Grain-Free

Pumpkin Apple Bake

//#ad// 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 bake made with pumpkin puree and apples naturally sweetened with banana. Perfect for a breakfast or holiday side dish!

My laptop has about the same birthday as Flora & Vino, the blog, circa January 2017.

Which means they’re both just on the verge of their fourth birthday.

So it’s actually kind of a miracle that the glowing lettered squares on my keyboard *just* started sticking this week.

Since last weekend the “y” and “l” keys require aggressive tap-tap-tapping with my index finger before they grace the cursor with their appearance.

Which, naturally, led to a whole heck of a lot of typos this week.

Guys, do you know just how many words contain a “y” and an “l”???

Too many.

You’d think with all of the food I photograph that a sticky spill might be the culprit, but I can’t pinpoint any instance of spillage.

Hm. I guess I need to make a visit to the tech store sometime soon.

Well, you know what else is sticky but a lot sweeter?

This Pumpkin Apple Bake that’s made with pumpkin puree and apples, sweetened with banana.

It’s excellent to whip up for a unique cold weather breakfast or holiday side!

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Cumin Roasted Carrots

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Roasted carrots simply seasoned with ground cumin, garlic, and fresh herbs. Enjoy as a colorful side on your plant-based plate!

Yesterday I completed a socially distant gift drop off at my parents’ house.

I piled brown paper bags to their full capacity with wrapped presents and managed to corral them into the car with only one red bow jumping ship.

Huzzah.

I felt a bit like Santa Claus, humming to classic Christmas music with gifts in tow, driving down highways to where I used to live.

I dropped their gifts perched on my old front porch and scooped up gifts addressed “To: Lauren” in their stead.

I inwardly laughed, because they had used the same Whole Foods brown paper bags to transport the gifts as I had.

It was a bit strange, waving at my parents behind a mask and a storm door, but I know they could tell I was grinning.

When I got home, M said that the mini tree was too small; the sea of new gifts dwarfed its green needled stature.

It’s going to be a good Christmas, friends.

Do you typically have your big Christmas meal on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?

Typically, we’ve always done the “nicer” dinner on Christmas Eve and saved leftovers for Christmas Day.

This year, let’s try roasting carrots as a colorful side!

These Cumin Roasted Carrots are so easy to roast and serve with your plant-based main.

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Chocolate Covered Pomegranate Seeds

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2-ingredient chocolate covered pomegranate seeds topped with shredded coconut. Store in fridge for a chocolate-y snack throughout the week.

Guys– I finally got my mini Christmas tree up this weekend.

Do you have yours up yet?

I picked one out at Whole Foods last week, walking up and down the sidewalk outside, searching for the most symmetric and full branches.

The trees were cute and well taken care of, with already attached tree stands and fine needles that don’t shed much.

Just my type.

Last Friday, I knelt on the woven red tree skirt and searched for the *perfect* place to put all of my childhood ornaments.

When M asked how he could help, I put him to work attaching green wire hooks to glass balls.

Together we distributed the trinkets amongst branches while Alexa played contemporary Christmas music in the background.

I don’t have any electric lights or a tree topper, but the result was still colorful and just the right balance of comforting and nostalgic.

Everything felt cozy and Christmas and nice.

I also seeded a pomegranate (and then covered it in Hu chocolate) this week.

These Chocolate Covered Pomegranate Seeds require just TWO ingredients for a quick holiday inspired treat!

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Vegan & Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies

By Flora & Vino 2 Comments

Vegan, gluten-free, and oil-free gingerbread cookies sweetened with coconut sugar and molasses. Roll them into round cookies or cut into gingerbread men!

This past Sunday I ran a half marathon in my neighborhood.

While it was the longest run of the year, it was also by far the coldest.

My Apple electronics that I used to track the 13.1 miles started dying rapidly after the first 5K (which I later learned was probably a factor of the extreme cold and wind), so I finished the race with an educated guess at distance.

I went off of the established fact that 1 loop around the duck pond is equal to ~1 mile — in case you were curious.

It was quiet while I was running (I’d turned off the music to preserve battery life) so I had plenty of time to think.

I thought about 2020, about what a wild and heart-wrenching ride it’s been.

I thought about how I had signed up to run this race as an empowerment run; it was something to work for to establish my newfound post-divorce identity.

I also thought about Christmas, and how the holidays have a comforting way of showing up every year no matter how hard the months and days before it were.

Lucky for you, I also had time to think about Christmas baking.

So here’s a seasonably appropriate recipe for you, just in time for your holiday cookie exchanges.

These Vegan & Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies are naturally sweetened with blackstrap molasses and coconut sugar.

They also happen to be oil-free, grain-free, and an absolute delight to make and consume!

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SunButter Sugar Cookies

By Flora & Vino 1 Comment

3-ingredient “sugar” cookies made gluten and grain-free with SunButter! Finish them with red and green sprinkles for a festive treat.

Have you started decorating for the holidays yet?

I usually have a hard and fast rule of taking things one holiday at a time.

Which means I’m still hard at work on my Thanksgiving menu, thank you very much.

But many of my friends have told me they’ve already got their Christmas trees out and ready to rock around.

Which I support 100% , especially this year.

With much of the world spending more time at home than ever before, why not making it as cozy and Christmas-y for as long as possible?

Even though I haven’t started decorating or gift-giving yet, I did get my annual snowman Christmas cards in the mail.

If you’ve been following me a while you might know that Christmas cards are my thing.

I tried to explain my tradition to M, recently, who laughed and shook his head.

Yes, I’ve been writing snowman Christmas cards since I was 16 and yes I will continue to do so forever and ever.

Because there’s something about the joy of gifting and receiving snail mail that nothing else can come close to trumping.

Except, maybe, baking Christmas cookies.

I have a really simple, healthy, and deliciously festive cookie to share with you today that’s totally grain-free, refined-sugar-free, and oil-free.

You can make these SunButter Sugar Cookies with just 3-ingredients for a festive holiday treat!

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Everything Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

By Flora & Vino 1 Comment

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

The best roasted pumpkin seeds with sea salt, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and black pepper. Use this recipe for any winter squash seeds!

Hey you, how was your Halloween?

Mine didn’t involve any costumes or tricks or treats, but it was a fantastic day all the same.

My book club met in person for the first time since March.

I sat around the bonfire six feet apart from ladies I love and gushed about our October book, Rebecca.

It was a good read; a deeply psychological thriller with just the right amount of spookiness for the changing seasons.

Later that evening I virtually played Among Us with my cousin, sister, and friends.

M and I sipped on Pinot Noir across the table from each other, shielding our phone screens from view as we playfully accused each other of being “the Imposter”.

When it got dark, we adopted a no-contact trick or treating model by placing a platter with a smattering of health foods (not candy, hahah!) on the doorstep.

At midnight half of the nut butter packets and energy bars were gone!

I surmised that either kids are more health conscious than they used to be, or, said kids *thought* the goodies were candy under the glowing street lamps.

And that’s how we influence the younger generation, eh?

I hope I can influence you to try these Everything Roasted Pumpkin Seeds.

This is my favorite way to roast pumpkin seeds with plenty of seasonings, spices, and sea salt.

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Low Sugar Applesauce Apple Butter

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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 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 bliss balls made with oats, chia seeds, nut butter, pumpkin purée, and applesauce. Add baked apple chips and pecans for some 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 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 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 6 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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