Notes about Recipes in this book

• Dark chocolate, olive oil, and sea salt snacking granola

  • ethedens on March 02, 2025

    Meh. I've definitely had way better granola, and I've even had better granola from Damuck (see her spicy granola from Salad Freak). This gets a 3/5 from me.

• Chai-spiced overnight oats with chia, apple, blackberries, and figs

  • tarae1204 on April 02, 2024

    Recipes for overnight oats are so ubiquitous that they seem more formulaic than prescriptive. But I find this recipe to be well-conceived. The liquid softens the blackberries and their seeds, and the caramel sweetness of the figs and date syrup balances the blackberry's sourness. The diced apple and the spices are delightful. I subbed fig preserves instead of dried or fresh figs, and went light on the date syrup to balance out the sugar. Overall, it was not too sweet for me. I think some chopped nuts would be delicious here as well. Great recipe!

• Morning glory muffins

  • skvalentine on April 15, 2024

    These muffins have a delicious (but very healthy) flavor. I liked them warmed up, served with the cinnamon butter from the Buckwheat Pancakes recipe. I'd make these again-- great addition to my kids' lunchboxes.

  • Feelingsamtastic on June 09, 2024

    The kids loved them despite not being overly sweet. Would make again

• Melon salad with honey, pistachio yogurt, and mint

  • tarae1204 on April 28, 2024

    File this under things I would gladly eat every day for the rest of my life! I used jarred pistachio butter. Lacking a good everyday honey, I opened up a container of honeycomb and added the liquid honey from that along with some crumbs of honeycomb. Subbed lemon juice for lime (which is fine), salted fairly strongly for fruit, and made sure to use a very gentle flavored extra-virgin olive oil. Easily serves 4-6.

  • ethedens on April 17, 2025

    This was so simple and so good. 4/5

  • vanessa_wkt6qb on May 21, 2026

    It was a nice and refreshing healthy snack!

• Savory brown rice porridge with greens and soft egg

  • Bessp on February 05, 2026

    Delicious! Hearty, warm, and infinitely comforting. I served with soft boiled eggs.

• Masala-spiced potato hash with spinach and yogurt

  • tarae1204 on April 28, 2024

    Serves 2 very hungry people or 4 as part of a fuller breakfast. This recipe works well as written. I found myself wishing for a tad more cumin seed or other elusive Indian spice that you find in dosa potatoes. Excellent!

• Black bean, sweet potato, and greens breakfast bowl

  • tarae1204 on April 01, 2024

    While not difficult, this recipe had a lot of moving parts and produced a lot of dishes to wash. It made four very large servings for our “breakfast for dinner,” with leftovers. Depending on size of your sweet potatoes and whether or not you add brown rice, this could easily feed six. Instead of making a salsa from scratch (she suggests two sub recipes for salsa), I blended some jarred salsa verde with half an avocado — that was delicious and easier. One could also make pickled red onions in advance. In some ways I felt like the eggs, beans, salsa and pickled onions were one distinct meal, and the chard, sweet potatoes and yogurt were another.

• Creamsicle smoothie

  • tarae1204 on April 02, 2024

    Made this with some coconut water, dairy milk and yogurt instead of the coconut/nut alternatives and it turned out delicious. Sweet with fresh oranges, mango and banana, a little balanced bitter with the orange peel, and decadent with the coconut cream. So pretty!

• PB and J smoothie

  • tarae1204 on May 16, 2024

    I subbed frozen raspberries for blueberries, used dairy milk and yogurt, and omitted protein powder. It turned out to be a very thick smoothie, and sadly no one really enjoyed it. Too thick, strange texture and mouthfeel. Might be better made with the specific ingredients listed?

• Cauliflower and chickpea curry

  • cheffreddie on April 27, 2024

    A cozy, comforting dish. I added a bit more spice then the recipe called for plus a squeeze of lime at the end for extra brightness.

