Grain-Free

Low Sugar Applesauce Apple Butter

Easy 5-ingredient apple butter made with unsweetened applesauce. This fall spread is lightly sweet with maple syrup, apple cider, and a touch of kombucha.

I miss my extended family, guys.

Most of them are split between Indiana and North Carolina with a few scattered from coast to coast.

Our annual family reunion was canceled this year in an abundance of COVID caution.

We’re planning on connecting virtually over the holidays in a Zoom Room, but it’s not *quite* the same as exchanges hugs and laughs and food.

I texted my Aunt Janet on Halloween and told her how much I missed her apple butter.

I always coveted the little mason jars she sent to my parents and me, eating greedy spoonfuls on anything and everything.

It was brimming with fresh sweet apples, warm spices, and just the right amount of sweetness.

Feeling nostalgic, I decided to create my own apple butter this season that’s made super simple with applesauce.

You can make this Low Sugar Applesauce Apple Butter in under an hour with just 5 simple ingredients!

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Pumpkin Apple Oat Bliss Balls

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This post is brought to you by Bare Snacks, but all words and eats are my own. Thanks for supporting the sponsors that keep me hungry!

Pumpkin apple oat energy balls made with oats, chia seeds, nut butter, pumpkin purée, and applesauce. Add baked apple chips and pecans for crunch!

I’m writing this in my recliner next to windows so mottled with raindrops that the leaves on the trees look like an impressionistic painting.

The weather has been seriously gloomy this week.

Which is kind of a bummer because that means no outdoor adventures.

Well, unless you count braving the grocery store in sheets of rain.

The weather is a big switch from last week when I climbed Juliet’s Balcony at Great Falls National Park five times.

It was a good day of climbing; the rock felt grippy and malleable under my chalked fingertips and my feet found impossibly comfortable footholds.

At the top, I whooped and hollered and at the bottom I sat with M and we ate Pumpkin Apple Oat Bliss Balls.

Usually when climbing outdoors pre-packaged bars are my go-to for refueling.

So it really was a treat to sink my teeth into these energy bites made with apple, oats, and pumpkin.

Make these Pumpkin Apple Oat Bliss Balls in 10 minutes and take them with you anywhere you need a all boost!

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Vegan Ferrero Rocher Truffles

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Vegan ferrero rocher truffle copycat candies made with dark chocolate, coconut milk, and hazelnuts lightly sweetened with pure maple syrup.

Pumpkin carving is *always* harder than I think it will be.

And messier.

The pumpkin pulp managed to find its way around my living room despite the blanket of newspapers I spread underneath the carving space.

M and I knelt in concentrated silence, working our paring knives back and forth to create triangular teeth and wide oval eyes.

His was scary and mine was silly.

We arranged the pumpkins on the doorstep and backed up six feet to admire them from the sidewalk.

Lit with a single candle, their faces flickered, flanking either side of my doorstep like spooky watchmen.

I snapped a few pictures to document our success, beaming with pride at our pumpkin carving abilities.

I’m also pretty proud of these Vegan Ferrero Rocher Truffles that will light up your holiday season.

You just need five ingredients to make a vegan, gluten-free, and refined-sugar-free version of this classic candy!

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Vegan Sweet Potato Dog Chews

By Flora & Vino 4 Comments

Treat your pup to 1-ingredient sweet potato treats made with sliced sweet potato slow baked at low heat for a delicious homemade dog treat.

Back when I lived with Harper I used to spoil her with store-bought sweet potato dog chews that I brought home after shopping at Mom’s Organic Market.

I loved getting them because they had only one ingredient listed on the back: sweet potato!

The treats were crispy, dried, and faintly sweet smelling.

I never tried one, but I always imagined that Harper appreciated the minimal ingredients as much as her mom did.

Harper only knew ONE speed when it came to eating, and that was *fast*.

So, naturally, she devoured these sweet potato chews way faster than my shopping trips (and my wallet) could keep up with.

I vowed to make a homemade version for her and I’m finally delivering!

These Vegan Sweet Potato Dog Chews are made with just sweet potatoes sliced and slow-baked to chewy perfection.

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Garlic & Lemon Roasted Broccoli

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Easy oven roasted broccoli seasoned with lemon and garlic on a parchment lined sheet pan. Serve as a delicious side to your plant-based meal!

