Oil-Free

Pumpkin SunButter Breakfast Bars

These Pumpkin SunButter Breakfast Bars are soft, chewy, and packed with cozy fall flavor. They’re vegan, gluten-free, and perfect for meal prep!

This fall is bringing a lot of change for us in the best possible way.

We just closed on a house (!!!) and are officially in the process of packing up our lives and getting ready to move into our first home.

At the same time, we’re preparing to welcome our baby boy this winter, so it feels like we’re building a new home and a new chapter of our lives all at once.

There’s a lot to do, but I’m so excited to settle into our new space and make it ours.

I can’t wait to watch Flora run around in her fenced-in backyard, and I’m already dreaming about decorating the nursery in sage greens, warm browns, and soft neutrals for our little safari theme.

With so much change on the horizon, I can also feel myself wanting to turn inward a little this season.

I’m ready to hibernate, nest, and fill the freezer with all of the meals and snacks we’ll be grateful to have once baby boy arrives.

I have a feeling that anything nourishing, portable, and already prepared is going to feel like a gift to my future self.

Which brings me to these bars!

These Pumpkin SunButter Breakfast Bars are the perfect way to welcome pumpkin season!

They’re soft, chewy, and packed with cozy fall flavor from pumpkin, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice.

Organic SunButter gives the bars richness and staying power, while rolled oats make them hearty enough for breakfast.

I love making a batch at the beginning of the week so I have an easy breakfast or snack ready to grab from the refrigerator.

They’re also easy to pack up and take with you, which has been especially helpful during this busy season of boxes, errands, appointments, and getting everything ready for our next chapter.

Enjoy a bar on its own for a quick snack, or serve one with fruit and yogurt for a more substantial breakfast.

These bars are naturally vegan, gluten-free, and easy to meal prep for busy fall mornings.

…

Soft-Baked SunButter Oatmeal Cookies

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Soft-baked SunButter oatmeal cookies made with rolled oats, dried cranberries, and chocolate chips. Perfect for an easy snack or lunchbox treat!

As we soak up the last few weeks of summer and start looking ahead to fall, I have some news that I’ve been holding close for a while.

If you’ve noticed that things have been a little quieter or different around here lately, there’s a very good reason: I’m pregnant!

Yes, M and I are expecting a baby boy this winter, and Flora is about the be a big sister.

It feels right that I share this information with you, first, my readers who have been with me for a decade of life changes and plant-y recipes.

So, I’ll be honest with you.

The past few months have been some of the happiest and most humbling of my life, and food has looked very different along the way.

For someone who has spent so many years creating recipes and thinking about food for a living, pregnancy has been a forced exercise in letting go of expectations.

There were weeks when my usual favorites sounded completely impossible and dinner was whatever simple, comforting food I could manage.

I couldn’t look at vegetables and the thought of tofu was the most repulsive of all, which is strange because tofu is so…innocuous, right?

So I ate a lot of toast with butter, bagels with cream cheese, and plain pasta with parm.

I was rocking the brown and beige diet to a tee.

My appetite, cravings, aversions, and even the way I think about nourishing myself have shifted from week to week.

I pulled away from Instagram and my recipes to focus on nourishing myself and future baby.

Much to my demise, I also became a napper.

A daily nap was about the only way to make it through the day in my first trimester, and I despise naps!

For me, it took until month 4/5 (I’m 5 months now), to be a functioning human again, when I was sure I’d wake up the first day of the second trimester as superwoman.

Now, as summer winds down and I’m feeling more like myself again, it feels especially sweet to be back in the kitchen creating and sharing recipes with you.

I don’t know what the future holds for Flora & Vino, but I’m very grateful to have you in my community and my village as my family grows.

But before I start crying…let’s make cookies, OK?!

These Soft-Baked SunButter Oatmeal Cookies feel perfect for this season of life: cozy but not quite fall, easy to make, and packed with familiar ingredients.

It’s also the kind of snack I’m very happy to have waiting for me when hunger strikes.

The kind of snack I hope to one day pack in my son’s lunchbox.

…

Frozen SunButter Banana Bites

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Frozen SunButter Banana Bites made with bananas, creamy SunButter, and dark chocolate. An easy freezer snack that’s vegan and gluten-free.

Lately, I’ve been all about simple snacks that require minimal effort but still feel satisfying and nourishing.

During seasons when cooking feels overwhelming, I find myself reaching for easy freezer treats again and again.

Not to mention a frozen treat is the best way to beat the summer heat.

These Frozen SunButter Banana Bites were born out of one of those moments when I wanted something sweet, comforting, and made with simple ingredients.

They’re made with creamy SunButter, naturally sweet bananas, and a rich dark chocolate coating.

These bite-sized treats are the perfect balance of wholesome and decadent!

They’re naturally vegan, gluten-free, and easy to keep stocked in the freezer for afternoon snacking, healthy desserts, or whenever a chocolate craving strikes.

Best of all, they come together with just a few simple ingredients and minimal prep time.

