Gluten-Free

Low Sugar Pumpkin Apple Butter

Low sugar pumpkin apple butter lightly sweetened with maple syrup and apple juice. Made with 5 ingredients for a fall treat!

Around the time I was getting the hang of the whole college thing, my mom started making Pumpkin Apple Butter.

Like most college kids, I was a fan of fast, portable food.

I used to pack Peanut Butter & Pumpkin Apple Butter sandwiches that I dug out between classes and ate on empty wooden benches or the cement ledges surrounding the campus buildings.

Sometimes, if the classes were really spread out, I ate the sandwich between fast footsteps across campus.

Yeah, I was totally that girl that ran between classes, but I did have some standards.

I only ran sans PB&PAB.

I’ve always been a lover of apple butter and pumpkin butter, so the combination of the two instantly became a favorite fall staple for me.

I remember tiptoing downstairs at night to sneak spoonfuls of that sweet burnt-sienna spread straight from the canning jar.

Aside from the fact that I think homemade jams/spreads taste better, I don’t usually buy store-bought versions because they’re usually so high in added sugars.

Even the recipe that my mom used was super sweet, and I know she reduced the sugar quite a bit when she made it for us.

I decided to make my own low sugar version…one where you can actually taste the pumpkin and apple and spices!

This spread is packed with flavorful fruit and lightly sweetened with maple syrup!

My favorite part, though, is that it comes together with 5 ingredients in only 30 minutes on the stovetop and you’ve got yourself a seriously cozy condiment.

…

Fall Harvest Salad

By Flora & Vino 6 Comments

Fall salad with roasted sweet sweet potato, beet, toasted walnuts, and crisp apples. Serve with maple mustard tahini for a vegan take on honey-mustard.

When I’m falling asleep I count foodie fantasies instead of sheep.

Try it!

Sometimes, when I’m stuck on recipe creation, I say the titles over and over again (in the least creepy way possible, I promise…).

I like the way words sounds and the corresponding pictures and feelings they create.

And I just couldn’t get Maple Mustard Tahini out of my head, friends.

I knew that this dressing was going to be a thing even before I paired it with an fall salad.

You’re going to love this Fall Harvest Salad filled with fall’s finest produce and topped with my latest seasonal inspired maple mustard tahini!
…

Baked Purple Sweet Potato Spiral Fritters

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Baked Purple Sweet Potato Spiral Fritters without any added oils, gluten, or dairy. Enjoy them as breakfast, snack, party favors, or the main meal.

I’m a bit of a blank slate today, friends.

I wanted to start off by talking about the weather, and how unusually warm it’s been here in Virginia, but that seemed like such a small talk thing to do, and I don’t really do small talk.

If you’ve been visiting Flora & Vino for a while now , we’re definitely more than just acquaintances.

How about some big talk, instead?

Big like Baked Purple Sweet Potato Spiral Fritters, big.

…

Sweet Potato Breakfast Skillet Cookie

By Flora & Vino 18 Comments

Sweet Potato Breakfast Skillet Cookie made sweet potato, almond flour, and nut butter. Enjoy slices for a quick fall breakfast!

Tomorrow is the first day of fall, everyone!

I’ve got the perfect recipe for you to make to welcome the season.

This Sweet Potato Breakfast Skillet Cookie requires only one bowl, one skillet, and some serious cravings for cookies for breakfast.

I bet you’ve got all three of them.

Oh, well, and some sweet potato and stuff.

Let me tell you about this “other stuff”…

You might have seen the whole “skillet cookie” thing trending the internet lately.

If you haven’t, it’s basically a giant cookie baked inside a cast iron skillet and then spooned out and enjoyed in all it’s crumbly cookie glory.

Genius.

The minute I scrolled post one of these enticing pictures, a skillet filled with a perfectly browned cookie, my heart immediately did a series of somersaults and cartwheels and backflips.

Or wait…maybe that was my stomach.

I put off making my own for a while, because I wanted to create a healthier version not weighed down by oil and sugar that still tastes like a cookie, you know?

…

Romaine Tempeh Tacos with Cashew Sour Cream

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Delicious plant-based Romaine Tempeh Tacos with Cashew Sour Cream made with “tempeh taco meat” and a creamy cashew-based sour cream.

Do you feel like you’re being pummeled with pumpkins?

If you do, don’t worry, I put orange on the back-burner for this post to share a classic.

I was in Michael’s recently picking up some photography props and commented to the cashier about the Halloween display already in plain sight.

“Oh”, the girl said, like that was nothing, “The entire Christmas spread is set up in back.”

Woah, now. One holiday at a time!

And it just so happens that today is one of my favorite holiday that comes around on a weekly basis…

It’s Taco Tuesday, so let’s make Romaine Tempeh Tacos with Cashew Sour Cream!

When I first joined the workforce after college, I went through a major Taco Bell phase.

The kind of enduring phase that leaves you with an embarrassingly large ziplock bag stuffed with leftover hot sauce packets.

I guess it was the convenience of the whole thing, and tacos were a succinct meal decidedly more fun than a sandwich or salad.

On multiple occasions I eagerly took intricate taco orders for my coworkers and left the office guilt-free to hit the drive-through.