My quads are *still* sore from hiking Old Rag Mountain this past Tuesday.

The last time I hiked this 10.2 mile loop trail was back in 2015 and I don’t quite remember my quads screaming at my in this acute fashion.

My one goal in setting out was to stay well hydrated because last time I trekked up 3,284 feet I ran out of water at the tippy top.

Luckily, a fellow hiker tossed me a spare bottle that I chugged with Dan before the descent.

So this time I vowed to have plenty of H20.

I took multiple bottles, which ended up being a *really* good idea.

In the first 10 minutes, I unscrewed my purple Lifefactory glass bottle and, in a tragic slip, dropped it on the ground; 22 oz of filtered water watering the leaves around my hiking shoes.

It ended up fine because my 48 oz Nalgene magically sustained me for the remainder of the climb.

I even passed some energy bars to a hungry hiker on the way up, to give back that Old Rag good karma that I received last time.

The autumn colors at the top were absolutely beautiful, guys!

M and I sat shaded by a boulder, eating food smashed for our packs and looking out over a sea of burnt sienna, evergreen, and amber tree tops.

The only thing missing on a long hike are the greens.

This Garlic & Lemon Roasted Broccoli is my current favorite side dish that’s sure to ehance any of your plant-based meals!

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Sweet Potato Mash with Sautéed Mushrooms + Pinot Noir

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Simple sweet potato mash with crispy mixed mushrooms and thyme. Perfect for a plant-based entrée or fall side served with a glass of Pinot Noir!

Have you ever heard people say that what you put on the Internet will be there forever?

Well, I never did, until this week.

M showed me a website the other day that acts as an Internet archive for past website content.

I’ve deleted my fair share of Internet content over the years, including but not limited to: a Xanga from high school, several Twitter accounts, and my first blog that I deleted.

I always assumed that when I hit the “delete all site content” button on those sites, that those words and pictures were gone forever.

Nope.

I sat incredulous as this Internet site that I’d never heard of pulled up an index of my past blog posts from 2014 and 2015.

The internet was bit laggy, as though it struggled to reach back in time to resuscitate the content I’d discarded.

When the page finally loaded, it was like staring at a friendly ghost.

I had to smile, because 20-something Lauren was a budding food blogger even then, writing about vegan muffins and fluffy feelings accented by crude cropped iPhone photos.

It definitely put into perspective how far I’ve come, even when I feel stuck behind the camera, in the kitchen, and in life.

And in that moment I was filled with immense gratitude that I can call my kitchen my office and create every day.

So I can bring you meals like this Sweet Potato Mash with Sautéed Mushrooms + Pinot Noir.

This cozy autumn dish combines sweet potatoes and mushrooms in a creative pairing with Pinot Noir!

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Nut-Free 1-Pot Macaroni & Cheese

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Nut-free macaroni and cheese made in one pot with your favorite pasta, steamed root vegetables, SunButter, and a crunchy sunflower seed topping.

Friends, I finally picked my pumpkins for Halloween.

And by “picked” I mean I ordered two pumpkins on the Target app and picked them up in the Curbside pick up spot on the way home from outdoor climbing yesterday.

There was something so calming about a nameless Target employee in a red bullseye shirt picking out my gourds this season.

Picking out the “perfect” pumpkin can be a bit frustrating, can’t it?

Darting from pumpkin to pumpkin in the patch, grabbing them by the stem and rolling their bulbous body over only to find a rotting or flattened backside.

Gah.

Since all forms of decision making feels hard right about now, I was more than ready to let a stranger decide the fate of my front step decor.

Luckily, whoever it was picked me out two really solid pumpkins; round and red-orange with a stocky sturdy stem.

I literally can not wait to carve them up this weekend!

I also can’t wait to share this Nut-Free 1-Pot Macaroni & Cheese with you.

It’s the perfect cozy companion for your table this fall made with veggies and seeds.

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Pumpkin Almond Butter Brownies

By Flora & Vino 10 Comments

Grain-free and oil-free brownies made super fudge-y with almond butter, almond flour, and pumpkin. Bake a pan for a decadent fall dessert!

Today I tackled my tax preparation for the year 2020.

If you own your own business, you might be familiar with the beast that is tracking and categorizing your annual expenses.

