Breakfast

Pumpkin SunButter Breakfast Bars

These Pumpkin SunButter Breakfast Bars are soft, chewy, and packed with cozy fall flavor. They’re vegan, gluten-free, and perfect for meal prep!

This fall is bringing a lot of change for us in the best possible way.

We just closed on a house (!!!) and are officially in the process of packing up our lives and getting ready to move into our first home.

At the same time, we’re preparing to welcome our baby boy this winter, so it feels like we’re building a new home and a new chapter of our lives all at once.

There’s a lot to do, but I’m so excited to settle into our new space and make it ours.

I can’t wait to watch Flora run around in her fenced-in backyard, and I’m already dreaming about decorating the nursery in sage greens, warm browns, and soft neutrals for our little safari theme.

With so much change on the horizon, I can also feel myself wanting to turn inward a little this season.

I’m ready to hibernate, nest, and fill the freezer with all of the meals and snacks we’ll be grateful to have once baby boy arrives.

I have a feeling that anything nourishing, portable, and already prepared is going to feel like a gift to my future self.

Which brings me to these bars!

These Pumpkin SunButter Breakfast Bars are the perfect way to welcome pumpkin season!

They’re soft, chewy, and packed with cozy fall flavor from pumpkin, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice.

Organic SunButter gives the bars richness and staying power, while rolled oats make them hearty enough for breakfast.

I love making a batch at the beginning of the week so I have an easy breakfast or snack ready to grab from the refrigerator.

They’re also easy to pack up and take with you, which has been especially helpful during this busy season of boxes, errands, appointments, and getting everything ready for our next chapter.

Enjoy a bar on its own for a quick snack, or serve one with fruit and yogurt for a more substantial breakfast.

These bars are naturally vegan, gluten-free, and easy to meal prep for busy fall mornings.

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SunButter Stuffed French Toast

By Flora & Vino 1 Comment

SunButter Stuffed French Toast made with creamy SunButter and your favorite jam. Top with fresh berries and maple syrup!

Lately, it feels like yoga keeps finding its way back to me in new forms.

I’m now teaching three yoga classes every week, and every time I share my sequence and intention with students I feel full.

I’m also about to lead a workshop in June that combines two of my favorite things…food and asana!

Together we’ll move on the mat and then make a simple seasonal recipe together afterward.

I also recently started strength training with a personal trainer and have been discovering a different kind of empowerment through lifting heavy things.

The first time I squatted 70 pounds I felt unbelievably strong and capable in a way that surprised me.

I just lifted…THAT?!

I think all of this has me craving community and growth lately, which is why it’s feeling bittersweet to near the end of my 300 hr yoga teacher training program.

Even so, I know this isn’t really an ending, it’s just another invitation to keep learning, studying, and finding myself in the right rooms with the right people.

Meanwhile, summer seems to have arrived overnight here in Maryland, and after temperatures nearly hit 100 degrees this week, I’m not sure I’m fully ready for it!

So for now, I’m leaning into slow mornings, cozy brunch, and recipes like this SunButter Stuffed French Toast.

This SunButter Stuffed French is made with creamy SunButter and topped with a bright summer berries for the ultimate spring brunch moment.

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SunButter Berry Spring Parfait

By Flora & Vino 2 Comments

A creamy, crunchy, berry-packed parfait layered with SunButter, granola, and a touch of jam for the ultimate spring breakfast or snack.

It’s been a minute since I’ve sat down to write like this, so…

Hi, how are you?

I feel like I’m catching up with a friend over coffee, except it’s spring, my allergies are absolutely raging, and I’m clutching something cold and creamy instead.

Lately I’ve been feeling this quiet but steady pull to shift toward different rhythms, different priorities, and honestly, more of what lights me up.

After feeling kind of stuck for a while, I finally feel…unstuck.

Like things are moving again in a way that feels aligned and energizing.

A lot of that has been coming through yoga!

I’m co-hosting a Yoga Foundations workshop this April (which feels so me in this season of returning to basics).

I also started teaching a new class that’s been stretching me in the best way.

It’s like all things yoga are calling me back in, and not just the movement, but the intention, the curiosity, the slowing down.

