The Main Meal

Black Bean Quinoa Chili

Hearty plant-based chili with black beans, quinoa, and mushrooms in a sweet tomato broth. Prep in advance and load up with toppings!

Is it still soup season?

As long as we’re staying safe at home, I’m saying it is.

Each Monday throughout April I’ve made a new pantry-friendly recipe via Instagram stories.

And surprise, surprise, almost all of them have been soup!

It’s so satisfying to throw legumes, grains, and veggies in a cook pot and let them simmer to deliciousness.

Give me a pot, some quinoa, black beans, and spices, and I can make you a vegan, gluten-free, and totally satisfying meal.

This Black Bean Quinoa Chili is packed with black beans, quinoa, and mushrooms in a sweet tomato broth.

It’s made with only pantry-friendly ingredients that you probably already have tucked away in your cabinets.

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Quinoa Cakes with Basil Pesto

By Flora & Vino 2 Comments

Easy plant-based patties packed with protein and leafy greens! Perfect for meal prep and easy weeknight meals. Serve with a oil-free basil pesto!

Are you in a food rut?

I was Marco-Polo-ing with a friend today discussing our food rut probs.

Mine came on slowly with building disdain, like playing a song on repeat during a workout when each chorus inspires a little less feeling.

When I realized that I had consumed a variation of steamed vegetables + plant protein + tahini for every dinner in recent memory, I knew I needed a menu intervention.

And don’t get me started about dishes. (They’re never-ending!!!)

So, what kind of quarantine cook are you?

Are you unleashing you creativity or are you sticking to the tried and true basics?

Either way, you’re going to love these Quinoa Cakes with Basil Pesto.

They’re made with cooked quinoa, leafy greens, and tahini with a nutty oil-free basil pesto!

Schedule out a day next week in your menu to make this lean clean quarantine cuisine.

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Spring Quinoa Primavera

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Colorful quinoa dish with herb infused quinoa and seasonal spring veggies. Serve with sparkling rosé for a refreshing plant-based pairing!

Happy Friday, friends!

We did it again.

I know all of the days are prone to run together in quarantine unless you carefully segregate them with consistent routine, so if you weren’t sure what day it was, allow me to remind you with a virtual toast.

Tonight I did a virtual happy hour with a friend and we confessed that even virtual dates can be tiring.

Anyone else Zoom-ed out?

I figured I could schedule back to back to back Zoom calls just because I wasn’t leaving the comfort of my home, but, as it turns out, my introvert tendencies still apply to the virtual world.

I.e. I need time to retreat and rest and recharge.

Anyway, I thought we could make something special to end the week with a toast.

This Spring Quinoa Primavera is a fresh 1-pot dish for warmer weather.

You need dry quinoa, dried herbs, frozen vegetables, and lots of lemon!

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1-Pot Tomato Basil Pasta

By Flora & Vino 2 Comments

1-pot pasta with gluten-free pasta, bell pepper, kale, and kalamata olives with tomato basil pasta sauce. Perfect for easy weeknight dinners!

Well, hello, stranger.

I came home from yoga teacher training this weekend with a voracious appetite that couldn’t be satiated.

This weekend we began our “teach outs” where each student teaches a 60-minute sequence of their own to the group.

It’s hard to believe that in just three weeks I will receive my YTT certification!

Anyway, this weekend we had SIX teach outs, so, that means 6+ hours on the mat.

I woke up today and texted my YTT group text saying, “Guys, I tried to do a chaturanga today and just almost died.”

It’s true. So I took a break from yoga to make something delicious.

After working out the mind, body, and soul for 22 hours this weekend, I definitely wanted all of the carbs.

And nothing says carb-loading like a healthy bowl of pasta, right?

This 1-Pot Tomato Basil Pasta comes together on the stovetop in less than 30 minutes for an im-pasta-bly good weeknight dinner!

Or, post-YTT meals– just sayin’.

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Spaghetti Squash Noodle Bowls

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Spaghetti Squash Noodle Bowls with vegetables and chickpeas in simple seasonings! Made in one pan 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

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Black Bean & Quinoa Chili Stuffed Sweet Potatoes 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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Vegan Lentil Oat Loaf

By Flora & Vino 16 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 Vegan 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 Beets & Green Beans

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Baked eggplant steaks 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

Cauliflower chickpea tacos served with kale slaw and cashew cream 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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The Main Meal

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