Meal Prep

Berry Baked Oatmeal

Easy baked oatmeal bursting with berries made totally oil-free, gluten-free, and refined-sugar-free. Meal prep a pan and reheat for easy breakfast!

How do you structure and measure your days, friends?

Every morning before jumping into work I make a list of my top three priorities for the day.

These “impact tasks”, we’ll call them, are the things that I know move life forward even if absolutely *nothing* else gets done.

I am what I’ve heard referred to as a time optimist, which sounds like a positive thing but is actually kind of a curse.

I *always* think I can do more in 24 hours than is actually humanly possible.

So, lately I’ve been working on lowering my expectations for myself.

And choosing impact tasks that are meaningful but not necessarily ground-breaking and grueling.

Sometimes something as simple as calling a friend back or finding time for a 60 minute yoga class drastically shifts my perspective and trajectory of the day.

Or meal prepping a delicious baked oatmeal for the week!

This Berry Baked Oatmeal is sure to meet all of your breakfast expectations.

And, yes, you should probably add it to your top three impact tasks of the day.

It’s made in less than an hour for a naturally sweet breakfast that’s popping with berries, oatmeal, and nuts, for a nutritious start to your day.

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Fig Newton Breakfast Bars

By Flora & Vino 2 Comments

6-ingredient breakfast bars with hearty oats, plant-based protein and fresh figs! Gluten-free, oil-free, and naturally sweetened with dates and maple syrup.

Ever since I moved into my townhome as a renter, things have been, well, falling apart.

The first offender was the dishwasher, that, to be honest, never really cleaned dishes very well from the beginning.

Then there was the great dryer debacle of 2020 where, for the span of three months, I hung all of my clothing to dry on a flimsy hang dry rack.

Crunchy towels and jeans are not fun, friends.

The doorbell stopped working after about a month so I’ve grown accustomed to listen intently for persistent knocks.

I’ve also cohabited with a mouse, a swarm of ants, and a lot of web-making spiders.

I joked to my parents on the phone a few weeks back that the only thing that hasn’t gone wrong yet was the AC.

I spoke too soon.

This past Saturday morning I woke up to a stuffy hot home with temperatures on a steady upward incline.

My Nest thermostat didn’t respond to all of my prodding and pushing on the dial so I diagnosed the AC– *gasp*– BROKEN.

Luckily, we’ve had several days in the low 80’s and mid-70’s here in Virginia, making it possible for me to have the windows down and the ceiling fans on.

So the past few days I’ve been limiting my oven use to stay cool.

Luckily, I made Fig Newton Breakfast Bars when the AC was still kicking.

These 6-ingredient breakfast bars are dense, chewy, and naturally sweet with fresh figs and dried fruit!

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Hummus Stuffed Zucchini Boats

By Flora & Vino 2 Comments

Zucchini boats baked with all of the Greek fixings like hummus, tomato, olives, red onion, and pine nuts. Try them for a light snack, meal, or appetizer.

Friends!

It’s true that the hardest part of doing something is starting.

I ran this morning for the first time in over a month.

After lacing up my Brooks running shoes I did three invigorating laps around the paths just beyond my neighborhood.

The pavement felt like it was propelling me forward each time it connect with the sole of my cushioned shoe and my iPhone felt weightless in my hand despite the fact that I left my running belt at home.

Kind of like this post, that for whatever reason, I felt like procrastinating.

Writing about food isn’t always as much fun as eating it, you know?

Unless it’s a stuffed vegetable, which, if you’ve been following me for a while, you know is my forte.

These Hummus Stuffed Zucchini Boats are the best way to use that summer zucchini hiding in the bottom drawers of your refrigerator.

Grab a zucchini and let’s make a zucchini boats!

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Mango Blueberry Overnight Oats

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Easy overnight oats with old-fashioned rolled oats, fresh mango, blueberries, and a spoonful of SunButter. Perfect for summer workweek meal prep!

Last week I hung a rectangular printed canvas sign on my wall.

“Never Stop Exploring”, it reads.

All I did was press a push pin into the wall and steady the sign on it until it balanced, but it felt like a bold move.

My first intentional piece of artwork in my home.

Huzzah!

It’s funny how long I’ve gone with bare walls devoid of decorating.

To be honest, I’ve never been very confident in my indoor decorating choices.

Like, do I need a color scheme, a theme, a purpose, or do I just start throwing stuff on the walls?

I joked with a friend (who is amazing at decorating her home, I might add), that I need a design consultation. STAT.

Anyway, sometimes I catch glances of my sign while I’m eating breakfast in the morning.

Never stop exploring.

Are you ready to go exploring some new overnights oats?

These Mango Blueberry Overnight Oats are so easy to mix up in jars in advance with oats, fresh mango, and blueberries!

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Chickpea Meal Prep Bowl with Turmeric Tahini Dressing

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Plant-based bowl with arugula, chickpeas, steamed sweet potatoes, broccoli, sauerkraut, and an oil-free turmeric tahini dressing. Perfect for meal prep!

