Appetizers

Everything Granola Bites

Protein-packed energy balled made with SunButter, chia seeds, coconut, cacao nibs, and a hidden granola crunch! Perfect for a quick portable snack!

This past week M and I built a tent in my living room.

A mass of lime green nylon, woven mesh, and sturdy poles erected into a dome in under ten minutes.

As the weather gets warmer, I’m dreaming of summer adventures.

It’s been forever since I slept away from home, and I’m itching to pack up the car with my new camping gear and explore.

Do you like camping?

M will tell you that I’ve never *really* been camping, which is partially true.

I guess I’ve been *glamping*, i.e. sleeping in a camp cabin, with four walls and a roof and a screened in door.

So maybe I’m romanticizing all of it– sleeping under the stars, s’mores, and basking in forest sunlight.

But I think there’s the chance to make a camper out of me, yet.

Everything is starting to feel more and more possible– as people become vaccinated, as the book comes closer to a close, as my camping set is complete.

I’ve also been thinking about easy food to make while in the great outdoors, starting with easy snacks.

These Everything Granola Bites are a great portable snack to make in advance for all of your adventuring this year.

They’re made no-bake with simple ingredients that will fuel all of your summer fun!

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Carrot Cashew Queso

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Vegan queso made with steamed carrots, cashews, and plenty of nutritional yeast. Serve it with tacos, taco salads, burrito bowls, chips, and vegetables!

How was your Saint Patrick’s Day?

I forgot to wear green, but I didn’t forget to celebrate.

M and I opened a bottle of champagne that’s been hanging out in the fridge since New Years and toasted to the cookbook manuscript’s completion.

We even played a few Irish jigs (mostly rowdy drinking songs) while we attended our weekly virtual game night with my sister and cousins.

While shuffling pieces in Bandido, we talked dreamily about meeting up later this year, in person, in a post-COVID world, full vaccinated and ready for hugs.

I literally can’t wait.

But until then, I have a cookbook to finish birthing.

It’s been a bit of a transitional week here as I re-surface into the world after my manuscript submission and start to assess the next big hurdle–

The cookbook photos.

Dun dun dun.

Yes, the cookbook photos are due in less than two months and I’m equal parts excited and anxious to start photographing again.

Naturally, I’ve been procrastinating, waiting for the perfect daylight, the perfect feeling, the perfect gap in my schedule, to pick up my Canon camera.

But, you and I both know that there is will never be a perfect time, so I really just need to jump into the messiness.

Kind of like this Carrot Cashew Queso that I’m sharing with you today.

Well, it’s only messy if you blend it the way I did– with the Vitamix lid ajar on the highest setting.

I’m still finding blobs of cheezy carrot queso clinging to the cabinets and kitchen backsplash.

Lauren-error aside, this queso is super easy to make on the stovetop and in the blender for a quick savory dip!

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Tahini Date Caramel Dip

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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!

Tahini date caramel dip made with Medjool dates, pure maple syrup, and a tahini twist. Perfect as a sweet dip for fresh fruit, crackers, or apple chips!

In my early conversations M we talked a lot about food.

It’s good neutral ground for conversation, and, well, I *am* a food blogger.

One day I remember asking him if he liked dates.

“The fruit, not the…well, date, date,” I said, blushing behind my iPhone screen.

As it turns out he liked both examples of the word, but I’m here today to talk about one.

The ooey gooey edible dates.

Because I just rediscovered them this past week and I blended them into something special for you.

This Tahini Date Caramel Dip is made with just 5 ingredients in the blender for a sweet snack with apple chips!

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Dark Chocolate Tahini

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Dark chocolate tahini made oil-free and refined-sugar-free with just three ingredients. Blend it up and serve with baked apple chips for dipping!

During quarantine, I became irrevocably infatuated with a store-bought chocolate tahini spread.

I used it like I would a chocolate dessert syrup.

Then I got M on the chocolate tahini train, too.

And, well…sharing is hard.

With a chocolate tahini shortage imminent, I knew I had one of two choices.

I could either hoard and hide those sweet sesame seed butter jars, or learn to make dark chocolate tahini myself.

Obviously, I took the higher path.

Are you proud of me?

This Dark Chocolate Tahini requires just 3 ingredients and 30 minutes to be yours to hide and hoard.

Or, you know, to share.

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Japanese Yam Rounds with Hummus & Sriracha

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Oil-free baked Japanese yam rounds served with hummus and a drizzle of sriracha! This simple sweet and spicy combo is a great snack or appetizer!

It’s a big day here at F&V, guys.

Today, I’m getting a new dishwasher installed!

It’s true, I tend to be hard on dishwashers, demanding that they deal with dishes saturated from recipe testing.

However, in my defense, this dishwasher just wasn’t that great from the start.

It had a bit of a funky smell when I moved in that took ages to wear off and somehow the dishes managed to come out dirtier *after* a cleaning cycle.

Gross.

So here’s to hoping that the new dishwasher can keep up with me.

Anyway, the snack I’m sharing with you today is easy on the dishwasher, and on the assembly!

This oil-free, gluten-free, and vegan recipe is to assemble and even easier to devour.

The snack: Japanese Yam Rounds with Hummus & Sriracha!

The situation: It’s the perfect game time snack whether you’re playing Jackbox Games this weekend or watching the Super Bowl.

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Cracker Crusted Zucchini Fries

By Flora & Vino 1 Comment

Oven- baked zucchini fries coated in cracker crumbs! These oil-free, gluten-free, and plant-based fries make a delicious appetizer or snack.

Is it fry-day yet?

Wow, what a week it’s been.

Since we last spoke we have a new President of the United States.

It was snowing here while the Inauguration ceremony broadcast on my TV in all of it’s patriotic pomp and circumstance.

