The Main Meal

Spaghetti Squash Noodle Bowls

Spaghetti Squash Noodle Bowls made with spaghetti squash, asian spices, and veggies! Made in one pan on the stovetop for an easy workweek dinner.

Hello, winter!

Tonight I brought in the winter solstice at my yoga studio by doing 108 sun salutations in honor of the longest day of the year.

But now I’m hungry, so let’s all congregate in the kitchen and get warm.

Cooking always seems to become more of a priority this time of year, when hot healthy food is the center to family gatherings and the oven is a source of warmth.

I thought we could kickstart the new year with these Spaghetti Squash Noodle Bowls that are super comforting and packed with cozy cooked veggies and a tangy Asian flair.

These bowls are the perfect easy meal for #meatlessmonday or any day of the week, requiring only one baked spaghetti squash, one pan, and all the veggies and spices your heart desires.

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Black Bean & Quinoa Chili Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

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Baked sweet potatoes stuffed with vegan chili served warm with your favorite chili toppings. Perfect for football Sunday and easy weeknight meals.

In yoga teacher training recently we talked about our cold-weather food cravings.

Which makes sense because the room we congregate in for teacher training is FAH-REEZING.

BRRR.

It also makes sense because doing all the yoga makes you crave all the food.

Anyway, we (the collective YTT group) agreed that all we want to eat lately are carbs, and by carbs, we mean sweet potatoes.

And what better

You might have had sweet potato in your chili before, so this is a similar concept…except better.

Sweet potatoes and chili are two of my favorite plant-based comfort foods, so together, they create unparalleled edible bliss.

These Black Bean & Quinoa Chili Stuffed Sweet Potatoes are ready in under and hour to add to your weekly winter meal rotation.

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Lentil Oat Loaf (Vegan & Gluten-Free!)

By Flora & Vino 4 Comments

Vegan lentil oat loaf with cooked lentils, gluten-free oats, diced vegetables, spice, and plenty of ketchup. Serve with sides for plant-based dinner!

Back when Dan and I first started dating we thought it was a good idea to have his parents over for dinner at his apartment.

Instead of ordering pizza or takeout, I offered to cook, hoping the perfect meal would make me an instant hit with his parents.

Dan’s dad requested meatloaf, so, naturally, I made the fanciest version I could find on the web.

The dinner was a blur of wine and laughter and dirty dishes in good company.

Despite its success, that meatloaf was the first and last of its kind that came out of my kitchen.

The whole plant-based thing coupled with my limiting belief that ‘meatloaf is hard to make’ held me back.

Until now.

This Lentil Oat Loaf is packed with protein, fiber, and veggies to keep you satisfied.

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Delicata Squash Quinoa Power Bowl

By Flora & Vino 2 Comments

Power bowl with roasted delicata squash, quinoa, spinach, basil, and toasted pine nuts. Oil-free, gluten-free, and packed with protein and leafy greens!

At yoga teacher training last weekend we wrote our fears (about beginning training) on scraps of paper and burned them standing in a circle in the parking lot.

When it was my turn, I read my fears aloud (public speaking, lack of time, judgement) and then added sheepishly, “One of my other fears is fire, so, uh, could someone else light this for me?”

One of my yoga teachers grabbed my paper, squatting towards the asphalt and lighting my folded fears with ease.

The truth is that all of my fears wouldn’t fit on that scrap piece of paper even if I wrote SUPER small.

They’ve been a little out of control lately adjusting to living, cooking, and working in a new space.

Change. Is. Hard.

For example, I used an electric stovetop my *entire* life, and was more than apprehensive about the gas cooking range in my new townhome.

“You mean I have to cook over an open flame???”

Fear of fire, friends.

Well, and the very real fear of accidentally leaving the gas on, because I can be so haphazard in the kitchen.

This Delicata Pesto Quinoa Power Bowl is the first thing I’ve cooked in my new home and I’m pretty proud of it.

These power bowls are an excellent basic meal to make this fall for an easy protein-packed lunch or dinner.

Feel the fear (and the fire) and do it anyway!

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Baked Eggplant Steaks with Spiced Chickpeas, Beets, & Green Beans

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Baked eggplant steaks seasoned with oregano served with diced beets, sautéed green beans, and fresh tomato. Ideal for a plant-based dinner in!

This past weekend I explored farmer’s markets in my new city and discovered the cutest little spot maybe 10-ish minutes from my new house.

Yippee!

The market was packed with late summer veggies, so I grabbed some of my favorites to build one last ode to summer.

Confession: I *love* farmer’s markets, but I don’t go as often as I could (should!).

I’m the kind of shopper that prefers to get everything in one massive haul that bursts the seams of my reusable bags but saves me multiple trips to different stores for the right ingredients.

There’s something so exhilarating, though, about going somewhere with a limited seasonal selection.

The produce perusing process can inspire some of the best dishes when forced to work with what’s available.

What’s available this week, friends, is Baked Eggplant Steaks with Spiced Chickpeas, Beets, & Green Beans!

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Cauliflower Chickpea Tacos

By Flora & Vino 2 Comments

Easy vegan and gluten-free tacos made with a hearty cauliflower and chickpea filling in baked corn tortillas. Perfect for a plant-based taco night!

Oh my goodness I start my move in exactly ONE week.

Throughout this season of life, I’ve been eating out a *lot* more than normal.

Normal for me used to be a week or twice a month special (it helps that they’re aren’t ALL that many plant-friendly restaurants near me, haha), but lately it’s been an almost daily occurrence to eat out on plants.

