The Main Meal

Thai Carrot Sweet Potato Soup

Thai Carrot Sweet Potato Soup made on the stovetop with root vegetables and yellow curry paste blended with a spoonful of nut butter.

It’s jarring when things that used to feel easy start to feel hard.

Maybe it’s physical challenges, maybe it’s maintaining relationships, maybe it’s your routine.

If I’m being honest, a lot of things feel hard for me personally, right now.

Every morning I snooze my alarm, wishing for *just 5 more minutes* of sleep.

I struggle on the indoor climbing wall doing climbs that normally would be within my grade.

Meeting up with friends feels like an epic adventure, one that I would rather embark on in pajamas, please.

I’m ready for warmer weather, longer days, and lightness.

Right now, I’m in a self-imposed crunch time; sticking to a routine, chasing dreams, and marking off action items.

Luckily, when everything else feels hard, this Thai Carrot Sweet Potato Soup feels easy.

It also tastes amazing and every warm spoonful is like a comforting embrace.

This Thai Carrot Sweet Potato Soup is made on the stovetop with root vegetables and yellow curry paste blended with a spoonful of nut butter.

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Creamy Vegan 1-Pot Pasta

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Creamy Vegan 1-Pot Pasta made with chickpea pasta with almond milk, marinara sauce, and nutritional yeast for an easy dinner.

Do you ever feel like making dinner is the hardest thing you do all day?

Sometimes it feels like that for me, and friends, I create food content for a living.

Really I think the “hard factor” comes from the decision fatigue of food options as opposed to the actual cook time, you know?

After a long day, the last thing you want to is learn a new recipe, test new ingredients, or dirty every pot you own.

So lately I’ve been focusing on getting back to classic recipes that allow me to think less about food, if that makes sense.

The shorter the ingredient list, the better!

I’ve been keeping a 1-pot pasta from you for several years now, and I think it’s the perfect opportunity to share.

This Creamy Vegan 1-Pot Pasta is made with chickpea pasta, almond milk, marinara, and nutritional yeast for an easy dinner.

You can make it as elevated or basic as you’d like by adding or subtracting garnishes and sides.

Either way, you’re guaranteed a healthy meal that’s ready in 1-pot in 10 minutes.

Think how much of your precious brain space that frees up!

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SunButter Ramen Noodle Bowls

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Cozy SunButter Ramen Noodle Bowls made with rice noodles and stir-fried vegetables in a delicious SunButter sauce. Serve with optional tofu!

Hi friends!

Amidst all of the holiday sides and festive cookies and cakes, I’d like to share with you a cozy dinner to break up the sameness.

I think it’s important to have a few easy cozy dishes on repeat during this season when things can be so joyous yet so hectic.

This recipe was born on a Friday evening; the best time to get a party started.

Usually on Friday nights we have either A. pizza, or B. something new and elevated that we make together.

This recipe is obviously not pizza, so it fell in the later category of Friday night dinners.

We didn’t have a lot to work with that evening, but we managed to turn that ancient package of Ramen from the cupboard into something amazing.

These SunButter Ramen Noodle Bowls are made with rice noodles and stir-fried vegetables in a delicious SunButter sauce.

Serve them with optional tofu and enjoy this meal any time you’re craving noodles.

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Vegetable Quinoa Stew

By Flora & Vino 1 Comment

Hearty Vegetable Quinoa Stew made in 1-pot with diced rainbow vegetables, dry quinoa, and lots of leafy greens. Perfect to meal prep for a cozy soup!

It’s soup season and I’m super excited to share my first soup of the season with you.

When the weather starts getting chilly, I love to create a big soup on Sunday that ensures leftovers for the week ahead.

It’s the perfect way to use old vegetables and make them new in a soothing broth-based bath.

Call it meal prep, call it call-out-the-fridge, call it leftovers, call it whatever you want.

…I call it delicious!

This Vegetable Quinoa Stew is made in 1-pot with diced rainbow vegetables, dry quinoa, and lots of leafy greens.

I love it because you actually cook the dry quinoa INTO the soup, which is what gives the soup its thick “stew”-like texture without any thickeners.

It’s the perfect vegan stew to meal prep and reheat for cozy cold weather lunch or dinner.

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Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie

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Cozy sweet potato shepherd’s pie with cooked lentils and garden vegetables topped with mashed sweet potatoes and served with vegan mushroom gravy.

It’s officially casserole season, which means it’s time for foods to turn beautiful beiges and browns.

I’m all about edible hugs from stews, soups, and casseroles, but monochromatic food, while delicious, is a little less than photogenic.

Which is why I love this Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie, because it manages to be both cozy and vibrant.

This sweet potato shepherd’s pie is made with cooked lentils and garden vegetables topped with mashed sweet potatoes and served with vegan mushroom gravy.

This recipe is for my outside the box thinkers, because it’s creative in every layer.

The filling, instead of traditional meats, is made with green lentils, frozen vegetables, and seasonings.

For the mashed potato layer, I decided to make mine sweet potato mashed potatoes, because, why not?!

When I have a choice, I always choose sweet potatoes over regular potatoes.

The sauce is made from dried mushrooms and is super easy to whip up on the stovetop to dress your winter eats.

This recipe makes a LOT of food, so it’s perfect for sharing with family and friends this winter season!

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No-Boil Spaghetti Bake

By Flora & Vino 2 Comments

No-Boil Spaghetti Bake made in the oven with chickpea pasta, your favorite marinara sauce, and simple seasonings. Perfect for a hands free dinner.