FYI, walking through the office around lunchtime wafting the smell of spices and fried food while handing out tacos will make you everyone’s best bud.

So, wouldn’t it be cool if they handed out Romaine Tempeh Tacos with Cashew Sour Cream at a taco drive-through?

Well, they hand them out at my house…

…

Spiced Orange Almond Protein Shakes

By Flora & Vino 3 Comments

Easy plant-based protein shakes combining sweet orange, creamy almond, and cozy spices with a warm inviting flavor to fuel your morning!

Remember in my last post when I warned you that a lot of orange things were headed your way?

Well, they’re here, and this recipe is quite literally, orange!

Although it’s almost “officially” fall, it’s been up to almost 80 every day here in Virginia, so I’m still craving shakes and smoothies to start my days.

The mixture of orange, almond butter, and subtle spice creates a wonderfully warm flavor oven though this recipe is of course, cold.

These Spiced Orange Almond Protein Shakes are the perfect easy breakfast or snack that taste like a creamsicle spiced up for fall.

Every morning growing up after hobbling down the stairs in my pink robe with a dazed expression on my face and my “crazy” hair, I poured a glass of orange juice.

Did anyone else make a habit of this, too?

My family and I used to say, between sips of OJ, that a day without orange juice was a day without sunshine.

I loved gulping down that golden orange liquid to begin the day on a sweet note.

Unless of course, the orange juice had pulp in it.

Detecting the texture of orange chunks while swallowing has always made me want to gag.

Who else is unabashedly team no pulp?

I’ve since gotten away from juices and tend more towards whole fruit consumption first thing in the morning because my body does better with lower sugar contents to avoid blood sugar crashes.

Morning scenes still mirror the old days though, only now I stumble down the stairs in a neutral robe (graduated colors from pink to black because #adulting) and pour myself a Spiced Orange Almond Protein Shake.

…

Sweet Potato Quinoa Bowls

By Flora & Vino 21 Comments

Plant-based bowl with oil-free sweet potato fries, asparagus, quinoa, and edamame topped with lemon tahini. Perfect for meal prep!

Happy Friday, everyone!

How was your week?

Mine has been a whirlwind of people, places, and things with attending Expo East in Baltimore and I’m totally ready for some R + R this weekend.

Being an introvert, big events that require lots of talking and being constantly “on” can be challenging for me.

I like to think that I can fake the whole extrovert thing for a bit…until I can’t anymore and stare blankly at the constant stimulus around me like a goldfish in a giant mixing bowl.

Time to recharge and refuel.

Coming home to a big cozy meal helps, and these Sweet Potato Quinoa Bowls achieve that perfect balance of plant-based nourishment and comfort food.

Pass me a fry (or a dozen), will you?

…

Maple Walnut Bliss Balls

By Flora & Vino 3 Comments

4-ingredient Maple Walnut Bliss Balls with maple syrup and toasted walnuts! Perfect for meal prep and squashing hunger on cool autumn days.

Clearly my energy ball situation is way ahead of my closet (and most other adult-ish things) this season!

My kitchen is all decked out in Maple Walnut Bliss Balls while my closet is still strewn with tank tops, shorts, and flip flops.

I really should go “seasonalize” my wardrobe for colder weather, but first things first, I want to share with you what happens when toasted walnuts, medjool dates, maple syrup, and oats get together…

It’s called Maple Walnut BLISS and you need to try it for fall.

Maybe even before you pull out the flannel and riding boots, OK?

You’re going to love these four ingredient treats that kind of look (and taste) like sugar dusted donut holes.

These easy to make bites are packed with protein, Omega-3s, and fiber!

The best way I can describe them to you is…they TASTE the way stepping into a mess of crunchy leaves under boots FEELS.

Quintessential fall.

…

Superfood Chocolate Maca Cups

By Flora & Vino 2 Comments

Superfood Chocolate Maca Cups with maca and antioxidant rich cacao. Top with your favorite superfoods and enjoy as a snack or dessert.

It seems like people are busy lately, you know?

It’s back to school season, and everyone is getting in the groove of new adventures, new goals, and new intentions.

Luckily, I whipped up the perfect energizing treat to keep us on our toes.

These Superfood Chocolate Maca Cups are oil-free, gluten free, refined sugar free and require only two ingredients to make, plus additional superfood toppings!

I snuck in the popular adaptogen, maca, that supports natural energy and vitality so you can get your energizer bunny on all week long.

A clean, healthy treat that is easy to make, and also reduces stress and fatigue?

I’ll take a dozen. …

Pea Pesto Sweet Potato Poppers

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Oil-free sweet potato rounds baked and smashed with herbed pea pesto. The perfect healthy appetizer for game-day or any-day!

Hi, guys!

Are you football fans?

I can’t say that I am, but you know what I am a fan of?

Easy and healthy game-time snacks.

Dan would tell you that I’m a Patriots fan by marriage (don’t hate!), but I spend the majority of the game asking what just happened.

And smashing all of the veggies together to make an oil-free, gluten-free option to enjoy between (and during) plays.

These Pea Pesto Sweet Potato Poppers are a total “game-changer” (sorry, I had to), when it comes to feeding you and your football fans this fall!

…

Gluten-Free

Footer

what’s happening now on instagram