Oil-Free

Vegan Brownie Batter Dip

Vegan brownie batter dip made with Chocolate SunButter and chickpeas. Serve with a spoon or as dip for fresh fruit, chips, or pretzels.

Are you a planner?

If you’ve been around here a while, you probably know that I am the plannerly-est of planners.

I’ve always gotten heart eyes over bulleted checklists, scrawling grocery lists, and color-coded calendars.

But lately my spreadsheets and planners and journals have been a bit out of control.

If I spend all of my time planning, I’ll never actually get to the *plan*, you know?

M is much more intuitive and fluid in his scheduling and actions.

It always amazes me how he can wake up and *not know* what’s going to happen; to do what feels good and not what a TO-DO list says TO DO.

The concept baffles me.

So I’m working on being a little less rigid in my expectations in myself, my day, and my time.

Luckily, this Vegan Brownie Batter Dip doesn’t require much planning.

In fact, I feel safe betting that you have most of the ingredients in your pantry already.

What do you wager?

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Banana Walnut Chocolate Chip Protein Muffins

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Protein-packed vegan muffins made with banana, walnuts, dark chocolate, and plant-based protein. Perfect for breakfast, snack, and dessert!

Hi, friends, and happy 2022.

How is your new year treating you?

It’s been a while since I last posted, and I missed you!

I had the unique opportunity to travel to Germany over the holiday and new year to meet M’s family and friends.

Those four weeks abroad were the longest I’ve ever taken away from a job, from my business, or, from, well, anything!

Germany was beautiful and historic and welcoming and I loved getting to know M’s favorites and identifying my own in Europe for the first time.

After a month it felt like home; a cozy slice of the earth that was hard to leave.

I’m forever grateful for the special people and beautiful places I connected with there.

I teared up in the airplane on the way back, wondering how many more people and places could also become home if given the chance.

But for now, I’m back home, which for me is in my condo in Maryland.

I’m finally fully recovered from jet lag (which is *no* joke, by the way!), and craving all of the plants.

These Banana Walnut Chocolate Chip Protein Muffins were my first post-vacation creation!

They’re vegan, gluten-free, and refined-sugar-free without any added oils and a boost of plant-based protein.

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Orange Cranberry Overnight Oats

By Flora & Vino 3 Comments

Easy overnight oats made with fresh squeezed orange, almond milk yogurt, and tart dried cranberries. Perfect to meal prep for breakfast on the go!

In Germany, we sat around the kitchen table in the morning, watching the Coffee Siphon brew coffee from one chamber to the next, like an hourglass where time runs both ways.

We sipped on dark roast brew and chatted in Hemingway-style sentences until the caffeine started to kick in.

When my tiny coffee mug was empty (mugs are much smaller, in Germany!) I stood and stretched and announced it was time to start the day.

After returning from my holiday in Germany I’m working on revamping my morning routine.

II miss my coffee companions abroad, but also am enjoying setting up some structure for 2022.

This year, I started setting my alarm earlier so I have time to meditate and start the day with stillness.

Meditation is a habit I started in Germany, silently sitting cross-legged on my travel yoga mat, bathed in sunshine from the winter garden.

The same reliable players are always on my morning menu, too; movement, water, gratitude, journaling, and, of course, coffee.

And now, let’s add in Orange Cranberry Overnight Oats!

These overnight oats celebrate citrus season with fresh squeezed orange paired with creamy yogurt and tart cranberries.

They’re perfect to meal prep quickly for busy mornings this winter!

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Dark Chocolate Peppermint Brownies

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Dark Chocolate Peppermint Brownies made minty with Hu Kitchen Mint Snacking Gems and crushed candy canes. Perfect for a decadent winter dessert!

Are you a peppermint fan?

Growing up, we always had candy canes around the house for Christmas time.

The ones we didn’t unwrap and eat we hung on the Christmas tree for a simple elegant ornament.

So I like to carry on the candy cane tradition, keeping a box of them in my Christmas box for…just about anything!

So, this year, why don’t we bake with them?

While I’m not the biggest solo peppermint fan, there’s something about the combination of dark chocolate and peppermint that’s both refreshing and addicting.

These Dark Chocolate Peppermint Brownies are super fudge-y and super minty, made with mint dark chocolate chips and crushed candy canes.

They’re the festive dessert you need to make for your holiday get togethers this year!

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Orange Hazelnut Cookies

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Flourless cookies with hazelnut butter, fresh squeezed orange, and a whole hazelnut center. Oil-free, grain-free, and naturally sweet with coconut sugar!

The holidays are upon us, friends!

It’s been back to back Christmas parties, shopping, and gift wrapping around here.

How about you?

Since I don’t have a Christmas tree yet, I have a Christmas corner piled high with half-wrapped gifts, runaway bows, and inked gift tags.

And of course, lots of holiday baking.

Is there anything better than sharing something homemade and sweet with friends and family?

M and I aren’t the biggest dessert people, so I’m always trying out new cookie recipes that are anything but typical.

