Grain-Free

Vegan Refried Bean Tacos

Vegan Refried Bean Tacos with pinto beans and seasonings in 1-pan on the stovetop. Serve in hard shell tacos with your favorite toppings!

Last weekend I taught yoga outside at one of my favorite local gluten-free breweries.

Between you and me, I was grateful to finish class without a coughing fit or a sneeze attack.

Yes, this time of year I have special kind of jealousy reserved for all of the people I see outside, enjoying the beautiful weather, and doing it allergy free.

Sure, they could all be heavily medicated, but I have at least a few friends who claim that the thick yellow dust that coats my car every day doesn’t bother them.

Blasphemy, right?!

So I’ve been hiding indoors in self pity and self preservation, until I realized that Flora is bringing the outdoors indoors via her double coated fur.

One shake from her is all it takes to make my throat scratchy, my eyes watering, and my nose stuffy.

There’s only so much cleaning I can do, and let me tell you, my robot vacuum is heavily employed right now.

It’s an all hands on deck situation as I fight a never ending battle against nature.

This past week was also cinco de mayo, and whenever I think of cinco de mayo I remember a trip I took with my sister at the beginning of May to New York.

Now, I think my allergies are bad here, but they’re *nothing* compared to what I experienced in NYC 5+ years ago.

I remember walking through Times Square, the wind whipping between the sky scrapers, bringing with it lots of…whatever it is I’m heavily allergic too (I think oaks!)

My respiratory system was NOT happy.

I sneezed through every crosswalk, tears streaming down my face, my pockets full of soggy used tissues.

My sister looked over and asked repeatedly, “Are you OK?!” to which of course I responded, “Yes, I’m fine, it’s just allergies.”

I hadn’t thought to pack allergy meds and was too stubborn to buy them, so I suffered through the trip half-seeing and half-crying all the time we were outdoors.

Telling this story always makes me feel better, because whatever Flora is dragging inside, it’s nowhere near what NYC on the 5th of May has to offer.

So here’s what I have to offer this first week of May.

My favorite Vegan Refried Bean Tacos that we’ve been eating on repeat here for taco Tuesday.

I wanted to get this recipe out before Cinco de Mayo, but, it’s always a good day to eat tacos, right?

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Spring Buckwheat Tabbouleh

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Spring Buckwheat Tabbouleh made with buckwheat groats, chickpeas, herbs, and fresh vegetables in an olive oil and lemon dressing.

This week we *finally* planted some seeds!

Spring has sprung here in Maryland, and we’ve been enjoying beautiful spring days in the seventies.

Living in a condominium, we do most of our planting on our back deck (a space I’m so grateful to have!).

This year, for the first time, we planted seeds in a large wooden planter box!

Last year, our zinnias and nasturtiums looked a bit cramped, so this year we afforded them a bit more space.

Right now, the planter box doesn’t look like much.

It’s just a huge box filled with damp soil that Flora loves to dip into when we open the door (she loves to eat dirt!).

But the anticipation, expectation, and excitement of growth is there, planted along with the tiny seeds.

I can’t wait to see nasturtiums, marigolds, zinnias, and herbs of all shapes and colors emerging from the soil!

For now, we wait.

Luckily, I have something for us to eat in the meantime.

This Spring Buckwheat Tabbouleh is made with buckwheat groats, chickpeas, herbs, fresh vegetables, and herbs in an olive oil and lemon dressing.

It’s the perfect hearty yet light meal for the spring season.

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SunButter Chocolate Easter Eggs

By Flora & Vino 1 Comment

Easy SunButter Chocolate Easter Eggs with just 5-ingredients! Perfect for an Easter treat or anytime healthy candy substitute.

A few years ago, at a get together at my cousin’s house, my sister made a point of getting M to try some marshmallow peeps.

Growing up in Germany, M had no idea what to expect from Classic Peeps.

(I’ll note that this moment was made arguably even better by the fact that my sister had purchased neon pink peeps instead of the classic yellow.)

So M, ever adventurous, bit into the marshmallow fluff covered in pink sugar, chewed a few times, and said, “This is pretty gross!”

We all burst into laughter, our suspicions confirmed.

M isn’t a sugar lover, and peeps are nothing but pure sugar!

Although peeps were always a part of my Easter basket, they were never my thing, either.

They were too sweet, too airy, too artificial tasting.

Not that the rest of the Easter candy I was consuming was by any means healthful, but at least they had normal coloring.

Which is why I stand by the fact that Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs are by far the superior Easter dessert.

They always had what I’ve heard described as “the perfect ratio of chocolate to peanut butter”, even more so than chocolate peanut butter cups!

That is, until today, because I made you some SunButter Chocolate Easter Eggs that are the real winner.

These easy SunButter Chocolate Easter Eggs are made with just 4-ingredients!

