Grain-Free

Dark Chocolate Blueberry Macaroons

No-bake vegan macaroons made with blueberries, shredded coconut, and dark chocolate. Ready in under an hour for a quick and clean dessert!

Earlier this year, before COVID-19 rocked the globe, I decided that this was going to be the year I was going to get back into live music.

I booked five concerts spread across the calendar with friends who shared my musical taste.

When the pandemic changed life as we know it, the cancellations slowly started to trickle into my email inbox.

So much for the year of concerts, I thought.

I have recently, though, rediscovered my love of listening to music.

Like, *really* listening.

Lately, I’ve been putting on an album in my living room and listening in a way I haven’t done since I got my first Backstreet Boys CD back in the day.

You know, really absorbing the lyrics and the melody and feeling it run through you from finger tips to toe tips.

The same way one devours Dark Chocolate Blueberry Macaroons.

You just need 6-ingredients to make these Dark Chocolate Blueberry Macaroons that are packed with blueberries, coconut, and dark chocolate!

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Coconut Cream Cheese Bagel Sandwiches

By Flora & Vino 2 Comments

Vegan bagel sandwiches for breakfast, brunch, or lunch! Grain-free bagels loaded with coconut cream cheese, cucumber, tomato, red onion, and sprouts.

Well, it certainly feels like summer here in Virginia.

As we enter Phase 1 of the reopening in northern Virginia, there’s a weird juxtaposition of summer sun against the uncertainty of the dog days before us.

Things are reopening but nothing feels as convenient or easy as it used to.

This new normal is strange, because with stay at home orders lifted, the decision to adventure or stay home ultimately is on us!

Everything requires masks, preparation, time, and social distance.

It makes me nostalgic for summer days growing up when getting out was as easy as stopping by the bagel bakery.

In the summertime growing up my mom used to take us to get bagel sandwiches at lunchtime.

I always ordered a bagel sandwich with a big smear of cream cheese and vegetables stacked so high they slid out the sides when you chomped down.

These Coconut Cream Cheese Bagel Sandwiches are made with a coconut based cream cheese and loaded with your favorite toppings!

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Vegan Almond Butter Tagalongs

By Flora & Vino 2 Comments

Vegan “Tagalong” cookies with an almond butter twist! Made easily with almond flour, almond butter, maple syrup, and dark chocolate.

I’ve been heavy the past week with a weight that was always there but now is acutely painful, as if the backpack I’m wearing was suddenly filled with bricks.

Like you, I’ve been trying to carefully navigate current events with support, respect, and an open heart.

For me, this has meant pausing my Instagram feed through Sunday to allow food to take a backseat to change.

In a text message chain with my sister-in-law, we half cried and half laughed about what else 2020 could possibly throw at us.

“A tsunami? A massive hurricane?” she texted speculatively.

“Shhh,” I texted back. “You’ll jinx it.”

But have you ever noticed that most of the best conversations in life take place around food?

That’s because food brings us together.

I wanted to share these Vegan Almond Butter Tagalongs with you in hopes they can brighten your day.

You just need 5-ingredients to make them with a sweet almond flour nougat cookie, almond butter center, and dark chocolate encasing.

You’re going to want to tag along for this one.

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SunButter Date Squares

By Flora & Vino 6 Comments

5-ingredient SunButter Date Squares with sunflower seed butter, Medjool dates, oats, and almond flour naturally sweetened with maple syrup.

I’ve been seeing flashes of black out of the corner of my eyes for the past few days.

I chalked it up to glare in my glasses or a trick of the peripheral vision.

Last night as I was about to click off the lamp and head upstairs to bed, I saw the same flash of black with an accompanying tail scurry across my living room floor rug and behind the AC unit door.

The good news is that I’m not hallucinating after long days behind the camera and I don’t need to get my eyes checked.

The bad news is that it appears I have a mouse in the house.