• Red lentil, carrot, and enoki mushroom stew

  • ethedens on March 03, 2025

    This was so good. Used liquid smoke since my soy sauce wasn't smoked and just water, no stock. Delicious and so easy. Also just turned heat off to add mushrooms and let residual heat do its thing. 4/5

• Black bean tostadas with avocado and crispy leeks

  • ethedens on November 03, 2024

    A greater than the sum of its parts recipe. Used canned beans, did not deep fry the shallots, did not do salsa macha (may put some chili crisp on it). As I made it (which, to be frank, is way easier than the true recipe) it is a 3.75/5

• Brothy white beans with Parm and pesto

  • john_0dr7c7 on March 08, 2026

    Far more delicious than I was anticipating and so so simple

• Fava bean puree with bitter greens

  • Lepa on March 04, 2025

    We made this with broccoli rabe (a favorite of mine) and it was delicious with toasted sourdough (brushed with a bit of olive oil and sprinkled with salt). The kids are less enthusiastic about broccoli rabe but liked the puree as it is similar to hummus. A note: the water evaporated and I almost burned the beans. I added another cup of water and saved it. Since you drain the beans anyway, play it safe and use an extra two cups of water so you can avoid my mistake!

• Very good vegan chili

  • hbakke on October 06, 2024

    Very nice chili. Nothing mind blowing, but great flavor for a vegan chili.

  • Khadejeh on February 03, 2026

    Shredded the carrots for preferred texture Had to substitute the ancho chili Ate with Yossy Arefi's pumpkin cornbread

• Crispy rice and salmon bowl with quick pickles and greens

  • Feelingsamtastic on April 29, 2024

    There are quicker/easier ways to cook salmon, but I liked the overall composition of the bowl - the pickles we're a hit too

  • vanessa_wkt6qb on May 21, 2026

    It was delicious, but PREP ahead of time instead of on a school night!

• Parsnip and potato soup with crispy leeks

  • Apollonia on September 25, 2024

    Wow, I didn't want to like this because it was more work than I like to do for a soup, but it was really an A+ dish. The parsnips and roast garlic gave it such depth of flavor, and the parsley oil and fried leeks were top notch. I'll make again, once I recover from the effort of this round!

• Tomato and melon gazpacho

  • ethedens on July 05, 2024

    Pretty good. I might just not be a huge gazpacho fan. 3.5/5

• Dragon bowl

  • tarae1204 on April 22, 2024

    This felt so healthy, filling and yet light to eat. It does prepare a large amount of components except for the two dressings (a sesame oil-vinegar for the wakame and a tahini dressing for everything). I'm not sure if salt directions were omitted or if it's just supposed to be very low salt. At minimum, the kale could use some salt or extra dressing. There is also no instruction for preparing the kale other than removing the ribs. I tore the leaves into small/med pieces.

• Tuna, avocado, and grapefruit with seed crackers

  • amy_ky231a on March 12, 2026

    Easy to make and makes for a delicious lunch

  • mllamas on June 03, 2026

    Loved the crackers but a recipe for this snack plate feels unnecessary.

• Lemony chicken and quinoa bowl with watercress, cucumber, and avocado

  • john_0dr7c7 on March 12, 2026

    Fine

• Charred cabbage with mushroom butter

  • mark_bnltpc on January 09, 2026

    This was easy and very flavorful.

• Nutritional yeast popcorn

  • tarae1204 on April 10, 2024

    I used a microwave glass popcorn popper so can’t comment on the stovetop directions. I chose a very robust flavored olive oil that was maybe too strong with the nutritional yeast. I liked this popcorn, however I will try again with a more medium bodied olive oil, and maybe some dried green herbs as well. I’m glad this cookbook finally got me to try nutritional yeast!

• Little gems with nutritional yeast tahini dressing, sunflower seeds, and avocado

  • Lepa on April 24, 2024

    This salad was a great light lunch. The dressing is especially delicious!

• Asparagus cooked in its own juice

  • tarae1204 on April 02, 2024

    I enjoyed making this dish, although I'm not the type of person to peel my asparagus! It turned out just as the author indicates: snappy-tender, fresh and sweet in flavor, and a beautiful bright green. My children liked it as well.

  • earthflesh on March 16, 2025

    I almost didn't make this recipe since it seemed so simple, but the unique twist (in its own juice) intrigued me. Like another cook mentioned, they turn out wonderfully snappy-tender cooked this way. The recipe, however, includes butter in its ingredient list but nowhere in the directions (so I omitted it).

• Furikake glazed squash

  • ethedens on March 03, 2025

    The sauce did not stick. Not great. 2.5/5

  • KNivia on March 29, 2026

    My husband made this as a side dish and it’s wonderful! Love that there is no peeling involved and the furikake just makes it seem elevated!

• Creamy sesame carrot salad

  • Apollonia on September 14, 2025

    Tasty side dish. I did have to add sesame oil to my spice grinder, because my seeds never came together into a paste (unclear, I suppose, whether that's what I was supposed to be going for, as the recipe didn't say), but otherwise made as directed and enjoyed it!

