This soba noodle dish might be just what you’re craving right now. It’s fresh, vibrant, and bursting with springtime produce, including carrots, sugar snap peas, and cilantro. Tender, nutty soba noodles complement the flavors in this unexpected pasta salad. Edamame offers plant-based protein, making this dish a hearty pack-for-lunch option.

Homemade ginger-sesame sauce brings this recipe together. I love combining veggie “noodles” with real noodles for a more balanced meal. This dish contains more veggies than noodles. It’s light and just right!

I’ve enjoyed this recipe since I originally shared it in 2014, and I’m hoping these new photos entice you to try it if you haven’t already.

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Hello from sunny San Diego! I’ve been soaking up sunshine on the beach and clinking drinks with a good friend over the past few days. Maybe a little too much of each. For once, I’m looking forward to returning to my regular routine. Long walks with Cookie and big green salads like this one sound mighty appealing at the moment.

Before I skipped town, P.F. Chang’s challenged me to create an original recipe containing a few of their summer seasonal ingredients. Avocado, pineapple, quinoa, lime, red bell pepper, Thai basil? Challenge accepted! I really love creating recipes around special ingredients; constraints seem to inspire creativity. Please let me know if you have any recipe requests.

For this challenge, I ended up with an Asian-inspired kale salad tossed in a homemade tamari-ginger vinaigrette. It’s loaded with crisp carrots, bell pepper and snap peas, and balanced with creamy avocado and edamame. The kale salad recipes on this blog are among my favorites, but this one might just be tops.

I only wish I had one of these detoxifying kale salads waiting for me at home. Cookie and I walk past a P.F. Chang’s every evening, so we might sample their fresh summer menu while my fridge is empty.

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Sometime between when I left for San Antonio and now, the grass is green again. It’s like I blinked and the ground came alive. I noticed this while Cookie and I were on a nice long walk after work today. While she tried to chase after every bird and squirrel in sight, steering me around like a bumblebee on a string, I observed the springtime show. Cheery yellow daffodils have popped up to say hello, and ordinarily humble forsythia is putting on a show with its graceful, arching golden branches. Spring is here!

I really love going on walks with Cookie, my tireless companion. Before I had a dog, I zoomed around on my bicycle for exercise, which I still love doing, but everything looks different at a slow pace. I notice things I probably wouldn’t if I were biking, and would definitely miss while driving. I get some of my best ideas while we’re walking, and I composed this post in my head while we were out earlier.

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