These cookies are fun and seasonal without being so obvious about it; unlike a sugar cookie or a gingerbread man.

This is a cool Christmas cookie that doesn’t know quite how cool it is, friends.

These Orange Hazelnut Cookies are made with just seven ingredients, including hazelnut butter, raw hazelnuts, and fresh squeezed orange!

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Cranberry Apple Crumble

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Cranberry apple crumble with an oat and SunButter crumble topping naturally sweetened with maple syrup. Perfect for a festive breakfast or dessert!

So, this recipe was originally going to be a Cranberry Crumble.

You know I love alliteration, and the double C around Christmas-time was just too much to pass up on.

But after I went apple picking I had an excess of orchard apples and decided it would be wrong *not* to throw the apples into the mix.

So the Cranberry Apple Crumble was born, and I think you’re going to appreciate the addition of apples in this mix.

The combination of tart cranberries and sweet juicy apples topped with a sweet Sunbutter and oat-based crumble is easy, delicious, and so versatile!

I’ve already made this Cranberry Apple Crumble THREE times this fall and each time I love it a bit more than the next.

It’s totally vegan, gluten-free, and refined-sugar-free and created with no-added-oils.

It’s perfect for a fun breakfast, dessert, or snack for the holiday season to make and share!

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Pecan Pie Bars

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Vegan and gluten-free pecan pie bars with an almond flour crust, naturally sweetened with dates and packed with pecans. The perfect vegan pie alternative!

For Thanksgiving last week, we had *three* kinds of pies.

Pumpkin, apple, and pecan.

I had the corner on Pecan, because I decided Thanksgiving was the perfect day to test Pecan Pie Bars on my family!

(I usually try to recipe test on days I see a lot of people to get rid of leftovers in exchange for honest reviews.)

The feedback was a resounding thumbs up!

Don’t worry, I perfected the recipe since then so you don’t have to test on yours.

These Pecan Pie Bars are made with just seven ingredients in under an hour for a sweet, nutty treat.

It’s kind of a pie, and kind of a bar, built in three layers of deliciousness.

They start with an almond flour crust, followed by a date-nut based filling, and finally, topped with crunchy whole pecans.

They’re totally vegan, gluten-free, and naturally sweetened with only dates!

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Chocolate Caramel SunButter Cups

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Easy 4-ingredient dark chocolate cups stuffed with a SunButter and date-based caramel center. Make them for a quick dessert to enjoy and share!

Are you still working your way through Halloween candy?

When I was a kid I used to have a gallon ziplock bag of my Halloween candy stashed on top of the freezer for *months*.

Even as a child I was comically self-restrained and preferred to dose out sugary gratification in tiny bite-sized doses.

I think I doled myself out a single candy bar a day to make the pre-packaged sweet stuff last longer.

This way I could make the treasure last until Christmas, right?

Wrong.

Well, sort of.

Because I’ve got something better.

I need you to stash the store-bought stuff and make these Chocolate Caramel SunButter Cups.

These easy dark chocolate cups are made with just 4-ingredients and stuffed with a SunButter and date-based caramel.

They’re vegan, gluten-free, and refined-sugar-free, making them suitable for everyone to sink their teeth into this holiday season.

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Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Chocolate thumbprint cookies made grain-free, gluten-free, and naturally sweetened with coconut sugar. Finish them with a melty dark chocolate center!

Welp, the time changed this past weekend.

The extra hour of sleep felt nice initially, but by the evening I was tired and slightly confused when the neighborhood was dark before 5 PM.

I’m always a bit miffed to have less daylight; truncating outdoor activities and natural light photoshoots and time to soak in Vitamin D.

But there is something about the darkening days that makes home feel, really, well, home-y.

Where else do you want to go when the sky is already dusky and dark after work?

Home.

Yeah, falling forward makes me crave fuzzy blankets, binge-worthy shows, and cuddles on the couch.

And maybe…just maybe…cookies!

These Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies are definitely on my Christmas baking list.

They’re made with just 7 vegan, gluten-free, and refined-sugar-free ingredients, complete with a salty dark chocolate center.

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Cinnamon Tahini Walnut Banana Bread

By Flora & Vino 2 Comments

Cinnamon tahini walnut banana bread made gluten-free with almond flour, oats, and tahini, naturally sweetened with coconut sugar and bananas!

So, when is too soon to start watching those cheesy Hallmark holiday movies?

Oh come on, I know you love them too.

I’d say anytime past Halloween is probably the beginnings of the “holiday season”; what do you think?

Every season I get giddy this time of year thinking about crisp Christmas cards and fresh first snows and the smell of pine needles.

The temperatures are definitely dropping here and I really have to bundle up for my daily walks.

Holiday season or no, it’s the perfect time to turn on the oven and bake a loaf of bread.

I’ve been saving this recipe for colder weather!

This Cinnamon Tahini Walnut Banana Bread is made in just one bowl with plenty of tahini, texture, and natural sweetness!

Grab some spotty bananas and your favorite jar of tahini and let’s make some brag-worthy bread.
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