Usually I’m much further along than I am right now.

Partially because Dan used to take care of all of the tax *stuff* for me because he liked spreadsheets and I like that he liked spreadsheets.

Also because when COVID hit the tedious parts of being an entrepreneur felt all the more taxing (ha, pun totally intended).

But I decided recently that I needed to get that ish done for several valid reasons.

For one, the bulging magazine rack stuffed with receipts was always on my mind, which definitely detracted from my creative energy.

Secondly, I think I needed to prove to myself that I could be responsible and organized enough to do this tax prep thing alone.

It was basically the last thing that I hadn’t officially taken over since the divorce.

So this morning I used up all the ink printing Amazon purchases, online grocery receipts, and business subscriptions.

Then I squinted at the monstrous Excel spreadsheet columns and relearned how to create formulas for cell addition (I’m not an Excel person, guys!).

And, finally, I sat cross-legged on my geometric area rug and shoved receipts into dated manilla envelopes.

The relief I felt when the enormous pile of papers was sorted and the tallied totaled was immeasurable.

I’ll try to measure it by comparing it to the deliciousness of these Pumpkin Almond Butter Brownies.

These 1-bowl brownies are vegan, gluten-free, and oil-free with a hint of pumpkin and lots of cacao!

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Easy Maple Spiced Nuts

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This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Safeway. All opinions are 100% my own.

Simple spiced nuts baked with cinnamon and nutmeg naturally sweetened with coconut sugar and maple syrup. Perfect to bake for a holiday appetizer or gift!

Wait, how is it October?

On my neighborhood walk yesterday, M and I meandered through the neighborhood to check out the Halloween decorations.

There were plenty of pumpkins and on doorsteps and cob webs in windows.

One of the houses near the edge of my complex is *really* into decorating.

Multiple scarecrows, pumpkins, ghosts, and ghouls demanded attention from the lawn and sidewalk, making it impossible to walk by without taking notice.

As hyped decorations as they are, they seem to be equally as disinterested in the clean up.

To the right of the playful Halloween scene lie a heap of Christmas nutcrackers, lights on strings, and fake fir trees.

And it’s been there since last December.

Laugh out loud.

Whether you have your Halloween or Christmas decor on standby or not, the holidays are coming!

So here’s a quick recipe that’s bound to make you feel cozy this fall and winter.

These Easy Maple Spiced Nuts are easy enough to make in 30 minutes for a sweet crunchy snack, dessert, or appetizer.

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Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Balls

By Flora & Vino 2 Comments

Vegan, gluten-free, and oil-free balls made with a sweet refined-sugar-free peanut butter center. Make them for a healthier homemade candy!

This week I finished my first hard copy book of 2020 and I’m pretty proud of myself.

I’ve finished a few other books for my monthly bookclub, but those were all done via the Audible app.

One of my best friends, Laura, would tell you that my version of read-listening *doesn’t count*.

But come on, friends, it totally does!

Sometimes I read-listen while doing jumping jacks upstairs in the spare bedroom, other times it’s while sudsing up pots and pans in the sink with my green rubber gloves on, and sometimes it’s while I make funny faces and swipe up on my eyelashes with black mascara.

While it’s lovely to be able to multitask, I do agree with Laura that tangible books are special.

There’s nothing quite like holding a paperback between both hands with bedsheets tucked up to your chin.

It’s the little things like reading a book from cover to cover that feel normal and nice that I cling to right now.

The book that I just finished was Rachel Hollis’s “Didn’t See That Coming”, which I highly recommend.

I also highly recommend that you start thinking about what clean candy you’re going to make for this Halloween.

Because I have a copycat recipe for you that starts with M and ends in M.

These Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Balls are made with a sweet refined-sugar-free peanut butter center and a dark chocolate coating!

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Low Sugar Applesauce Apple Butter

Pumpkin Apple Oat Bliss Balls

Vegan Ferrero Rocher Truffles

Vegan Sweet Potato Dog Chews

Garlic & Lemon Roasted Broccoli

Sweet Potato Mash with Sautéed Mushrooms + Pinot Noir

Nut-Free 1-Pot Macaroni & Cheese

Pumpkin Almond Butter Brownies

Easy Maple Spiced Nuts

Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Balls

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