I just got a shiny new casserole dish this season because my former one was so loved that it showed it’s age in chipped and cracked edges.

So I’m currently baking all things in 9×13 and 8×8 sizes (the two sizes I got).

M groans when he sees the casserole dishes when he’s on dish duty for the evening.

It’s true, they’re not the easiest to clean, but it’s OH so easy to throw everything into them for a 1-pan dinner.

And that’s exactly what this recipe is; a dinner recipe that you can dump into a casserole dish and forget while it bakes.

With most pasta dishes, I feel like I’m scurrying around the kitchen without much time to relax from dinner beginning to end.

When I make this No-Boil Baked Spaghetti, I can actually sit down and drink my entire kombucha before the oven beep reminds me that dinner is ready.

Or when the smell of baking pasta and tomato sauce hits your nose.

This No-Boil Spaghetti Bake is made entirely in the oven with spaghetti noodles, your favorite marinara sauce, and Italian seasonings.

Grab a casserole dish and let’s fill it with delicious spaghetti without pots or boiling!

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Collard Green Enchiladas

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Collard green enchiladas made with rice and beans wrapped in collard greens and smothered in enchilada sauce and topped with vegan cheese.

“Do you get a lot of free stuff?” people asked when they find out that I’m a food blogger.

“So much!” I always respond, not to brag, but to be totally transparent.

And it’s true, being a food blogger has its most definite perks.

It’s fun being the first try try healthy products and getting restocked on my favorite brands.

But what people don’t ever think about is…what do *do* with all of it?!

Or maybe you do think about that, I’m not sure.

My friends aren’t strangers to the “care packages” I gift them when we meet.

And I’m definitely a favorite at M’s work, where he takes boxes of goodies to share upon my request.

But sometimes I like to keep things for myself, particularly if it’s fresh delivered produce.

Some of the best recipes come from forced creativity, and I was definitely pressed to be creative 2 giant bundles of collard greens arrived on my doorstep.

These Collard Green Enchiladas are made with rice and beans wrapped in…collard greens!!!

Afterwards, they’re smothered in enchilada sauce and topped with vegan cheese.

How’s that for creativity, hmm?

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Vegan Chili Cornbread Casserole

By Flora & Vino 1 Comment

Vegan Chili Cornbread Casserole made with Eden Foods Black Bean & Quinoa Chili baked with vegan cornbread on top for a cozy plant-based 1-pan dinner.

Last weekend I did my annual Fall-ification.

That means I lugged all of my sweaters out of the spare closet, hung the fall wreath on the front door, and put my pumpkin decor front and center.

Oh, and I bought 4 planters of Mums for the front steps, in beautiful burnt sienna and crimson red.

I know that green things won’t last beyond the first big frost, but I will thoroughly enjoy them while they’re here.

Do you know what else is here to stay?

Cozy casseroles and comforting meals to fill you up this fall and winter.

Chili and cornbread is a classic pairing, right?

My mom used to serve them together so it always feels nostalgic when I make them separate or together.

But what if we made them, like, together together?!

Recently, leafing through cookbooks for inspiration, I stumbled upon a Chili Cornbread Casserole that did just that.

I knew I had to create my own version made with Eden Foods Black Bean & Quinoa Chili and vegan cornbread baked right on top!

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Roasted Carrot Tofu Tacos

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Roasted Carrot Tofu Tacos served with cilantro yogurt sauce and taco toppings in almond flour tortillas. Perfect for a legume-free plant-based taco!

Last year on the way home from a day trip to visit friends, M and I decided to try a taco place in downtown Bethesda.

It was a hip little taco place with plant-based taco combinations that you wouldn’t find at Chipotle.

M and I decided to divide and conquer the menu, our order almost spanning the entire taco selection.

This was Spring of 2022, and fresh flavors were on everyone’s plate!

They had a seasonal carrot taco with chili-tofu on the menu that I absolutely LOVED.

After one bite I immediately wished I’d ordered 2 or 3 more!

The combination of roasted sweet carrots and spicy tofu with an herbed green sauce wrapped in a soft shell is delicious.

It’s kind of an unexpected flavor combination, and friends, it works.

Since then, I’ve been making carrot and tofu tacos at home to keep the goodness going.

This recipe is too good to hoard, so let me indulge you with this fresh take on tacos.

These Roasted Carrot Tofu Tacos are served with cilantro yogurt sauce and your favorite toppings in almond flour tortillas.

They’re perfect for a legume-free plant-based taco!

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BBQ Tofu Pizza

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

BBQ Tofu Pizza with Roasted Broccoli, Sriracha Tofu, and cooked corn. It’s packed with plant-based protein and made gluten-free with a chickpea crust.

I haven’t always made my own pizza.

It took me *years* to prefer my own over delivery and even longer to start branching into different flavor profiles.

My latest obsession is adding BBQ sauce to pizza for a bit of tang and intrigue.

Top it with spicy tofu, sweet corn, and roast-y broccoli and I might just melt like dairy-free mozzarella.

M is a bit of a purist when it comes to pizza, so he would argue that this isn’t even pizza at all.

But, because this is my little (pizza) slice of the internet, won’t you agree with me that it’s pizza if I say it’s pizza?

This BBQ Tofu Pizza is the loaded plant-based pizza of your dreams!

It’s packed with plant-based protein and made gluten-free with a chickpea crust loaded with BBQ sauce, roasted broccoli, sriracha tofu, and cooked corn.

I feel like there’s a lot to celebrate right now, so let’s throw a pizza party!

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