• Big green gingery salad

  • KNivia on February 07, 2026

    This was the easiest salad and the dressing was delicious! The mix of fresh ginger, lime and rice vinegar was incredible. This will be repeated!

• The source aware salad

  • Lepa on April 08, 2024

    This salad feels so virtuous and satisfying. Next time I might try a lemon tahini dressing, which I think would be great with this salad. That said, the recipe as written was good. It was enough to feed four as a main.

• Chopped cucumber and feta salad

  • cheffreddie on April 27, 2024

    Made this with romaine lettuce and it was superb! I did follow her suggestion to use cerignola olives and i'm so glad I did, they have such a lovely mild, buttery flavor. A perfect side dish for an early Spring dinner. It was great with the intended lemon and olive oil dressing, but I think it could stand up to more substantial vinaigrette too.

• Peach and burrata Caprese with hot honey

  • ethedens on July 22, 2025

    Way too sweet. 2/5

• Zucchini and pistachio pesto pizza

  • ethedens on September 15, 2024

    Very good, but there were some issues with the recipe. We used less zucchini and cooked much longer at lower temp (to be fair we had issues with pizza dough and struggled to roll as thin as it should have been). 4/5 for whatever we made, 3.5/5 for recipe as written.

• California sprout sandwich

  • Lepa on April 08, 2024

    This isn't groundbreaking but it is delicious- and a good reminder how much I enjoy this kind of sandwich. My son and I had this for lunch and I immediately added ingredients to my shopping list so we can have it again tomorrow.

  • ethedens on September 30, 2024

    This was really good. A delicious sprout sandwich. Would make again. 4/5

• Orecchiette with roasted cherry tomato sauce

  • katiesue28 on March 06, 2025

    This was good and super fast. Think of it as more of a springboard for what you have available. I added some calabrian chiles, chopped kalamata olives, and torn basil at the end. The recipe calls for anchovies, but does not specify when to add them. I recommend adding them at the end. I mixed mine with the tomatoes and garlic prior to roasting, but I felt like many of them burned. Additionally, I would add the sliced garlic to the roasting tomates about ten minutes later.

  • christine_b5j90f on March 14, 2026

    Made this recipe and added vegetarian Italian sausage and Brussels sprouts. I would keep the sausage and switch the spouts for kale or spinach. Yum!

• Vegan mushroom lasagna

  • ChefWorm on January 14, 2026

    The umami stock is not vegan! Which this recipe calls for

• Trumpet mushrooms with soba noodles, soy, and butter

  • john_0dr7c7 on January 10, 2026

    Add some lemon juice and chili oil to amp up the flavor. Recipe also calls for garlic but doesn't include it in the cooking instructions so I just added minced garlic to the mushrooms about halfway through cooking to prevent burning

• Broccoli pasta with peas and pecorino

  • Dcampos on March 01, 2026

    It was a bit bland until I added some granulated garlic, more Romano, black pepper and chili flakes. I would double the garlic next time.

• Ram Dass's slow-roasted salmon with passion fruit

  • tarae1204 on August 13, 2024

    This is delicious and the hardest part is sourcing passion fruit. Don't be afraid to make it with blood oranges, or any other sweet citrus like Meyer lemons, Cara Cara oranges, lime or yuzu juice. This recipe as written uses 2 passion fruits over 4 salmon fillets. I would increase this proportion to 1.5-2 passion fruits per 1 fillet if you are seeking the fruit flavor. The recipe has tamari as the only salt source, and doesn't quantify how much tamari. I lightly salted my fillets. The grilling instructions and parchment folding instructions are sparse. I oven-cooked mine. 20-30 minutes seemed way too long for a thin fillet, so I cooked mine for 15 minutes and it was slightly overcooked. Still, excellent. I mainly tasted coconut oil and green onion but I knew the other flavors were there. I really only tasted passion fruit on certain bites that had more pulp. The passion fruit seeds were toasted and crunchy - very good.

• Shiitake and broccoli stir-fry

  • Lepa on August 19, 2024

    Unfortunately, this is very bland. We ate it with lots of kimchee and chili sauce, which improved it, but I won't make this again.

• Vegan "tuna" or chickpea salad collard-green wraps

  • tarae1204 on May 15, 2024

    This is very good. I don’t seek out vegan recipes; this stands out on its own. I used a regular mayo.