Or a rat, to be honest, I didn’t get a good enough look to carefully categorize by species.

Having never cohabitated with anything bigger than a spider, you can imagine my shock to suddenly share my living room with a pet I didn’t purchase on all fours.

He’s probably scouring the house for any bits remaining from my recipe shoot yesterday with SunButter and dates.

While I’m dealing with rodents, you guys should probably make these SunButter Date Squares.

They’re made with just 5-ingredients in 30 minutes for an easy vegan and gluten-free breakfast, snack, or dessert!

Was this a smooth enough transition to go from the great mouse detective to breakfast bars?!

Let’s find out.

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Vegan Maple Baked Beans

By Flora & Vino 6 Comments

Easy vegan baked beans made with navy beans and simple seasonings naturally sweetened with pure maple syrup. The perfect easy plant-based summer side!

On photoshoot days I immediately wake up and check my weather app to see if the light will be good for shooting.

I’m still shocked on mornings when I see the temperature will be soaring into the 80’s.

And even more shocked that this Sunday is the last day in May– excuse me?

Anyway, it looks like we’re well on our way to summer, so let’s bring in the summer staples.

One of my favorite summer staples growing up was baked beans.

The Bush’s Vegetarian Baked Beans were my absolute favorite as a kid.

We often opened a can to serve alongside chips, burgers, and coleslaw on messy paper plates on the deck overlooking the backyard.

I used to spoon them onto my plate and watch the mixture expand in a think syrupy puddle.

Sometimes I actually used to delight in dipping my potato chips in the puddle (don’t judge me!).

When I asked on Instagram what summer recipes you needed, baked beans was a top request!

These Vegan Maple Baked Beans don’t disappoint.

They’re sweet, a little tangy, and tomato-y.

They’re easy enough to whip up in 15 minutes for a sweet summer side without any refined sugars or thickening agents!

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Birthday Cake Batter Chickpea Balls

By Flora & Vino 2 Comments

Celebrate with birthday cake batter balls made with chickpeas, maple syrup, cashew butter, and sprinkles! Yes, they taste like b-day cake!

How was your Memorial Day?

Yesterday was a special day for me because I taught my first virtual yoga class!

Before you get mad at me for not inviting you, don’t!

It was a private class for my cousin and her husband.

They’ve been asking me to teach them since the beginning of quarantine and I kept finding reasons why it wasn’t the right time…

Yesterday I finally ran out of reasons and realized that my main reason was fear.

So I threw together a quick 30 minute sequence, threw my hair up in a bun, and showed up on Skype to teach.

In those 30 minutes, for the first time, I felt like a true yoga teacher, virtually guiding them through postures and breath and finally, savasana.

And if that isn’t reason to celebrate with this sweet new snack I have in store for you…

These Birthday Cake Batter Chickpea Balls will give you a reason to celebrate snack-time!

They’re vegan, gluten-free, grain-free, and refined sugar-free while still tasking like cake.

Grab your blender, a can of chickpeas, and some sprinkles and let’s celebrate because…it’s somebody’s birthday somewhere.

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No-Churn Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream

By Flora & Vino 11 Comments

Five ingredient vegan ice cream made with coconut, cashew, maple syrup, and cacao. Stir in chopped dark chocolate chunks for an added chocolate crunch!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

How’s it going?

To be honest, it doesn’t feel like Memorial Day.

Sure, the temps are getting warmer, but I’m fiercely missing that rowdy sense of community that annually kickstarts the summer season via cookouts, BBQs, and backyard parties.

This time last year I was in a bikini pool-side baring my ghostly legs for all of the neighborhood to see.

Then afterwards I probably went to a winery with hundreds of other people, crowded onto picnic blankets on the winery grass.

This year, I’m holed up in my townhome, feverishly snapping photos of chocolate ice cream.

Ah, how times have changed.

But some things have stayed the same.

For example, as you probably guessed by the title of this recipe– I *still* don’t have an ice cream maker.

