Gluten-Free

Red Carrot, Apple, & Beet Detox Salad

Easy raw detox salad with shredded red carrot, tart apple, and red beets. Reset and fuel your body with fruits, veggies, and healthy fats.

Hey, everyone!

It’s half way through January and we are making moves.

Did I tell you that I’m enrolled to take a course in plant-based nutrition starting in February?

I’m really excited to learn more about how eating more veg can impact your overall health and wellness and share that with you!

I know we talk a little about nutrition here on the blog, but I try to keep it vague and unspecified because, DISCLAIMER, I am not a medical professional or licensed nutritionist/dietician.

Usually I like to frame my recipes in the context of what works for me and what makes me feel my best in hopes that it might do the same for you.

I definitely have a “feel good” recipe to share with you today that’s packed with fresh produce, healthy fats, and cleansing qualities.

This Red Carrot, Apple, & Beet Detox Salad requires just 6 ingredients you can mix on the spot to feel fresh and rejuvenated.

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Tahini Tempeh & Sweet Potato Noodle Bowl

By Flora & Vino 4 Comments

Easy weeknight dinner idea with tempeh, sweet potato noodles, and broccoli drizzled with lemon and tahini. Perfect for a fuss-free meal prep.

Hi!

How are you new year intentions going?

I didn’t really set any hard fast goals other than that I wanted to start meal-prepping again.

Somewhere in the midst of moving and holiday deadlines I decided that it was OK to eat out on the daily.

Yes, even food bloggers can spend way too much money on prepared food.

“But Lauren, don’t you eat the food you make?”” my friends often ask, perplexed.

Well, yes, but the eats don’t always work out that conveniently.

Allow me to explain.

During my busy holiday season, for example, I might have cookie recipes to share with you all week.

Cookies on the counter, cookies in the freezer, cookies in the fridge, cookies on my photography backdrop board, more cookies in the oven.

Yum. Cookies galore.

But it’s either eat cookies for lunch and dinner or suck it buttercup and dirty up the dishes I just spent an hour cleaning to making something savory.

This is where meal prep comes in clutch for me, and maybe for you too, friend.

You might not be surrounded by multiple cookie recipes but you might be in a work environment where you can’t break to make a feel good meal.

I’m not talking making 25 meals on Sunday evening pre-portioned in Tupperware.

I am talking about having readily available washed and chopped vegetables, fruit, and plant-protein prepared with potential in the fridge.

Which is precisely why I love this Tahini Tempeh & Sweet Potato Noodle Bowl so darn much.

It comes together in less than 30 minutes for a vegan and gluten-free plant-powered bowl!

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Coconut Flour Chai Cookies

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Grain-free chai-spiced cookies made with nut butter, coconut flour, and coconut sugar. Infused with chai spices using a convenient chai concentrate!

Tonight I went to a young professionals networking event with a friend.

I wore my best pair of dark denim for the occasion and brought out a classic button up shirt that emerged from my closet since my corporate office-dwelling days.

Somehow my name tag got stuck in my hair (I couldn’t make this up if I tried!), which made for the perfect icebreaker for introductions.

“Hi, um, you have a name tag stuck in your hair,” this one guy said and I definitely thought he was kidding, HA HA, until I reached behind my head and tore the words “Lauren, Flora & Vino, LLC” from strands of blonde hair.

Who needs the business cards tucked in my back pocket with publicity like that?

Unfortunately, I don’t have any good brands or eats to report back with, but it was nice to connect with local peers, ya know?

It was also nice to practice my “pitch” to strangers outside of my field who have no idea that this industry exists.

I answered the dreaded question, “So, what do you do?” in different ways, feeling out which one sounded the most me.

Usually, I say I’m a food photographer, recipe developer, and content creator of a plant-based website.

Sometimes I just say I’m in social media.

Both true.

Also true: Coconut Flour Chai Cookies would make networking and socializing a lot easier.

These vegan, gluten, and grain-free cookies are made with coconut flour, chai concentrate, and almond butter!

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Chocolate Dipped Vegan Do Si Dos

By Flora & Vino 2 Comments

Healthier do-si-do cookies made with nut butter, and almond flour naturally sweetened with maple syrup. Dip in melted dark chocolate!

Hi, friends!

How is your new year treating you so far?

Honestly, I’m still struggling to accept that it’s already over a week into January in a new decade!

I mean, how did we get here?!

Over the holidays I took a long break from recipe creation and focused on friends, family, and fun.

It’s the first “real” break I’ve taken from posting on the blog in three years!

I also took the time to do a lot of behind the scenes re-org for Flora & Vino.

For example, I made a giant excel doc categorizing all of my recipe ideas for 2020– starting with sandwich cookies.

I thought we could kick off the decade with these Chocolate Dipped Vegan Do-Si-Dos.

These nutty compact cookies have a decadent chocolate finish that you can assemble with 10 ingredients!

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SunButter Cinnamon Rolls (Yeast-Free!)

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Enjoy these yeast-free cinnamon rolls for breakfast naturally sweetened with unrefined coconut sugar and topped with a sugar-free SunButter glaze.

Happy Christmas Eve!

What’s that one iconic holiday breakfast that instantly brings you back to Christmas morning as a youngster?

I used to wake up in the wee hours of the morning, terrified that if I moved even an inch under my quilted comforter that I might scare away old Saint Nick.