  • Lepa on June 30, 2024

    I was curious but skeptical about these wraps but they are good- even if you aren't vegan. They are tasty and refreshing- a perfect light lunch.

  • cheffreddie on July 17, 2024

    Just like tarae1204 said, this recipe absolutely stands out on its own. I used a pastry blender to quickly crush the chickpeas, much easier & faster than using a fork. This salad is great as is, but extra delicious with a few extra add-ins inspired by Craig Claiborne's classic NYT tuna salad recipe: chopped red bell pepper, celery, and capers.

  • ethedens on January 07, 2025

    How is this so good? Absolutely delicious. 4/5

• Sweet potato bread with miso tahini butter

  • Lepa on July 16, 2024

    This is really good with the miso tahini butter. My family loved it.

• Hazelnut and carob thumbprints

  • tarae1204 on April 23, 2024

    Texturally and flavor wise, these cookies came out quite well. You have to like carob! And there is no sugar added to the carob ganache (a small amount of sugar or honey could be nice). There is also a mistake with the metric measurements of the carob powder. The recipe calls for"1/4 cup (60 grams) carob powder". 60 grams of carob powder is more like a 1/2 cup. Basically, you want the amounts of coconut cream and carob powder to be equal. The ganache is cleanest to work with when still a little cold.

• Oat bars with rhubarb ginger jam

  • tarae1204 on April 27, 2024

    Do not make this recipe if cooking from a first edition. Hopefully future editions will fix this recipe, which was not ready for print imo. Numerous glaring errors along the way but I thought I could make it work, and it failed. Errors: (1) Calls for 2 stalks of rhubarb but needs 5. (2) Lists 1 pint sliced strawberries and 1 vanilla bean presumably for the jam, but doesn't incorporate them. (3) produces over 2 cups jam when it says you'll get 1.5, (4) Calls for flour and kosher salt (twice), and never uses them in the recipe. (5) Has you make a food processor crust and use half of it for a press-in base, then (6) never tells you how to use the other half! It's like the recipe was first a crisp and then became an oat bar. Or vice versa. I went with the "oat bar" as in the title and photo, and it just baked up on top as buttery brown sludge even with extra 20 minutes in the oven. So (7) the bake times are way, way, way off, and I suspect 325F is too low anyway.

  • mllamas on June 16, 2025

    This recipe is rife with errors. But I found a published correction: https://ugc.production.linktr.ee/cc3a67bc-2799-4261-ad70-253de2ad563f_digitalOatBarsRecipe.pdf I'd give it 1 start as published, but the bars are actually pretty tasty. With the correction a 4+

  • KNivia on May 11, 2026

    So I wish I had seen these comments before making! This recipe had all kinds of errors and I did my best to salvage it but what a mess!

• Sesame spelt banana bread

  • hbakke on June 27, 2024

    I used white sesame seeds instead of black, so I don't know if that affected the flavor. This was a nice banana bread, but was a little drier than I hoped (probably from the spelt flour). The topping of sugar and sesame seeds would have been nicer if more of it had stuck to the top. I did like the frozen/thawed banana trick. I think it may have amplified the banana flavor. I would try this again with modifications.

  • ethedens on March 25, 2025

    Agree with other commenter that I like the freezing/thawing technique for the bananas. I was happy with the moisture level. Not to sweet, but it was still a little bland. 3.5/5

  • skvalentine on April 14, 2026

    I liked this! Mine came out a little dry-- I think I overcooked it a bit. I loved the flavor. Used a mix of black and white sesame seeds, and it came out very pretty.

  • RaucusBacchus on May 04, 2026

    Great! Given the reviews mention of a dry bread, I swapped 10% of the grain with Rye for moisture retention. Worked great! Tastes great. Not too sweet. Next time: Tahini at room temperature for easer mixing.

• Masa harina cornbread

  • PBBrownie on September 18, 2024

    This came out a little dense but was tasty and unique. It tasted like a corn tortilla! I used AP flour by mistake instead of WW, but it turned out fine.

• Umami mushroom stock

  • ChefWorm on January 14, 2026

    This is really good but omit the bonito flakes to make vegan (which this stock is used in a few other recipes that are meant to be vegan)

• Miso tahini butter

  • Lepa on July 16, 2024

    Yum, we loved this butter with the sweet potato bread!

• Pistachio pesto

  • ethedens on September 15, 2024

    Good but recipe issues. Was instructed to turn oven to 350 for no reason. 3.5/5