Oil-Free

Roasted Pumpkin & Vegetable Soup

Creamy sweet & savory pumpkin soup with coconut milk, roasted veggies, and a simple seasoning. Perfect for a chilly fall day!

Whenever I called my grandma, we always started out our conversation by asking each other about the weather.

Always.

It was a comfortable routine, the common ground we could both answer easily and confidently, politely paving the way to more in-depth topics.

Sometimes small talk can lead to big things, right?

So…how’s the weather where you are?

We almost had our first frost here this past week, so I’m cozying up to mugs brimming with warmth.

The mugs you see in this picture are what I drink my matcha out of every morning!

I discovered this week, however, that they’re also my favorite way to eat Roasted Pumpkin & Vegetable Soup.

This soup is super creamy, orange, and packed with unexpected veg and subtle sweetness!
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Pumpkin Chocolate Chunk Bread

By Flora & Vino 10 Comments

1-bowl pumpkin chocolate chip bread that’s vegan, gluten-free, and naturally sweetened with maple syrup. Perfect for fall breakfasts, snacks, and dessert.

Last night I had the weirdest dream.

I decided that I was going to drop everything and pursue my dreams…of becoming an actress.

Except that in real life even the thought of playing charades is enough to dissuade me from attending a party.

In front of an audience (or a camera) I become a self conscious shell of myself that probably wouldn’t be able to tell you my name if you asked.

I am NOT an actress.

So believe when I tell you, I’m not acting like you need this Pumpkin Chocolate Chunk Bread in your life.

It’s the TRUTH.

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Roasted Fig Arugula Salad

By Flora & Vino 1 Comment

Roasted Fig Arugula Salad with Maple Tahini with juicy roasted figs, toasted walnuts, and an oil-free maple tahini dressing. Perfect for fall salads!

The other day I asked on Instagram if anyone could name a fruit sexier than a fresh fig.

My brother-in-law did chime in with a cheeky “Rambutan!” comment.

I also got several Passion Fruit and Pitaya responses, all very good contenders, boys and girls, but have you tried roasted figs before?

Now my main contender for the fruit beauty pageant.

They’ve got looks, taste, and a pretty intriguing backstory about being an inverted flower pollinated by a female wasp (I just did my research on this– did you know??).

Oh, and they’re absolutely delicious in this simple Roasted Fig & Arugula Salad with Maple Tahini that’s perfect to jazz up your fall meal prep!

*mic drop*

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Avocado SunButter Swirl Brownies

By Flora & Vino 7 Comments

Avocado SunButter Swirl Brownies made with avocado and SunButter. Perfect for a clean chocolate-y dessert packed with healthy fats.

Hey you, how was your weekend?

I had girlfriends over for brunch on Saturday with an F&V inspired spread, followed by an epic trip to Target (does an un-epic version even exist?), and some serious fall cleaning around the house.

The usual combination of fun and mundane before the workweek begins again.

Oh, and most importantly, I made these Avocado SunButter Swirl Brownies!

They require only eight ingredients and are packed with healthy fats, protein, and plenty of fudgy chocolate flavor.

Are you team chewy or team fudgy brownie?

My high school boyfriend used to eat around edges of the big brownie sheet pan his mom made, enjoying the crispy edges, so when I came over only the haggard center remained.

Which was fine by me, because I’m more of a center brownie-pan kind of a girl.

You know, the ooey gooey center part that’s kind of half-baked, intensely chocolatey, and amazing?

That’s what these Avocado SunButter Swirl Brownies are– for the WHOLE pan.

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Oil-Free Sweet Potato Fries with Lemon & Tahini

By Flora & Vino 2 Comments

Easy oil-free baked sweet potato wedge fries served with lemon and tahini. Enjoy as a healthy plant-based snack or side dish.

Isn’t it funny how sometimes the recipes we love the most are the ones we are the least likely to share?

Maybe it’s that they seem too literal, too basic, too ordinary.

Don’t get me wrong, I love all of the recipes I share with you guys here at F&V, but some appear on my literal table more than others, you know?

Like this simple sweet potato fry plate combo that I’ve been making for a few years now.

It shows up at least once a week just to leave me drooling and re-establish that ordinary foods make extraordinary meals.

If you’re thinking, “OMG Lauren, you’ve been sitting on this deliciousness for over 365 days?!

I know, I know.

All I can do is offer to share with you now, in hopes that you’ll accept my most sincere apologies.

From one sweet potato lover to another, these Oil-Free Sweet Potato Fries with Lemon & Tahini are timelessly tasty.

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Chocolate Fig Hazelnut Mini Muffins

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Chocolate Fig Hazelnut Mini Muffins with dried figs and smashed banana. The perfectgrain-free easy bite-sized snack for fall!