If I didn’t smell orange danishes and sausage egg and cheese breakfast casserole wafting up the stairs to my bedroom I knew it was too early.

These days I usually try to sleep in and let Kris Kringle make the rounds undisturbed before I start the oven and bang pots and pans.

Anyway, it’s been a tradition here for me to publish one final recipe on the day before Christmas.

So here it is– in case you, like me, don’t decide what you’re making until it’s time to make it.

In fact, I just braved the grocery store (yes, on Christmas Eve!) after deciding this morning to make a few last minute dishes for Christmas Eve Dinner tonight.

You’ve probably got all of the ingredients you need to make these SunButter Cinnamon Rolls (Yeast-Free!) for a special occasion breakfast or brunch!

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Pomegranate Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Vegan oatmeal chocolate chip cookies with a pomegranate twist! Vegan, gluten-free, and grain-free with an almond flour base.

Confession: Lately I haven’t been feeling much like a food blogger.

Let me explain.

I put so much energy into creating eats for the blog during the day that when it comes time to make anything extracurricular, I just can’t.

For example, last Friday night book club when we all brought a dish to share…you bet I showed up with a bottle of wine, a package of my favorite hummus, and a box of grain-free crackers.

And I felt pretty OK watching my friends roll in the F&V recipes while I stood there dunking crackers into pureed chickpeas that I didn’t puree myself.

I blame the season for my slight identity crisis.

It’s hard to show up in all the ways you normally show up plus get all the gifts, send all the cards, and bake all the cookies.

I set an alarm this past Wednesday morning (ONE week before Christmas!) and scribbled out all of my Christmas cards in one furious four-hour sitting.

I wrote my name and address over and over and over again on red envelopes with achey glitter dusted hands.

Last night I had a massive Amazon shopping spree, adding items to my cart and obsessively checking the ship date to ensure arrival before Christmas.

All of the expectation of gifting and receiving can be tough, but you know what should be effortless?

Your holiday cookies– these Pomegranate Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies.

You’re going to love these healthier holiday cookies packed with pomegranate arils and dark chocolate chunks!

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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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Creamy Cauliflower Rice Risotto

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Gluten and grain-free cauliflower rice with a coconut milk base and simple seasonings. Perfect as the base to your plant-based meal or as a cozy side.

Well it’s been an interesting past few days being phone-less, friends.

My iPhone started displaying some troubling signs on Sunday but I ignored them.

On Monday the touch screen was fickle and only worked about 50% of the time.

Yesterday (Tuesday), the screen was frozen for the entirety of the day, save a few 10 minute pockets of time where I managed to put up a few Instagram stories and backup my phone to the Cloud.

Today I finally made my way to the Apple store and received a shiny new phone for my faulty display troubles.

So now I’m getting settled with a full iCloud restore and getting reacquainted with being “in touch”.

I joked that the technical difficulties were the universe’s not so subtle way of telling me to take a break already.

Which I fully intend to…after I share this Creamy Cauliflower Rice Risotto with you.

This plant-based version of risotto with cauliflower rice and mushrooms will keep you cozy and satisfied this winter!

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Black Sesame Butter Banana Bread

By Flora & Vino 5 Comments

Black sesame butter bread made with black sesame seed butter and bananas with a touch of cacao. Vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, and naturally sweet!

Hi!

Long time no talk.

I’ve been feeling a little short on words lately, as if my communication is congruent with the darkening days.

The winter solstice is this Saturday– the darkest day of the year.

I know this because I googled it and I googled it because I still use natural lights for all of my photoshoots.

So the darker earlier days really rains on my food photography parade, you know?

I also know this because I have a 90-min Winter Solstice Yoga Flow class on Thursday night where we do 108 sun salutations to welcome winter with warmth.

Anyway, you haven’t missed a whole lot behind the scenes.

Yoga teacher training and photoshoots keeps me busy during the day and in the evenings I cozy up and watch Christmas movies on Netflix.

In fact, I think I’ve watched more Christmas movies this year than any other year on record.

They’ve got a lot going for them: they always have happy endings and the soundtrack is all Christmas music.

SOLD.

This Black Sesame Butter Banana Bread also has a lot going for it.

It’s made in 1-bowl with less than ten ingredients for a decadent dessert or breakfast bread that’s vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, and naturally sweet!

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Almond Flour Cashew Butter Snickerdoodles

By Flora & Vino 10 Comments

Almond flour cashew butter snickerdoodle cookies that are vegan, grain-free, oil-free, and rolled in plenty of cinnamon and unrefined coconut sugar.

Is it cookie season yet?!

I kind of can’t believe that my big December calendar shows only a little over two weeks to Christmas.

Don’t tell my family and friends, but I haven’t even started my Christmas shopping yet.

Aside from my mini blue spruce tree adorned with all of my childhood ornaments and the Christmas music on repeat, I feel pretty unprepared for the holiday.

This past weekend I had yoga teacher training every day with a 15K race early Sunday, so I have quite literally been on the run.

But I did make cookies.

These Almond Flour Cashew Butter Snickerdoodles are the perfect healthier holiday cookie, complete with just 7 ingredients.

Bake them in 10 minutes for a vegan, grain-free, oil-free, and refined sugar-free twist on the classic cookie!

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