Even outside of that, I’ve been leaning into more creative, grounding things at home.

I’m finally learning how to crochet after receiving the cutest little snake plant kit from a step-by-step guide.

Each pull of yarn through with the hook feels like a massive celebration and I shout out to M, “I did it! I did it!”

Also! We finally took down the baby gate so Flora now has full roam of the house which feels both freeing and slightly chaotic, but mostly just right.

It was one of those things where we needed to just rip off the bandaid; accepting loss of control so Flora can learn, grow, and chew a lot of shoes along the way.

And in the middle of all of that, I keep coming back to simple rituals that anchor my day, like this SunButter Berry Spring Parfait.

It’s easy, nourishing, a little layered (like life right now), and something I can throw together even when my brain feels full.

Creamy yogurt, juicy berries, crunchy granola, and ribbons of SunButter; it’s the kind of breakfast or snack that meets you where you are.

It does this whether you’re in a season of change or just trying to get through allergy season one spoonful at a time!

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Carrot Cake SunButter Overnight Oats

By Flora & Vino 1 Comment

Carrot cake overnight oats made with creamy SunButter and blended carrot milk. Vegan, meal prep friendly, and perfect for spring mornings.

Our last yoga teacher training felt expansive in a way that’s hard to put into words.

We spent hours moving, breathing, and exploring what it means to truly practice; not just physically, but energetically.

Outside the studio, the weather here has mirrored that same sense of transition.

One day this March it was a balmy 85 degrees and then the next morning it snowed!

These shifting seasons is a visual representation of how external world changes and how we’re invited to soften and adapt with it.

Lately I’ve also felt called back to poetry, a love that I discovered in high school and college only to abandon in my adult life.

I love reading Mary Oliver and Andrea Gibson and Christ Steyn, who always have something to say that resonates deep in my belly.

Maybe it’s the spring season, maybe it’s the introspection of training, or maybe it’s simply the reminder that growth rarely happens in straight lines.

My Carrot Cake SunButter Overnight Oats feel like a little reflection of that transition.

They’re comforting and nourishing with cozy carrot cake flavors that still feel fresh and bright enough for the longer, lighter days ahead.

These carrot cake overnight oats are made with creamy SunButter and blended carrot milk and are vegan, meal prep friendly, and perfect for spring mornings….

Pink Coconut Cloud Smoothie

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Erewhon-inspired Pink Coconut Cloud Smoothie with a berry and pomegranate swirl that’s vegan, creamy, and perfect for a nutritious treat!

As the snow starts to melt outside my windows, I’m finally spotting little patches of grass peeking through.

It’s a quiet but hopeful sign that winter won’t last forever.

After weeks of cold, gray days and being cooped up indoors, I can feel my energy slowly starting to shift.

I’ve been in a bit of a funk lately, missing my daily walks and the simple joy of being outside in fresh air and sunlight.

There’s something about that first glimpse of green returning that makes me crave brightness in every area of life, especially in the kitchen.

This Pink Coconut Cloud Smoothie was my way of leaning into that feeling.

It’s vibrant, creamy, and uplifting; exactly the kind of colorful boost I needed this week.

The soft coconut “cloud” paired with bright berries feels playful and nourishing all at once, and the natural pink hue makes it perfect with Valentine’s Day this month.

Whether you’re celebrating with someone you love or simply making something beautiful for yourself, this smoothie is a sweet reminder that brighter days are on the way.

This Erewhon-inspired Pink Coconut Cloud Smoothie is made with a berry and pomegranate swirl that’s vegan, creamy, and perfect for a nutritious treat!

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Cinnamon Raisin Cookie Baked Oatmeal

By Flora & Vino 2 Comments

Cinnamon Raisin Cookie Baked Oatmeal for a breakfast that tastes like the classic cookie. Meal prep a pan and reheat for an easy breakfast!

This is the story of my engagement.

On Halloween last week M and I hiked into Great Falls National Park where he got down on one knee and presented me with a diamond ring and a question.

“Would you like to marry me?” he asked, the midday sun creating fiery colors in the pear shaped diamond in yellow gold.

“Yes!” I said immediately, wondering if I had responded too quickly.