So I’m coming at you with a sweet dessert idea for Memorial Day that doesn’t require any fancy equipment and it definitely doesn’t require a crowd to finish off.

This No-Churn Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream is chocolate-y, creamy, and simple to make with just 5 ingredients!

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1-Bowl Hummus Pasta Salad

By Flora & Vino 1 Comment

Easy pasta salad made in 1-bowl with your favorite hummus, legume pasta, kalamata olives, cherry tomato, and cucumber. Perfect for a cookout main or side!

Did I ever tell you guys about the time I chipped my tooth on a black olive?

Seated at the restaurant in Colorado, I remember I was *starving*, like, way past the point of hangry.

I was in Colorado for a family wedding, and with that came a family schedule, and not lots of time for finding plants to eat.

So I was super excited super excited to find some plant-based options on the menu.

I went all out and ordered a wrap with allllll of the mediterranean inspired fixings.

Naturally, when the wrap arrived, I took a giant half-moon bite and chewed aggressively.

Craaaaaccccck.

Guys, I thought I lost my tooth.

Pain shot up through my jaw, juxtaposing against the salty satisfaction olives and hummus on my tastebuds.

When I finally spit out the offending mouthful (sorry, TMI), I found the perpetrator.

Those darn black olives weren’t pitted.

I reluctantly returned the food to the waitress, explaining the issue to prevent future guests from their own emergency dentist visits.

When I made it back to Virginia and finally saw a dentist, they confirmed that the olive pit had slightly chipped my incisor.

Ever since then I *never* bite into my olive whole, regardless of whether the jar says “pitted” or not…just in case.

So on that note…how about an easy pasta salad with olives for Memorial Day weekend?

This 1-Bowl Hummus Pasta Salad is easy to mix up with pantry-friendly ingredients and is so delish and simple it’ll chip away at your heart but never your teeth!

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Giant Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookie

By Flora & Vino 7 Comments

Giant vegan, gluten-free, and grain-free almond flour chocolate chip cookie for two! Lightly sweetened with maple syrup and dairy-free chocolate chunks.

If you’d told me a year ago that I’d be living alone during a pandemic, I would have cried and then laughed and then cried some more.

Ah, 2019 Lauren didn’t have a *clue* what was about to go down.

If anything, current events have taught me about my own inner strength and perseverance in the face of uncertainty.

We just keep going, friend.

I hope that you, too, feel more capable than ever of getting through hard things.

Because we’re doing all of this together.

And today, we’re going to bake together.

Current events have also taught me a thing or two about baking a mean vegan cookie.

These Giant Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies are resilient, too, you know.

They’re chewy and sweet and popping with chocolate chunks.

Make them in one-bowl with pantry friendly ingredients you already have at home.

And they only take 15 minutes to bake in the oven.

Let’s bake a BIG cookie!

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Copycat “Jammed Yam”

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Baked sweet potatoes stuffed with black beans, corn, raw veggies, avocado, and a squeeze of lime. Perfect for easy meal prep lunch or dinner!

I’ve *reallly* been missing some of my favorite takeout meals lately, guys.

On busy recipe testing days when the sink brims with dirty dishes, my most delicious form of self care was to hop in the car and leave it all behind.

Indulge me in a little pre-pandemic nostalgia.

I drove to grab dinner; usually takeout and always packed with plants I didn’t prepare.

Coming home with a warm meal someone else assembled always made the full sink feel a little less intimidating.

Anyway, one of my favorite spots to get a quick clean meal was Naked Lunch.

I ordered their signature “Jammed Yam” frequently.

It’s plant-based comfort food at its finest: a sweet and tender baked yam halve loaded with black beans, raw veggies, cooked corn, and fresh herbs.

I recreated it in this copycat “Jammed Yam” that’s easy to bake and build with yams, cooked black beans, and a mix of raw and cooked toppings.

Let’s jam a yam.

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