Flora & Vino

All Food Recipes

Strawberry Banana Bread

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Strawberry banana bread made gluten-free with almond flour, oats, and almond butter. It’s naturally sweetened with maple syrup and applesauce!

Strawberry Banana Bread by Flora & Vino

This week I had my first in person game night since, pre-COVID 2020.

It was the first time I saw my sister and cousin up close and in person in over a year. 

When I opened the front door and saw them standing on my welcome mat, I squealed with delight. 

It was special and surreal and weird and wonderful all at once. 

Yeah, we didn’t play any *actual* games, but we sure did do a lot of hugging. 

Which is fine by me!

Who wants to play board games when you could choose a cuddle puddle? 

This Strawberry Banana Bread is made in one bowl is almost as cozy as a cuddle. 

It’s made with vegan, gluten-free, and refined-sugar-free with oats, almonds, and plenty of strawberries!

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Vegan Raspberry Sorbet

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Vegan raspberry sorbet made with coconut milk and frozen raspberries naturally sweetened with maple syrup. Enjoy in a cup or smashed between cookies!

Vegan Raspberry Sorbet by Flora & Vino

Everything is changing– do you feel it, too? 

The world is opening, blossoming, and inviting, and I don’t know what to do or where to go first!

Part of me just wants to stay indoors, maintaining the cozy COVID-bubble that I created with M. 

The globe suddenly feels huge and I want to cling to the things that made me feel safe the past 15 months. 

But as M said last week, change is good. 

Change encourages momentum, clarifications, and answers to the questions I’ve been holding onto, like, what’s next? 

COVID normalized a unified sense of “stuckness”, the world united by the fact that all of our plans, travels, and careers had changed or paused. 

So who are we when we get “un-stuck”? 

Because I don’t know about you, but I don’t feel like the same Lauren that hunkered down last March. 

I learned how to slow down, I grew out my hair, and I fell in love. 

So maybe it’s all just about integrating our pandemic progress with our still relevant hopes and dreams of the past.

Kind of like smashing Vegan Raspberry Sorbet between cookies for a warm weather treat. 

This Vegan Raspberry Sorbet is made no-churn with just 3-ingredients without any weird ingredients or fancy equipment!

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Memorial Day Recipe Round-Up

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Memorial Day vegan and gluten-free mains, side dishes, and no-bake desserts that are perfect for a plant-based cookout or BBQ this summer!

Memorial Day Recipe Round-Up by Flora & Vino

This past weekend I went camping for the first time in a tent. 

The first night I hardly slept, tossing and turning on our air mattress, amazed that nature could be so deafeningly loud. 

The second night, I slept much better, maybe because I grew more comfortable in my surroundings or maybe just because I was too darn tired. 

Anyway, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the whole experience.

I never grew up camping, so I just kind of assumed camping wasn’t for me. 

But, man, was I wrong; I loved it. 

Sitting around the campfire telling stories, eating chili reheated over a camp cooktop, watching the flames lick the wooden logs. 

I felt totally unplugged and yet left recharged, surrounded by friends who feel like family against a comforting backdrop of nature and community.

And since this was my first real camping trip, it was also my first ever real s’mores. 

My friend Anna showed me how to brown the marshmallow on all sides before smushing it on a square of dark chocolate between graham crackers. 

We captured my post-s’mores smile in a photo to commemorate the moment; my eyes closed in marshmallow rapture.  

With all of the excitement of my trip last weekend, I almost forgot that next weekend is Memorial Day.

In this Memorial Day Recipe Round-Up post I’m sharing some of my favorite vegan and gluten-free recipes for a cookout.

Mix and match these plant-based mains, sides, no-bakes desserts, dips, and drinks to create your own cookout menu!

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Cashew Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries

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//#ad This post is brought to you by Bare Snacks, but all words and eats are my own. Thanks for supporting the sponsors that keep me hungry!

Light and easy stuffed strawberries made with a homemade cashew cheesecake whip and fresh berries. Perfect for a sweet summer side!

Memorial Day is upon us, friends. 

For those of you who’ve been following me on Instagram, you might know that I haven’t seen my parents since before COVID. 

I’ve waved at them from behind their sliding glass door several times for gift exchanges, but I haven’t wrapped them or my sister in a big bear hug since 2019. 

We’re planning some sort of a cookout to reunite on Memorial Day weekend– the first weekend two weeks after all of us are fully vaccinated. 

Hurray! 

So I’m *really* excited to begin making food to share this summer, starting with these stuffed strawberries.

These Cashew Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries are perfectly presentable for spring and summer entertaining this year. 

They’re light and easy, made with a homemade cashew cheesecake whip and fresh berries, perfect for a quick and creative sweet summer side!

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Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Pancakes 

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Almond flour chocolate chip pancakes made with superfine almond flour, coconut milk, and plenty of dark chocolate chips. Vegan, gluten-free, and grain-free!

Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Pancakes by Flora & Vino

What’s your go-to “special occasion” breakfast?

For me, it’s pancakes.

For my birthday brunch this year, M made me a stack of Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Pancakes. 

It felt like kind of a big deal after he admitted earlier that morning that he’d never made pancakes before. 

So I didn’t expect much…but I was wrong!

The pancakes were so unexpectedly delicious that I knew I had to recreate his version to share with you guys. 

Because everyone needs a sweet stack of pancakes in their life.

These Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Pancakes are made with superfine almond flour, creamy coconut milk, and plenty of dark chocolate chips. 