The giant white flakes flying across my peripheral vision felt symbolic of a brave new beginning.

My eyes welled up with tears as I watched Kamala Harris repeat the oath of office and become the first female, black, and south-Asian Vice President of the United States of America.

I squeezed M’s hand in recognition of such a pivotol moment of progress, for me, for us, for the world.

President Biden’s speech about unity left me optimistic and hopeful that we can get through all of this stuff- this heavy, hard, imperative, polarizing stuff- together.

If you’re feeling done with American politics and election coverage, that’s cool, because it’s snack time here at F&V.

Here’s to a new unity that I’ve been personally working on these past few week– crackers and zucchini.

Ditch the breading and make these Cracker Crusted Zucchini Fries that are grain-free and oil-free and made with just three ingredients!

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Vegan & Gluten-Free Appetizer Round Up

By Flora & Vino 1 Comment

A collection of simple and delicious vegan and gluten-free appetizers that are perfect for at-home celebrations, dinner parties, and between meal munchies!

I can’t quite believe there is less than one week left in 2020.

It feels like the year simultaneously took *forever* and yet no time time at all, doesn’t it?

Half of me still feels frozen in March, hunkered down at home, canceling plans, hoarding frozen foods, and obsessively watching the news.

I’m starting to organize virtual plans for New Years Eve; maybe a game night or maybe just enjoying some bubbles and conversation with friends.

This time last year I was coordinating my dress, shoes, and hair for a girls night out with a group of fun gals in the city.

But just because the wild NYE parties are cancelled this year doesn’t mean the eats are.

This is the perfect opportunity to throw together a bunch of plant based apps to ring in the new year healthy and satisfied!

The *one* thing I always struggled with at parties or gatherings was a lack of vegan appetizers.

I love creating them for the blog to show how easy it is to make plants, well…appetizing!

I’ve divided this listing into four categories: Dip & Spreads, Finger Food, Munchies, Small Plates, & Sweet Snacks so there’s something for everyone and ever occasion.

Many of the recipes are also oil-free, grain-free, and refined-sugar-free.

In this Vegan & Gluten-Free Appetizer Round Up you’ll find a listing of creative plant-based bites that you can snack on while socializing!

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Cumin Roasted Carrots

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Roasted carrots simply seasoned with ground cumin, garlic, and fresh herbs. Enjoy as a colorful side on your plant-based plate!

Yesterday I completed a socially distant gift drop off at my parents’ house.

I piled brown paper bags to their full capacity with wrapped presents and managed to corral them into the car with only one red bow jumping ship.

Huzzah.

I felt a bit like Santa Claus, humming to classic Christmas music with gifts in tow, driving down highways to where I used to live.

I dropped their gifts perched on my old front porch and scooped up gifts addressed “To: Lauren” in their stead.

I inwardly laughed, because they had used the same Whole Foods brown paper bags to transport the gifts as I had.

It was a bit strange, waving at my parents behind a mask and a storm door, but I know they could tell I was grinning.

When I got home, M said that the mini tree was too small; the sea of new gifts dwarfed its green needled stature.

It’s going to be a good Christmas, friends.

Do you typically have your big Christmas meal on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?

Typically, we’ve always done the “nicer” dinner on Christmas Eve and saved leftovers for Christmas Day.

This year, let’s try roasting carrots as a colorful side!

These Cumin Roasted Carrots are so easy to roast and serve with your plant-based main.

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Vegan 7-Layer Mexican Dip

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Vegan 7-layer dip with refried beans, guacamole, salsa, cauliflower cashew queso, tomatoes, black olives, and green onion. Serve with grain-free crackers!

Serious question– do you wash your avocados?

Usually I rinse mine (*so* important so bacteria from outside of the avo isn’t transferred inside when slicing), then cut them open with a blade.

Until recently.

The other day my friend taught me an epic way to open avocados.

He grabbed an avocado, and, applying pressure with both hands, split it open like two halves of a coconut.

The creamy green flesh protruded out between two crudely but efficiently torn halves he presented in his hands like an offering.

I stared, dumbfounded.

If you could open avocados without using a knife, what other shortcuts have I missed in the kitchen?

This Vegan 7-Layer Mexican Dip might leave your mouth hanging open, too.

It’s easily assembled for a quick appetizer with seven plant-based layers that are prime for dipping and snacking!

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Raw Carrot Hummus

By Flora & Vino 6 Comments

Easy bright carrot hummus made oil-free and super creamy with tahini, lemon, and and seasonings. Perfect to make in advance to upgrade your snacking!

As I type this my fingers are smarting.

Last night I dusted off my guitar for the first time since I moved to see if I still remembered how to play.

If you live next door to me, I sincerely apologize, because you might have heard me strumming and belting out Wonderwall at something close to 11 PM.

Oops.

I kind of forgot how much volume my acoustic guitar has.

The good news is that, yes, I do, in fact, remember how to make chords with my left hand and hold a pick in the right.

The bad news is that my fingertips do not remember the callouses that cushioned them back when I used to play with regularity.

So my fingers are pretty darn sore today, which I’m reminded of every time I press them into my MacBook Pro keyboard.

Luckily, it’s only my left hand, because my right hand is ready for snack time.

I’m excited to share this colorful new cracker and dip combo to make your snacking both pretty and delicious.

This Raw Carrot Hummus is ready in less than 10 minutes for easy snacking that’s raw, oil-free, and packed with nutrients!

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Everything Granola Bites

Carrot Cashew Queso

Tahini Date Caramel Dip

Dark Chocolate Tahini

Japanese Yam Rounds with Hummus & Sriracha

Cracker Crusted Zucchini Fries

Vegan & Gluten-Free Appetizer Round Up

Cumin Roasted Carrots

Vegan 7-Layer Mexican Dip

Raw Carrot Hummus

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