We kissed and M slid the diamond onto my ring finger as people I didn’t know were there gave their congratulations.

So, friends, I am engaged.

The funny thing is that I almost didn’t want to go on this hike that I realize now M was carefully planning.

There was really high winds forecast for the day and that felt like reason enough to curl up at home and read under blankets.

I’m forever grateful that we ended up going and I braved the discomfort.

Great Falls has always been a special place for us in our relationship.

It’s the first place M taught me to climb outdoors in the height of the pandemic, and a place we kept coming back to for hiking, climbing, and nature.

Standing on top of Sandbox Overlook with my new fiancé, my best friend, this man who has chosen me forever, I didn’t feel the windchill a bit.

The last week has been a bit of a blur with engagement announcements, living in our own “honeymoon” bubble, and making tentative plans for the future.

Being newly engaged, I’ll admit, I haven’t been the most creative with food.

However, I did come up with a new baked oats recipe for you that’s essentially a cookie in baked oats form.

Can you tell that I was craving cookies when I created this Cinnamon Raisin Cookie Baked Oatmeal?!

Cinnamon Raisin Cookie Baked Oatmeal that tastes like the classic cookie for breakfast.

It’s easy to meal prep a pan and reheat for an easy breakfast all week long!

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Pumpkin Turmeric Waffles

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Pumpkin Turmeric Waffles made with oats, pumpkin purée, and Navitas Organics Turmeric Powder. Serve with melted cacao for breakfast!

Two weekends ago I had to miss my yoga teacher training because I was sick with the first cold of the season.

It’s been an ongoing goal of mine to connect with more local yoga studios in the area.

The hope being that I find a place that I can practice regularly and perhaps even one day teach at.

Ever since the pandemic, I’ve been all too comfortable practicing yoga from the room I fondly refer to as…the yoga room.

I am so fortunate that I have a space to work out at home, but, as my teacher said when encouraging me to connect locally, the energy just feels different in the studio.

So I’ve been pushing myself to get outside of my comfort zone and take classes with the public.

After the third class, I started to feel a connection to the community and myself I hadn’t felt in years.

It was like realizing a version of myself that I’d forgotten; a Lauren that went out for evening yoga regularly because it lit me up.

However, with the public yoga comes the public germs.

I remember looking askance during my third class at the girl next to me, sniffling heavily in downward facing dog.

She sounds unwell, I thought to myself, and then went on with my practice because what else can you do when you’re flowing next to a germ monster?!

So now I’m on the upswing of a bad cold, sitting with the irony that a public yoga class potentially caused me to miss my yoga training weekend.

However, I have to believe that that striving for connection, community, and movement outside of my house is worth the risk.

Being sick, I’ll admit, I haven’t been the most creative with food.

However, I did come up with a new waffle recipe for you that’s perfect for upcoming “spooky” season.

These Pumpkin Turmeric Waffles made with oats, pumpkin purée, and Navitas Organics Turmeric Powder.

Serve them with melted cacao drizzle for an elevated breakfast!

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Vegan Apple Pie Pancakes

By Flora & Vino 2 Comments

Super fluffy Vegan Apple Pie Pancakes with buckwheat flour and apple pie compote. Perfect for a weekend breakfast topped with SunButter!

This season has been all about healing for me.

Right now, I’m attending physical therapy two times a week to work on healing my chronic back pain.

It’s a commitment, right? In time, energy, and physicality.

Two days a week in my very adept physical therapist’s office releasing tension, increasing mobility, and building strength.

Not to mention the homework exercises that I do religiously (because I’m a good student, y’all!).

It was humbling to realize after my the first evaluation that despite being highly active, I have areas that are *extremely* weak.

And of course that imbalance and weakness is a contributing factor to the pain I experience on a daily basis.

The other cause most likely being the strange and incorrect form I use to capture all of the delicious food that I share with you all.

Yes, food photography is probably ground zero for the back problems that started a few years back.

I ignored it for so long, thinking, “Eh, it’ll just get better on it’s own, it’s just from holding the camera in a weird way.”

Spoiler alert: it did not get better and in fact, got more and more pervasive to the point that day to day activities became painful and challenging to perform.

A lot of my healing has been self-awareness of certain body patterns and motions that I’m doing that will trigger the pain.