They’re easy to whip up regardless of your pancake-making past.

Let’s flip some chocolate chip flapjacks! 

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Strawberry Chia Seed Jam

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Easy strawberry chia seed jam to made on the stovetop with frozen fruit and chia seeds and naturally sweetened with lime and maple syrup.

Strawberry Chia Seed Jam by Flora & Vino

This Strawberry Chia Seed Jam has been persistent in my recipes this past week. 

In the past 7 days, it’s showed up in my Nut Butter & Jam Breakfast Quesadillas AND my SunButter & Jelly Brownies.

So I thought I might as well post it on the blog so it has a forever home here at F&V. 

Because, and this is on record, I will love it forever. 

It’s sweet, strawberry-y, and spreadable, with big strawberry chunks and a fantastic chia texture. 

Oh, and it makes everything from breakfast to snacking to dessert more fun and delicious with minimal ingredients and cook time. 

This Strawberry Chia Seed Jam is made with just 5 ingredients on the stovetop for a sweet summer spread! 

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Nut Butter & Jam Breakfast Quesadilla

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Sweet and satisfying breakfast quesadilla made on the stovetop with nut butter, homemade strawberry chia seed jam, granola, and coconut flakes.

Nut Butter & Jam Breakfast Quesadilla by Flora & Vino

What’s better than a peanut butter & jelly for breakfast? 

A peanut butter & jelly in a quesadilla.

An adult-ish quesadilla served first thing in the AM. 

I enjoyed these all last week and couldn’t wait to share them with you so I practically *begged* M to let me make him one. 

When he finished the first one and asked for a second, my ego was doing a very hubris-saturated victory dance. 

Friends, it’ *that* good, and that simple! 

Yes, we share a love of sweet breakfast quesadillas and I can’t wait to share that love with you. 

These Nut Butter & Jam Breakfast Quesadillas are made on the stovetop with nut butter, homemade strawberry chia seed jam, granola, and coconut flakes!

Let’s get quesadilla-ing!

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Cherry Tomato Salsa

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Fresh homemade salsa made with sweet cherry tomatoes! Enjoy as a dip with your favorite crackers or as an addition to tacos, burritos, and bowls.

Today I had a coffee date with a girlfriend that I haven’t seen in over a year.

We parked our cars outside of the Starbucks drive-through and socially distanced sipped on coffee, bridging the gap between our cars with conversation. 

Guys, I had forgotten how nice it is to be in the company of another woman and catch up on life as we know it. 

I came home with an empty coffee cup and a full heart, ready to take on a photo shoot and blog post writing. 

Lately I’ve been all about mixing up my routine; making small changes to embrace an awakening world. 

I’m currently enrolled in not one but TWO 7-day free trial via workout apps. 

Which kind of goes hand in hand with the 6 AM alarm that startled me into waking up after the third snooze this morning.

I feel like I’ve been in a deep sleep or meditation for the past year and I’m just starting to regain consciousness. 

Like, Rip Van Winkle level sleepiness. 

An in-person game night with my cousins and sister is planned for two weeks out; the first date we’re all fully vaccinated.

We joked that no games would be played– the entire night will probably revolve around hugging.

So much hugging. And food! 

What better way to embrace summer celebrations, in person and afar, then with a fresh dip?

This Cherry Tomato Salsa is made with just six ingredients and served with my favorite grain-free crackers! 

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SunButter & Jelly Brownies

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Grain-free vegan brownies with a decadent SunButter & jelly swirl made with organic sunflower seed butter and homemade strawberry chia jam. 

SunButter & Jelly Brownies by Flora & Vino

OK, let’s catch up because it’s been a minute since we’ve chatted. 

Since I last wrote to you, I submitted my third round of cookbook edits and the manuscript is officially out of my hands and in the very capable hands of copy editors. 

Woo-freakin-hoo!

I also received my second COVID vaccine and was totally wiped out for the following day. 

Feeling shaking and immobile, I spent most of the day curled up in my favorite recliner, journaling, brainstorming, and dreaming of the future for me and F&V. 

Thinking beyond my daily TO-DOs, beyond the cookbook, beyond the pandemic. 

What’s next? 

Well, these SunButter & Jelly Brownies are next for you, boo. 

They’re entirely grain-free and refined-sugar-free with a swirly SunButter and homemade jelly top.

I mean, what’s better than combining PB&J and brownies? 

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Mother’s Day Recipe Round Up

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A collection of easy vegan and gluten-free spring breakfast, brunch, and dessert recipes that’s sure to impress all of the mother figures in your life!

Hi, friends!

Today my Saturday project was potting a set of four red begonias that my community was gifting to all residents. 

I decided to put them on the front steps in two pots, two plants per pot, one pot on either side of the cement steps. 

To be honest, these are the first flowers that I’ve ever potted myself.

So I felt pretty adult dawning gardening gloves and packing potting soil around flimsy scarlet petals.

And flowers made me think of mom, because on Mother’s Day usually flowers are my thing.

(I may or may not have called my parents for potting advice, because parental input > Google.)

Even before the pandemic, I liked to send my my mom a bright bouquet of flowers to say, hey, I’m thinking of you. 

This year, I thought I’d be creative and group together a list of themed recipes that would be delicious to enjoy with mom or in her honor!

In this Mother’s Day Recipe Round Up, you’ll find easy spring breakfast, brunch, and dessert recipes that are sure to impress all of the mother figures in your life.

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