They’re perfect for an Easter treat or anytime healthy candy substitute.

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Tofu “Egg” Cups

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Savory Tofu “Egg” Cups made with firm tofu and sautéed garden vegetables baked in a muffin tin. Perfect for a meal prep breakfast!

As I write this blog post, Flora is asleep in her favorite spot on the linoleum floor of the kitchen.

Every time she lies down to nap on her own (without being crated), I do a little (silent) happy dance.

Yes friends, I consider it a major win that my 9 month Australian Shepherd puppy is starting to rest on her own!

Of all the dogs I’ve bene lucky to have in my life thus far, Flora is by far the craziest, most energetic, and most challenging.

Lately, with spring right around the corner, she’d taken to chasing robins as they hop and skip across the lawn.

She also *loves* eating the dirt of my indoor house plants, so I’m wondering how the future seedlings I plan to sow outside will ever make it.

But when she looks up at you with those piercing blue eyes, it makes all the craziness worth it.

March has felt a bit chaotic with bipolar weather, the time change, and lots of personal and professional commitments.

Something I’ve been thinking a lot about lately is the theory that tasks will expand to the time that you allot to them.

With a puppy around the house, naturally, I don’t have all day to get the *perfect* shot anymore.

So I’m learning to be productive and prompt and the anti-perfectionist in my approach to recipe shoots.

9 times out of 10, I am able to finish a recipe shoot in a truncated time-block instead of allowing it to expand into…the whole day.

Not that I don’t want to look at these Tofu “Egg” Cups all day, but we need time to eat them too, right?

These Savory Tofu “Egg” Cups are made with firm tofu and sautéed garden vegetables baked in a muffin tin.

They’re absolutely perfect for a meal prep breakfast to have on hand for the week ahead.

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Red Bean Brownies

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Flourless vegan brownies made with aduki beans, nut butter, and naturally sweetened with maple syrup and dark chocolate chips.

Hi, friends.

How are you holding up this year so far?

For the second time this year, I was forced to take time off work due to germs.

Being sick is already a small business owner’s worst nightmare, but not being able to eat as a food blogger really takes the cake.

Maybe it was the flu, maybe it was a stomach bug, but whatever it was, *nothing* sounded good to me last week.

Correction: Nothing I normally eat sounded good to me.

Let me introduce you to my sick week menu.

I lived on applesauce, frozen bagels with vegan cream cheese, plain oatmeal, plain rice and curry, copious sweet potato fries, and many scoops of vegan ice cream.

If you had passed me a vegetable to eat last week, I would have thrown it back at you.

We replaced cooking together on Valentine’s Day with raiding the fridge of anything plain Lauren could digest.

But I am excited to report that my stomach is back to itself, craving veggies and creating recipes (but still eating vegan ice cream because, because).

However, I think M and I deserve a re-do on Valentine’s Day, starting with a nutritious and delicious dessert.

These flourless vegan brownies are made with aduki beans, nut butter, and naturally sweetened with maple syrup and dark chocolate chips.

They’re packed with protein and fiber and still manage to taste like decadent dessert!

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Savory Stuffed Dates

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Savory Stuffed Dates with vegan cream cheese, crushed pistachios, maple syrup, and hemp and chia seeds. Perfect for an elevated appetizer!

I’ve made an exciting and daunting new goal for the year ahead: read 50 books in 2025!

So far, I’ve completed 4, so it feels like I’m off to a pretty good start.

My plan to achieve this goal is to hit the target from two fronts: audiobooks and kindle reads.

During the day, I love to have a self help-y, conversational, motivational read on during the day while I’m shooting a recipe, testing food, or cleaning the dishes.

I just finished Mel Robbins’ The Let Them Theory and am delighting in saying, “Let Them!” to everything applicable.

(And so many things are applicable…IYKYK.)

By night, M and I have settled into a routine of snuggling up with our kindles and a glass of wine or kombucha while Flora takes a (much needed) nap before dinner.

Right now, like so many of you, I’m making my way through Onyx Storm, the 4th and long awaited book in Rebecca Yarros’ Fourth Wing series.

So, I’m hoping with this routine I can actually accomplish my 50 books this year!

I re-realized recently just how much joy reading brings me, so I want to prioritize reading even above podcasts and TV and definitely above social media consumption.

Whenever we’re having our reading party upstairs while the pup naps, snacks are always welcome.

These Savory Stuffed Dates are served with vegan cream cheese, crushed pistachios, maple syrup, and hemp and chia seeds.

They’re perfect for an elevated appetizer!

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Pumpkin Chickpea Curry

By Flora & Vino 1 Comment

Pumpkin Chickpea Curry made in 1-pot with pumpkin, coconut milk, vegetables, and chickpeas. A cozy curry for cold weather!

Now that we’re looking into February, it’s a good time to assess where you fall with your new years intentions.

