Oil-Free

Vegan Holiday Fruit Cake

Vegan Holiday Fruit Cake made with no-added-oil baked with almonds, applesauce, and Fruit Bliss Organic Fruit Medley for a sweet festive cake to share.

Friends, my house is officially decorated for the holidays.

Now, I’ve always been a “let’s wait until after Thanksgiving and then everything is fair game” kind of a Christmas enthusiast.

However, this year it feels like I need to get a head start.

It was a very rational decision I made based on the fact that we leave for Germany in a month paired with the very emotional allure of the Christmas box.

After much debate, I decided to put out all of my Christmas decorations this week!

I’ve got to say, I have zero regrets about it, as I write this post in the multi-color glow of the ceramic Christmas tree my grandma made for me.

And it’s fitting, really, because I have the ultimate holiday recipe for you today.

This isn’t your grandma’s fruit cake, this is Vegan Holiday Fruit Cake!

Unlike traditional fruit cakes, this one is vegan, gluten-free, refined-sugar-free, and made with no-added-oil.

It’s a sweet festive cake to share and one you can feel good about eating during the holiday season!

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Chocolate Quinoa Porridge

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Chocolate quinoa porridge made on the stovetop with cacao powder and coconut milk for a fun alternative to oatmeal. Add your favorite toppings!

If I lived somewhere that didn’t express all four seasons, I would miss the changes.

Mostly, I would miss fall.

The colors on the leaves right now are absolutely stunning in Maryland!

It’s funny, M was telling me about this particularly gorgeous tree in our neighborhood and I immediately knew exactly which one he was talking about.

I shared the same towering sycamore tree on Instagram the day before.

M remarked that the shades of red, orange, and yellow are so intense that they almost look unreal.

It’s true, it almost looks copied and pasted into our neighborhood scene.

In addition to brisk walks and photographing trees, I’m here to present you with a new cozy breakfast.

It’s the perfect breakfast for the days you want something cozy and warm but don’t want oatmeal.

This chocolate quinoa porridge is made on the stovetop with cacao powder and coconut milk for a fun alternative to oatmeal.

This breakfast bowl is so easy to customize by adding in your favorite toppings!

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Peanut Butter Stuffed Dates

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Peanut butter stuffed dates for a quick and healthy snack made with gooey Medjool dates, creamy peanut butter, and dark chocolate chips. So good!

We’ve allllll been there.

It’s been a long day that just keeps going and you’re completely out of snack options.

Or maybe you’ve got all your snack options around but you’re just really freaking tired of them.

In times like this, keeping it simple is important.

These Peanut Butter Stuffed Dates were born from one of these exact circumstances.

It was a Sunday and I hadn’t been to the grocery store so the fridge was bare bones and my need for a snack was dire.

In a moment of inspiration, I grabbed a Medjool date, pitted it, then spooned in peanut butter and finished it with dark chocolate chips.

The moment I sunk my teeth in I new it wouldn’t be the first time I had this pairing.

Peanut butter stuffed dates are a quick and healthy snack made with gooey Medjool dates, creamy peanut butter, and dark chocolate chips.

Try them out for a quick snack or dessert when you’re in a pinch!

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Flourless Vegan Brownies

By Flora & Vino 2 Comments

Flourless vegan brownies made with black beans, nut butter, and naturally sweetened with maple syrup and dark chocolate. The best black bean brownies!

Where did September go, friends?!

I haven’t done much baking this fall, so let’s change that today.

And I have the perfect recipe; one I’ve been saving for just the right moment.

I know what you’re thinking.

“Black bean brownies, Lauren?! That’s SO 2017. ”

So let me preface this by saying that nothing about these black bean brownies tastes like black beans.

These Flourless Vegan Brownies are dense, fudgy, and chocolate-y with just 5 easy ingredients.

The best part is that they’re packed with plant-based protein, fiber, and healthy fats.

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Pumpkin Apple Baked Oatmeal

By Flora & Vino 1 Comment

Pumpkin apple baked oatmeal made with oats, pumpkin, diced apple, fall spices, and chopped nuts. Bake it in under an hour for a fall meal prep breakfast!

This week has been fueled by Pumpkin Apple Baked Oats for breakfast, in a never ending supply.

That’s because last weekend I tested not one, not two, but three different variations!

And, yes, I’m still working through my five bags of apples that I accidentally ordered 2 weeks back.

However, I’m putting them to good use in this recipe.

It smelled *so* good in the kitchen while recipe testing; pumpkin spice and cinnamon and sweet baked apple permeated the air.

Sometimes I can’t decide between pumpkin and apple this time of year.

So the version I settled on has equal parts pumpkin and apples with a delicious vegan cream cheese frosting.

You’re going to love these Pumpkin Apple Baked Oats for a quick fall breakfast.

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Vegan Viral Magic Cookies

By Flora & Vino 2 Comments

My take on the Viral Magic Cookies made with just four pantry ingredients in 15 minutes. The perfect grain-free cookie that’s sweet, chewy, and crunchy.