As a yoga teacher, I know how important balance and harmony are in the bodies, so it’s kind of ironic that I couldn’t see that dissonance in myself.

So, consider this your PSA, friends: if anything is bothering you, take the time, the energy, and the resources to get it looked at.

Our bodies are our one amazing vessel to carry us through this life, so let’s take care of them as such.

Which is part of the reason as to why I love a plant-based lifestyle, because it’s good for us and the planet.

No one can argue that these Vegan Apple Pie Pancakes that I’m sharing today aren’t healing from the inside out.

These super fluffy Vegan Apple Pie Pancakes are made with gluten-free flour and apple pie compote.

They’re perfect for a fall weekend breakfast topped with SunButter!

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Blueberry SunButter Breakfast Cookies

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Blueberry SunButter Breakfast Cookies made with oatmeal, SunButter, and blueberries. Bake them in advance and grab for an easy breakfast!

Last week I was lucky to see the Glass Animals perform live in Richmond, VA.

It’s the longest distance I’ve ever travelled for live music!

The energy was palpable and we spent the entire show standing, dancing and singing to the beats that I knew, craved, and loved.

Attending the show meant *so* much to me, and even more so because I missed seeing them last year when they were in Maryland.

Last year, I forfeited the tickets last minute because we had just brought home Flora, who was cute enough to make me forget even my most admired artists.

I joke that the Glass Animals helped me survive 2020, but truly, their album “Dreamland” felt like a lifeboat amidst divorce, pandemic, and solo living.

It also helps that the singles played on the radio became the unofficial soundtrack to my budding relationship with M.

“Heat Waves” and “Your Love” were always on when I made the drive to Maryland to pick up M for a day date.

So I feel very satisfied and fulfilled that I was able to see them live after all these years.

Naturally, we packed up the pup and took her with us, and although she couldn’t actually attend the show, she waited up for us at the Air B&B like an angel.

Because this was a 24 hour kind of mid-week trip, I wanted to keep things super simple and easy with packing, and, particularly food.

That’s where these Blueberry SunButter Breakfast Cookies come in.

These Blueberry SunButter Breakfast Cookies are made with oatmeal, SunButter, and blueberries.

Bake them in advance and grab a few for an easy breakfast, no matter where you are!

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Blueberry Stovetop Oatmeal

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Blueberry Stovetop Oatmeal made brilliantly blue in 15 minutes. Top it off with your favorite nuts, dried fruit, and seeds.

Last weekend, I attended our Philosophy section of my 300 hr yoga teacher training program.

To prepare for the weekend, we read the entire Bhagavad Gita and answered a series of question prompts on identity, ethics, and right action.

If you haven’t read the Bhagavad Gita, it’s a part of an epic poem that takes place on a battlefield where the warrior king Arjuna converses with Lord Krishna.

The battlefield is a metaphor for life, and the lessons Krishna imparts on Arjuna are both powerful and very applicable to our modern society.

During the session, we shared our responses honestly and openly.

We identified our personal battlefield, narrowed in our dharma (duty), and started to understand our attachments and why they cause suffering.

I left the weekend, mind whirling with ideas, questions, and all of the tools to continue the practice of svadhyaya (self-study).

When prompted, I told the group that I felt that my dharma in this lifetime was to be a creator.

Whether it’s writing a post, photographing a recipe, styling a plate, or sequencing a yoga class, it’s all from the same energy.

I want to continually put love out onto my website, social media, the yoga studio, your email box; all of the avenues of connection.

My hope is that I start a ripple that somehow inspires right action in you, whether that’s to make a recipe, start yoga, eat more plants, or maybe just take a bubble bath.

Because if there’s one thing I learned this weekend it’s that we’re all connected.

I love the metaphor of us all being drops in the ocean, all a part of the collective whole.

So, thanks for being a part of my collective, friend!

And now, after my philosophy rant, I have a new recipe for you that is beautiful, nourishing, and seasonal.

This Blueberry Stovetop Oatmeal is made brilliantly blue in 15 minutes.

Top it off with your favorite nuts, dried fruit, and seeds for a fun breakfast for any season!

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Breakfast

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