So, how’s it going?

In some areas, I feel like I’m crushing it, and in others, eh, let’s talk about that in March. 🙂

Lately I’ve been checking in with my girlfriends to make plans together for the year, share goals, and keep each other accountable.

They say it takes 21-days to form a habit, right?

If so, I’m currently in the habit of making a big pot of soup for the week ahead.

Even I think we don’t *need* the extra food, we *always* eat it.

In the winter months, I find re-heating a bowl of soup is such a satisfying and cozy lunch.

It’s one that I always appreciate mid-day when I’m typing on my computer with chilly fingers.

This Pumpkin Chickpea Curry is my current favorite soup obsession.

I love adding pumpkin to this recipe because it makes the texture thick and velvety.

It’s made in 1-pot with pumpkin, coconut milk, vegetables, and chickpeas.

It’s an easy, cozy, and customizable curry for cold weather!

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Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff

By Flora & Vino 3 Comments

Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff made with your favorite pasta and dried mushrooms in a creamy cashew based sauce. Serve with fresh herbs!

The days are flying by!

Each morning I change the advent calendar number in disbelief, truly baffled by where the time goes.

It goes to unhurried dog training, hurried walks before early sunset, teaching yoga class prep, and hand writing Christmas cards.

And it goes to baking Christmas cookies, dreaming of 2025, applying buckets of moisturizer, and bundling and unbundling myself in layers of clothes.

It also goes to holiday parties, cups of light roast coffee on the couch, watching Christmas Hallmark movies, and playing Christmas music on a loop until it annoys me.

The time goes to making too many social plans and then cancelling them, returning Amazon packages, replacing dead car batteries, and drinking ruby red wine.

Some also goes to reading my Kindle, moving my body every day, watering dehydrated plant babies, and rewatching all 8 seasons of House with M.

One thing is certain: the time goes.

With not many days left in 2024, I’m committing to eating cozy comforting meals for the remainder of the year.

Are you in?

Sure, I love a good holiday cookie as much as the rest, but I wanted to leave you with something hearty, cozy, and satisfying.

Something that will curb your appetite until 2025, so to speak.

This is our last recipe of 2024, and it’s Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff.

This Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff is made with your favorite pasta and dried mushrooms in a creamy cashew based sauce.

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SunButter & Jelly Thumbprint Cookies

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SunButter & Jelly Thumbprint Cookies made with Organic SunButter and your favorite no-sugar-added jam. The perfect holiday cookie!

I’m just going to come out and say it: the end of this year has felt like a slog for me.

Anyone else?

I’m tired, I’m cranky, and I feel like the only thing that sounds interesting to me at the moment is a one-way ticket to the Bahamas.

Maybe it’s the shorter daylight, maybe it’s surviving the most wonderful time of the year as a new dog mom, or maybe it’s the extreme cold we’ve had this December.

Whatever *it* is that has me staring at blank pages with blinking cursors and cursing the creative slump I’ve fallen into, needs to go.

Regardless of the cause, I’m actively trying to take it easy on myself.

Because baby it’s freakin’ cold outside, because it’s the holidays, because I’m moving into 2025 without those nuisance negative beliefs.

That being said, whether you’re crushing the last few weeks of 2024 or cruising like I am, I think we all deserve a cookie.

These SunButter & Jelly Thumbprint Cookies are made with Organic SunButter and your favorite no-sugar-added jam.

They’re the epitome of the perfect holiday cookie made with lots of SunButter, jam, and love.

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9 Cozy Vegan Drinks

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9 Cozy Vegan Drinks made with plant-based and refined-sugar-free ingredients. Perfect to have in your mug when the weather gets chilly!

Every year I tend to romanticize the cold weather, thinking, *this* will be the year that I enjoy being outdoors in the winter.

And then every year I am reminded that no matter how many base layers, fuzzy socks, and parkas I dawn, winter is still not my thing.

And cold is relative, right?

While I think the 20-something degree mornings we’re currently experiencing in Maryland are FUH-REEZING, some of you in climates further north might think that sounds downright tropical.

You’ve got more stamina (and better circulation) than me, friends.

So, yes, this was the week that I decided that it was far too cold to go outside for much more than grabbing the mail and Flora’s potty time.

But it is good weather for some cozy homemade drinks.

Over the years, I’ve created quite a collection of warm beverages that I like sipping on in colder weather.

I decided today, as I type this at my desk with fuzzy slippers, a hoodie, and a blanket on, that it was a good day to put all of those recipes in one place.

These 9 Cozy Vegan Drinks are made with plant-based and refined-sugar-free ingredients.

They’re perfect to have in your mug when the weather gets chilly, or relatively chilly!

The collection includes lattes, hot chocolates, and mulled wines.

Bookmark this recipe roundup and come back to it whenever you need a new hug in a mug.

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