At first I was upset by this and angry that I couldn’t seem to keep up with my stellar stacked Tupperware meal prep days.

“I mean, how hard is it to wash and chop some vegetables and fruit and cook some quinoa?” my inner mean girl scoffed.

Well, pretty darn hard if the knives are boxed up and the cutting board is in the dishwasher and the home inspector will be here in FIVE.

So, I eventually reasoned that while meal-prepping adds value to my life, it’s OK to temporarily let go of tasks where I can for the greater good of my sanity.

I also decided to frame my time dining out as “recipe research”, which automatically makes it sound relevant, valid, and biz-worthy.

It was on a dinner run at Naked Lunch that I first discovered their cauliflower tacos and was inspired to recreate them for the blog.

These Cauliflower Chickpea Tacos have a hearty hearty cauliflower and chickpea filling in baked corn tortillas for a healthier taco night.

Let’s taco through it.

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Jamaican Jerk Cauliflower Steaks & Rosé

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Vegan cauliflower steaks with a homemade Jamaican jerk seasoning and fresh squeezed orange. Serve with greens, grains, or protein of choice.

I’ve been craving a big fancy meal lately.

The kind of meal you get dressed up for and spend hours devouring the courses.

Most of the time I’m the type of person who would choose a home-cooked meal over going out any day of the week.

Something about the helter-skelter of moving, though, has made me crave the simplicity and charm of eating out.

Partially for the food and also heavily because of the fact that I don’t have to do the dishes afterwards.

But instead of immediately jumping on Happy Cow seeking your next fix of plants, let’s make a fun cruciferous steak of our own.

These Jamaican Jerk Cauliflower Steaks & Rosé are an easy plant-based pairing to elevate your summer dinner plans!

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Carrot Hot Dogs with Japanese Yam “Buns”

By Flora & Vino 4 Comments

Veg-centric take on the classic hot dog that’s vegan, gluten-free, and grain-free! Vegan carrot “hot dogs” stuffed inside baked japanese yams “buns”.

Before I was vegan, I was vegetarian for a few months in college, trying on the veg-life for size.

It felt good.

I remember I sheepishly broke my veg-tastic streak on a night-out at the ballpark with friends.

Peer pressure persuaded me to order a ballpark hot dog because, hey, I didn’t want to be the oddball snacking on peanuts until the 9th inning.

My, how times have changed.

These days, I’ll gladly flaunt my veg while watching home runs.

And I’ve got just the quirky veg alternative that is sure to get noticed.

These Carrot Hot Dogs with Japanese Yam Buns might be the cutest and healthiest “hot dog” you’ve ever seen!

A smoky marinaded carrot “dog” placed between a perfectly baked japanese yam “bun” piled with my favorite ballpark toppings!

Hot diggity dog, let’s get to it.

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Zucchini Crust Pizza (Vegan & Gluten-Free!)

By Flora & Vino 7 Comments

Plant-based pizza made with a creative zucchini crust that’s vegan, oil-free, gluten-free, and sugar-free. Add pizza sauce and your favorite toppings!

How are you channel changing skills?

To be honest I’ve never been a big TV channel explorer.

I’m more of a “pick a show and binge-watch it then turn off the tube” kind of a consumer (like I did with The Handmaid’s Tale last night into the wee hours of the night!)

Dan, however, is notorious for channel surfing at a rate that makes my head spin.

(You can’t get too invested, folks, because it’s gone in approximately 2.5 seconds.)

The other day, per usual, he was flipping YouTube TV channels and we ended up watching a reel called “Your Daily Dose of Satisfaction”.

Curious, we continued to watch as the video skipped from clip to clip of action scenes.

Clay on a pottery wheel whirring, chopping veggies in clean cuts, paint filling a canvas with precise strokes.

“I guess watching these scenes is supposed to make us feel more satisfied,” Dan said.

And I’ve got to say, I did get a sort of weird charge from watching tasks get completed on the big screen even though I wasn’t the one doing the completing.

Well, here’s your daily dose of satisfaction, and it’s called Zucchini Crust Pizza (Vegan & Gluten-Free!).

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Vegetable Pasta Salad (Grain-Free!)

By Flora & Vino 2 Comments

Lightened up pasta salad packed with fresh chopped vegetables, grain-free chickpea pasta, and a light balsamic dressing. Perfect for healthy summer lunches!

Have you been to the pool yet?

I went for my first time this season on Memorial Day with a girlfriend.

It was late on the holiday and I really just wanted to lay there motionless in the sun until dark, but I recognized with a sigh that the workweek was quickly approaching.

So we shifted out convo to preparation for week, which sifted to food and meal prep and easy things to throw together with the limited time we had.

I confessed that lunches had me particularly perplexed lately.

What do you eat when you don’t want salads for lunch, but also aren’t in the mood for cooking?

(I swear I’m a food blogger, haha.)

“What about a pasta salad?” she asked.

Yes, what about that.

This Vegetable Pasta Salad (Grain-Free!) is packed with protein and raw vegetables for an easy lightened up vegan pasta salad!

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Spaghetti Squash Noodle Bowls

Black Bean & Quinoa Chili Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Lentil Oat Loaf (Vegan & Gluten-Free!)

Delicata Squash Quinoa Power Bowl

Baked Eggplant Steaks with Spiced Chickpeas, Beets, & Green Beans

Cauliflower Chickpea Tacos

Jamaican Jerk Cauliflower Steaks & Rosé

Carrot Hot Dogs with Japanese Yam “Buns”

Zucchini Crust Pizza (Vegan & Gluten-Free!)

Vegetable Pasta Salad (Grain-Free!)

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