…

Cranberry Chickpea Salad Sandwich

By Flora & Vino 1 Comment

Cranberry Chickpea Salad Sandwiches made with cranberries, walnuts, and sliced celery. Add to sourdough bread with toppings!

The end of the year always feels like a strange mix of gratitude and burnout, doesn’t it?

Between yoga teacher training weekends, future wedding and family planning, and wrapping up business for the year, it’s been….full.

I’m feeling both super thankful and a little stuck in the messy in-between-ness.

Yoga has taught me that that both can be true; to feel joy and exhaustion at the same time.

I have to remind myself that balance doesn’t always come from doing more, but from pausing and nourishing myself in small, intentional ways.

Something M is constantly reminding me is that when life serves us chaos, I don’t need to serve us a five course meal.

So on weeks when life feels full and I’m craving simplicity, I turn to recipes like these Cranberry Chickpea Salad Sandwiches.

It’s easy, protein-packed, and ready in minutes.

A simple sammy can be a gentle reminder that feeding yourself well doesn’t have to be complicated, even when everything else feels like it is.

So if you’re feeling that same end-of-year overwhelm; that delicate pull between slowing down and showing up, I see you.

Let this simple sandwich be a moment of reprieve from the holiday happy and haggard.

Take a deep breath, step into your kitchen, and make something that nourishes you without asking for much in return.

Let’s make Cranberry Chickpea Salad Sandwiches!

…

Cold SunButter Soba Noodles

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Cold SunButter Soba Noodles served with raw crunchy vegetables in an easy SunButter Sauce. Perfect for a light summer meal!

For context, I don’t sweat a lot.

I don’t have the kind of body that slips and slides on their yoga mat in a hot vinyasa class.

Or the kind of body that drips sweat from a low impact home workout with weights.

I’m not telling you this to brag about how I don’t sweat, I glisten.

I’m telling you this so you’ll understand how humid it is when I say I start sweating *immediately* when Flora and I left the house for our morning walk today.

By the time we got home around 7:55 AM, my face was slick with moisture and my freshly washed and dried hair was in need of re-washing.

And poor Flora didn’t look much better, panting like she’d run miles instead of leisurely walking for…one.

There’s been a fair share of memes on the Internet lately comparing he DMV to a bath tub, or, my personal favorite, a swamp.

And they’re very accurate.

So, the muse of my food recipes lately is a temperature…cold.

Anything chilled, no-bake, and not heated is at the top of my TO EAT list right now in mid July.

These Cold SunButter Soba Noodles are served with raw crunchy vegetables in an easy SunButter Sauce.

This noodle bowl is perfect for a light summer meal!

…

Blackberry Chia Jam

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Easy blackberry chia seed jam to made on the stovetop with berries and chia seeds and naturally sweetened with lemon and maple syrup.

After the Fourth of July, it always feels like we’re entering the height of summer.

Many of my friends are out of town and colleagues have out of office messages notifying the world that they are unavailable.

During the dog days of summer, the pace of life feels slower, which can be hard for someone like me that is attached to moving quickly.

Summer also makes me nostalgic for being a carefree kid who only needed to hold space for finishing my latest library book and chilling at the neighborhood pool.

As adults, we are asked to keep the velocity of our lives moving forward while simultaneously pressing pause to make time to relax.

So, if summer feels like a tug of war between a packed social calendar and reluctant relaxation, I get it.

What I’m working on is being very intentional with my time off, and really being present and in alignment with what the day is asking of me.

If it feels like a “push” day, then I do all of the things; I shoot the recipe, I write the post, I edit the photos, I teach the yoga, I do it done.

If it feels like a “pause” day, then I pull back on work and lean into other tasks, maybe even taking some time off.

They key for me is to not think about work when I’m relaxing and not think about relaxing when I’m working.

You know what I mean?

It’s all about presence.

With that said, I highly encourage you to give your full attention to the recipe I’m sharing today.

It’s super easy to make and the perfect way to use up extra blackberries in the refrigerator.

This Vegan Blackberry Chia Jam is made with just 5 ingredients on the stovetop for a sweet summer spread!

…

Vegan Chocolate Waffles

By Flora & Vino 3 Comments

Vegan Chocolate Waffles made with oat flour, coconut milk, and raw cacao powder. Perfect to make for a nutritious breakfast!

Hi, hello, what’s new?

This week was crunch time at F&V as we prepare for a camping trip next week AND Flora’s spaying surgery.

I can feel the momentum of spring into summer, all culminating into the celebration of Memorial Day this weekend.

We’ve also had a *lot* of rain, making work and life a little more challenging in navigating shoots in natural daylight and muddy walks with the pup.

I read a quote recently when preparing for teaching yoga this weekend that spoke about finding the calm amidst the storm.

And by focusing on a single raindrops hitting the ground we can find a bit of calm in the chaos.

Life has felt a bit like one big storm lately, to me.

I find myself procrastinating tasks and challenges for when “life is easier”.

It dawned on me that I need to find a slice of tranquility while life’s marathon races around me.

Because if there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s that life won’t stop life-ing, so maybe I can challenge it with reframing what calm looks like.