This week has been rainy and dark and wet, guys.

It’s the kind of rain that really sets in, the damp dank that latches onto your heartstrings and threatens to color ’em gray.

Instead of wallowing in the gloom, Harper and I have kept ourselves busy in the kitchen!

Well, we also took a long flooded walk this evening that left us both dripping, but if you have to choose your rainy day therapy, definitely go with baking.

Especially since I’m excited to share a new fall baked good with you that’s figgin’ delicious.

These Chocolate Fig Hazelnut Mini Muffins have a short ingredient list and even shorter stature, but a BIG taste.

Who’s ready to get figgy with it?

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Cauliflower Cashew Butter Alfredo

By Flora & Vino 7 Comments

Cauliflower Cashew Butter Alfredo with vegetable noodles in a creamy steamed cauliflower and cashew based sauce with nutritional yeast and green peas.

Did I ever tell you guys that we have a spare fridge in the garage?

Shortly after moving into our condo, I took the fridge for a grocery haul trial and decided after much pushing and shoving that it just wasn’t big enough.

“Nope, not happening,” I said while trying to smoosh an unruly bundle of kale into the already tight produce drawer.

So now we keep the fridge downstairs stocked with frozen fruit and veggies, extra almond milks, kombucha, beer for Dan, oh, and cauliflower.

It doesn’t matter how big or small the head of cauli is, it just takes up too much oddly shaped space to hang out upstairs.

When it’s time to fetch said items, Dan and I pull straws on whose turn it is to race down the stairs to pull the produce out of exile.

Not it.

Everyone’s a winner with this Cauliflower Cashew Butter Alfredo on their plate, though- it’s the perfect plate-based pasta to fall into fall with!

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Loaded Sweet Potato Chip Nachos with Sweet Potato Nacho Cheese

By Flora & Vino 4 Comments

Quick and easy plant based “nachos” with sweet potato chips and all the fixings. Perfect for a plant-based side, appetizer, or game time snack.

At Mexican restaurants, my sister used to order the loaded nachos appetizer as an entree and we’d all laugh at the giant plate juxtaposed with her tiny frame.

I’m starting to think she had the right idea, though, you know?

It’s been dark and overcast here with the the impending Hurricane Florence, so I’m thinking we should brighten up our plates a bit.

My plans tonight are simple and I thought you might want to join in.

I’m making a giant plate of these Loaded Sweet Potato Chip Nachos with Sweet Potato Nacho Cheese to kick back for a little fiesta.

It’s the perfect plant-based appetizer, side, meal (no judgement!), or snack to munch on for sunshine-y vibes.

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Healthy Trail Mix Cookies

By Flora & Vino 4 Comments

Healthy Trail Mix Cookies that are nut-free, oil-free, gluten-free, and refined-sugar-free. Perfect for a healthy breakfast, snack, or dessert.

Happy Sunday, buds.

This past week on the phone with my parents we laughed about the family excursions we used to take on Sundays to Costsco.

You might not think Costco is a very exciting place for kids, but for my sister and I, it was a wild brunch extravaganza.

Every aisle we turned onto was brimming with major sample potential, and those little white portion cups got us through the most trying of trips.

They also had the best signature trail mix– a sweeeet mix of almonds, peanuts, cashews, raisins, and M&Ms.

It was a back-to-school staple that could almost always be found somewhere in the dark recesses of my overly stuffed backpack.

I was thinking about that mix this weekend when I whipped up these Healthy Trail Mix Cookies.

They’re the perfect back-to-school snack– a lil sweet, a lil salty, and packed with 5x the seed-y healthy fats and protein.

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Zucchini Tahini Breakfast Cookies

By Flora & Vino 9 Comments

Oat-based breakfast cookies with zucchini and tahini. Gluten-free, oil-free, and sweetened with dates. Perfect for easy breakfast on the go.

Zucchini Tahini, Zucchini Tahini, Zucchini Tahini…say that ten times fast.

Did I ever tell you that I was an English minor in college?

Yep, I graduated with an Art History major and a double minor in English andArt & Visual Technology.

That’s why this whole blogging thing works for me– it’s the perfect harmony of words and images (and yums, duh).

Occasionally I like to dust off all of those learned literary devices and apply them lovingly to my creations.

I’m currently taking a break from plant-based alliteration to bring you…plant based rhymes.

And cookies for breakfast, obviously.

These Zucchini Tahini Breakfast cookies are even more fun to eat than they are to chant– coming from experience.

Grab a zucchini and your favorite jar of tahini and let’s make healthy cookies for breakfast!

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