M and I are between TV shows right now and are having trouble committing to something new.

Usually our show-less evenings encourage us to power up our Kindle and read a few chapters.

Sometimes, though, it’s fun to fall down a TikTok rabbit hole together.

That’s right, lately M has been journeying with me through the TikTok algorithm in search of our favorites.

If there’s one thing TikTok is good for, it’s making you feel like you’ve never really been alone in an emotion, thought, or feeling.

Swiping with my thumb, I start to realize that it’s all been done and thought and felt before and then filmed for a skit for the socials.

But we do laugh a lot and that makes for a nice evening despite the scrolling.

Something we recently stumbled upon is the viral magic cookies.

I was instantly intrigued because…it’s a four-ingredient grain-free cookie with lots of chocolate chips.

Do I really need to say anything more?

I felt like it was my duty to share these Vegan Viral Magic Cookies with you immediately!

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Nut-Free SunButter Granola Bars

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Nut-Free SunButter Granola Bars made with oats, three kinds of seeds, cranberries, dark chocolate chips, and SunButter. Perfect for back-to-school snacks!

It’s almost my favorite time of year…back to school.

Now, I don’t have any school-ing to get back to, outside of the German courses that I take in the evenings (I just finished my third semester!).

But there’s something so special about the energy that comes when the yellow school buses reappear in the neighborhood.

Meine Lieblingsjahreszeit ist der Herbst. (My favorite season is fall.)

It’s a rebirth, it’s a fresh start, it’s a reconnection with what’s good, what could be good, and what could be better.

One of the staples in my lunchbox growing up was a granola bar.

It was often a snack that I tried to save but most of the time ripped open and devoured well before the bells rang for lunch at noon.

So, how could we make granola bars better, besides, you know, make more of them?

Well, what would it be like to make Nut-Free SunButter Granola Bars this year?!

These no-bake granola bars are made with oats, three kinds of seeds, dark chocolate chips, and SunButter.

Because they’re entirely nut-free, they’re school-safe and suitable for lunch-boxes, purses, backpacks, and wherever you need extra fuel this fall.

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Best Black Bean Burgers

By Flora & Vino 2 Comments

Best black bean burgers made with Black Beans, almond flour, and oats. Enjoy with your favorite toppings for plant-based burger night!

So, are you on Threads yet?

I finally joined last week just to see what all of the fuss was about.

If you’re curious, it feels reminiscent of Twitter with a mix of circa ~2013 Instagram thrown in.

It’s funny that I first heard about this trending new social media network via M, who really doesn’t use social media at all.

I wanted to hop on to see if it might be a nice way to connect with the F&V community in a more conversational way.

As social media platforms pop up and change, I’m super grateful that I have a forever home in this website.

And all of you, friends, are my forever family!

And since we’re family, we should really sit down this summer to a meal together, don’t you think?

These Best Black Bean Burgers are super easy to make with Eden Foods Organic Black Beans, almond flour, and oats.

Enjoy them with your favorite toppings for a plant-based burger night!

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Vegan Strawberry SunButter Ice Cream

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Five ingredient vegan strawberry SunButter ice cream made with coconut, cashew, maple syrup, and strawberries. Top with more SunButter!

Allow me to introduce my first vegan ice cream…made with an ice cream maker!

If you’ve been around here a while, you know that the archives are teeming with “no-churn” ice cream recipes.

Our kitchen space is super limited, so I usually think long and hard about purchasing new kitchen appliances.

But I’ve been on a vegan ice cream kick all summer; purchasing pint after pint at the grocery store.

So it just made *sense* to start making my own, and start sharing my recipes with you.

Maybe it’s the heat of the summer, but I *finally* decided to purchase an ice cream maker.

M and I had fun this weekend watching the ice cream maker; I guess we’re easily entertained!

The ice cream bucket whirred round and round; pink and frosty in its chilled cylinder.

After eager taste testing, I exclaimed excitedly, “It tastes like strawberry ice cream!”

Well, if that’s not an endorsement for you, then I don’t even know.

This Vegan Strawberry SunButter Ice Cream is made with coconut, cashew, maple syrup, and plenty of strawberries.

It’s bursting with berry flavor topped with SunButter for a PB&J feel.

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Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Breakfast Bars

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Breakfast Bars sweetened with ripe bananas and maple syrup for a healthy portable breakfast, snack, or dessert.

It’s been raining here nonstop, remnants from Tropical Storm Brett.

I haven’t needed to water my outdoor plants in a few days, which has been nice.

But then again, I also haven’t been able to take my daily neighborhood walk, either.

So I’m going to blame Brett for my lack of energy this week, and the fact that I fell asleep in my recliner while working, not once, but twice.

But hey, it’s also good weather for snuggling up with a book, binge-watching a show, or….baking.

Which would you choose?

I think you know that I’d bake these Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Breakfast Bars every single time.

These Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Breakfast Bars are naturally sweetened with ripe bananas and maple syrup for a healthy portable breakfast, snack, or dessert.

Grab some bananas and let’s turn them into bars!

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