Amidst the stressors, I still *love* me a warm sweet breakfast.

These Vegan Chocolate Waffles are made with oat flour, coconut milk, and raw cacao powder.

They’re perfect to make for a nutritious breakfast, no matter what season of life you’re in!

Trust me, the ingredient list is shorter than your “To Do”, list, friends!

…

Vegan Blueberry Muffins

By Flora & Vino 4 Comments

Vegan Blueberry Muffins made with almond flour, oat flour, and frozen blueberries. Perfect for a nutritious breakfast or snack.

I have a working oven; I repeat, I have a working oven!!!

It’s been *over* two weeks since the oven lit up light a firecracker and died while I was baking a sheet pan meal at 450 degrees.

Since then, we’ve been waiting patiently for a new oven part to arrive and be installed.

In the meantime, I’ve been working on portable induction cooktop.

This is actually my first experience with induction cooking, friends.

While I loved how quickly the pans heated up for a stir-fry, I found it to be lacking when you need to boil a *lot* of water, like pasta.

We survived mostly on oatmeal, homemade fried rice, and air-fried sweet potatoes for the past few weeks.

Which isn’t the worst menu to live on, right?

That being said, I’m super grateful and excited to have a functioning oven again.

Sure, ovens are great for cooking and I rely on it frequently to roast veggies and chickpeas.

However, the one thing I couldn’t stop craving while we were oven-less was baking MUFFINS.

Homemade muffins warm from the oven, bursting with blueberries.

Naturally, today’s recipe is a celebration of that craving.

Friends, I give you, Vegan Blueberry Muffins.

These Vegan Blueberry Muffins are made with almond flour, oat flour, and frozen blueberries.

They’re perfect for a nutritious breakfast or snack!

…

Cauliflower Cashew Alfredo

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Cauliflower Cashew Alfredo made with fresh or frozen cauliflower, raw cashews, and Eden Foods Organic Unsweetened EdenSoy.

Hello, friends!

Since we last chatted I had a birthday spent with M and Flora doing my favorite things.

We completed a 3.7 mile hike at Seneca Creek State Park, which happens to be the longest hike Flora has ever completed with us!

She had the *best* tongue-hanging-out-of-the-side-of-her-mouth time, even though she was afraid of the geese around the pond trail loop.

When we got home, she passed in the entry way (her favorite sleeping spot) for most of the rest of the day.

That’s when we realized that in order to have a calm puppy, we *just* need to hike her for four miles every day.

Easy, right?

On my birthday evening, we ordered a new vegan + gluten free pizza place near us that might be the best I’ve had since going vegan.

So it was a great day!

After that, it feels like the month of April was put on fast forward.

It’s been a whirlwind of appointments, commitments, and chaotic spring energy.

Do you feel this too, in the springtime, where everything seems to start at once and your energetically pulled in 100 directions?

A lot of my time and energy has also gone into trying to learn to use a new cooktop for work and reschedule all oven recipes for a later date.

The oven-less saga continues, however, we did receive an induction cooktop in the meantime so I can continue creating recipes while we wait for new oven parts.

Luckily, it’s spring time, and most of us are craving fresh and lighter recipes for incoming warmer weather.

However, we’re back down to the 30’s overnight here in Maryland this week, so I’m still craving warm dinners for the chilly spring eves.

I’m waiting to plant my seeds outside, but I’m not waiting to make this pasta.

This Cauliflower Cashew Alfredo is easy to make on the stovetop with a homemade alfredo sauce and spring vegetables.

…

Vegan Applesauce Waffles

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Vegan Applesauce Waffles made with oat flour, coconut milk, and unsweetened apple sauce. Perfect to make for a nutritious breakfast!

In our house, I like every item to have a space, a home, a location where we can always find it.

M can attest to the fact that I’m always tidying, organizing, and putting things away.

Which is why whenever he looks for his empty coffee mug to refill it, it’s already in the dishwasher.

Sorry, M!

Anyway, this is especially important for me in the kitchen during busy photoshoot and recipe testing days.

However, being a food blogger, I tend to amass a certain amount of kitchen gadgets that…have no home.

And living in a condo, let’s be honest, I don’t have the biggest kitchen.

So, these kitchen gadgets usually end up in our storage closet or the attic waiting for me to miss them and eventually unearth them 6 months later.

That is, they don’t get to take up *precious* kitchen real estate.

Yes, I’m sorry to admit that the ice cream maker, the air fryer, and the crock pot all live in varying degrees of dust and rumble when not making recipes.

However!

The waffle maker that I told you guys about recently might be the exception to the rule.

Because I just don’t have it in my heart to put away, so it might just have to live on the kitchen counter forever.

I don’t know how M will feel about it blocking the coffee grinder, but we can find out after I share this new recipe with you.

These Vegan Applesauce Waffles are made with oat flour and coconut milk for a nutritious breakfast.

Unsweetened apple sauce is the secret ingredient to making them brown and crispy!

…

Oil-Free

Footer

what’s happening now on instagram