I’ve been happy lately, friends.

Maybe it’s the warmer weather, or maybe it’s just a newfound perspective this summer.

It feels like things are shifting, changing, and becoming.

Like good things are on the tip of my tongue, about to spill over my lips and into fruition.

I’m emerging from quarantine feeling the vibration of potential and possibilities that the remainder of the year allows.

My intention for 2020 was *forward* and I’ve definitely tested that two syllable word to the fullest in the past month.

Shedding old identities, stories, and thought patterns and trying on new ones.

In the midst of all of this self reflection and discovery, I haven’t really wanted to cook fancy meals.

In fact, I haven’t been thinking much about food at all.

There, I said it.

But, in the midst of so much change, we still need to eat and eat well.

This Chickpea Meal Prep Bowl with Turmeric Tahini Dressing is perfect to make for an easy plant-based meal!

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PB&J Baked Breakfast Bars

By Flora & Vino 8 Comments

Six ingredient peanut butter & jelly breakfast bars that are naturally oil-free, gluten-free, and sweetened with dates and maple syrup.

Show of hands: Who still eats Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches?

You are my kind of people.

I’ve been on a major PB&J kick lately and I’m not even trying to hide it.

Peanut butter and berry combos have been popping up all over my Instagram feed more often than it popped up in my brownbag lunch as a kid.

In my adult life, I like to think I’ve gotten a little more creative about how I consume the classic combo.

These PB&J Baked Breakfast Bars require only 6 ingredients to make the most delicious breakfast or snack that’s bursting with peanut butter and berries!

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Blueberry Maple Baked Breakfast Bars

By Flora & Vino 7 Comments

6-ingredient breakfast bars with hearty oats, plant-based protein and blueberries! Gluten-free, oil-free, and naturally sweetened with dates and maple syrup.

Breakfast is *usually* my favorite meal of the day.

Anyone else?

It’s the meal I spend those last dreamy minutes before sleep and the first precious moments of the new day pondering.

That being said, it’s also equally nice to know what’s for breakfast when life gets hectic and your mornings fly by like commercials on fast forward.

Especially when breakfast is these Blueberry Maple Baked Breakfast Bars.

These time-saving, life-altering bars can be prepped in under an hour with only SIX ingredients that you probably already have on hand.

Ready to get preppin’?

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Copycat “Jammed Yam”

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Baked sweet potatoes stuffed with black beans, cooked corn, raw chopped 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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Black Bean Quinoa Chili

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Hearty plant-based chili with black beans, quinoa, and mushrooms in a sweet tomato broth. Perfect to prep in advance and load up with toppings!

Is it still soup season?

As long as we’re staying safe at home, I’m saying it is.

Each Monday throughout April I’ve made a new pantry-friendly recipe via Instagram stories.

And surprise, surprise, almost all of them have been soup!

It’s so satisfying to throw legumes, grains, and veggies in a cook pot and let them simmer to deliciousness.

Give me a pot, some quinoa, black beans, and spices, and I can make you a vegan, gluten-free, and totally satisfying meal.

This Black Bean Quinoa Chili is packed with black beans, quinoa, and mushrooms in a sweet tomato broth.

It’s made with only pantry-friendly ingredients that you probably already have tucked away in your cabinets.

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Cashew Butter Chickpea Snack Cookies

By Flora & Vino 14 Comments

6-ingredient snack cookies made with chickpeas and cashew butter sweetened with maple syrup and apple sauce. Perfect for a grab and go snack or dessert!

Happy Sunday, friends!

Does anyone else have major dish washing fatigue right about now?

As if it wasn’t enough to eat every stinking meal at home, we have to clean all those pots and pans, too?

I’ve set aside some time today to *actually* meal prep.

If you’re thinking, but Lauren, why meal prep during a quarantine?

Well, it occurred to me chatting with friends this week that it might be better to make larger portions in advance rather than making small meals on the spot.

We might have the time and space free to cook and bake at home constantly, but do we really want to?

As much as the kitchen is my happy place, I have other happy places that I’m missing.

Luckily, the recipe I recommend you meal prep today is made with just one blender and a cookie sheet!

These Cashew Butter Chickpea Snack Cookies require only 6 pantry-friendly staples to bring them to your kitchen.

Grab a can of chickpeas and a big spoonful of cashew butter and let’s get into it.

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Berry Baked Oatmeal

Fig Newton Breakfast Bars

Hummus Stuffed Zucchini Boats

Mango Blueberry Overnight Oats

Chickpea Meal Prep Bowl with Turmeric Tahini Dressing

PB&J Baked Breakfast Bars

Blueberry Maple Baked Breakfast Bars

Copycat “Jammed Yam”

Black Bean Quinoa Chili

Cashew Butter Chickpea Snack Cookies

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