Pasta

Avocado Collard Greens Pesto Pasta

Easy avocado pesto made with collard greens and no added oil. Serve for an easy pasta dinner with juicy heirloom tomatoes and toasted pine nuts.

These past few weeks I’ve been getting back into meditating.

I sit cross-legged on the couch, eyes shut, listening to a guided meditation as I wait for my dark roast coffee to cool to the perfect drinking temperature.

It’s always hard at first– making the time, leaning into the discomfort of doing nothing, accepting the ferocious flood of mental activity.

But it feels good when I’m done, when I flutter open my eyes and feel a calm and clarity that I didn’t know existed beneath the chaos.

A few weeks back my fridge was in chaos too– due to an unexpected (or, rather, overlooked) produce delivery in addition to a full grocery visit.

I threw the plentiful collard greens in this plant-forward pesto with avocado, fresh herbs, lemon, and garlic.

It’s super creamy and flavorful without any added oils!

Let’s make Avocado Collard Greens Pesto Pasta as a final summer-y celebration of sweet basil and ripe tomatoes.

Grab your favorite legume-based pasta, some avocados, a handful of herbs, and let’s make pesto pasta!

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Cashew Butter Soba Noodle Stir Fry

By Flora & Vino 2 Comments

Simple stir-fry with buckwheat soba noodles and tender-crisp vegetables in a creamy cashew butter sauce. Perfect for a quick weeknight dinner!

Lately I’ve been struggling with persistent nightmares.

It’s a little funny that at the ripe old age of 32, I’m plagued by bad dreams.

I wake up in bed, whimpering and writhing, uncertain what’s real and what’s a twisted tall-tale told by my subconscious.

Sometimes I say things, too, the words heavy like cement on my lips as I thrust them out in slurred sentences.

Occasionally I remember what was so terrifying– a loved one leaving, being chased by bad guys, or a new classic, finding myself in a crowded public space without a mask.

What never gets old, though, is the very real relief I feel after realizing that the dream was just a dream.

My reality instantly feels like something worth cherishing and celebrating, like something I’m seriously grateful to wake up to.

So, I’m blaming my less than restful beauty sleep on stress.

Yeah, it’s a little nerve-wracking running a business and writing a cookbook.

I know you’re probably busy, too, starting 2021.

So let me make dinner easy, comforting, and nutritious for us, OK?

This Cashew Butter Soba Noodle Stir Fry……

Nut-Free 1-Pot Macaroni & Cheese

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Nut-free macaroni and cheese made in one pot with your favorite pasta, steamed root vegetables, SunButter, and a crunchy sunflower seed topping.

Friends, I finally picked my pumpkins for Halloween.

And by “picked” I mean I ordered two pumpkins on the Target app and picked them up in the Curbside pick up spot on the way home from outdoor climbing yesterday.

There was something so calming about a nameless Target employee in a red bullseye shirt picking out my gourds this season.

Picking out the “perfect” pumpkin can be a bit frustrating, can’t it?

Darting from pumpkin to pumpkin in the patch, grabbing them by the stem and rolling their bulbous body over only to find a rotting or flattened backside.

Gah.

Since all forms of decision making feels hard right about now, I was more than ready to let a stranger decide the fate of my front step decor.

Luckily, whoever it was picked me out two really solid pumpkins; round and red-orange with a stocky sturdy stem.

I literally can not wait to carve them up this weekend!

I also can’t wait to share this Nut-Free 1-Pot Macaroni & Cheese with you.

It’s the perfect cozy companion for your table this fall made with veggies and seeds.

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1-Bowl Hummus Pasta Salad

By Flora & Vino 1 Comment

Easy pasta salad made in 1-bowl with your favorite hummus, legume pasta, kalamata olives, cherry tomato, and cucumber. Perfect for a cookout main or side!

Did I ever tell you guys about the time I chipped my tooth on a black olive?

Seated at the restaurant in Colorado, I remember I was *starving*, like, way past the point of hangry.

I was in Colorado for a family wedding, and with that came a family schedule, and not lots of time for finding plants to eat.

So I was super excited super excited to find some plant-based options on the menu.

I went all out and ordered a wrap with allllll of the mediterranean inspired fixings.

Naturally, when the wrap arrived, I took a giant half-moon bite and chewed aggressively.

Craaaaaccccck.

Guys, I thought I lost my tooth.

Pain shot up through my jaw, juxtaposing against the salty satisfaction olives and hummus on my tastebuds.

When I finally spit out the offending mouthful (sorry, TMI), I found the perpetrator.

Those darn black olives weren’t pitted.

I reluctantly returned the food to the waitress, explaining the issue to prevent future guests from their own emergency dentist visits.

When I made it back to Virginia and finally saw a dentist, they confirmed that the olive pit had slightly chipped my incisor.

Ever since then I *never* bite into my olive whole, regardless of whether the jar says “pitted” or not…just in case.

So on that note…how about an easy pasta salad with olives for Memorial Day weekend?

This 1-Bowl Hummus Pasta Salad is easy to mix up with pantry-friendly ingredients and is so delish and simple it’ll chip away at your heart but never your teeth!

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1-Pot Tomato Basil Pasta

By Flora & Vino 2 Comments

Easy 1-pot pasta with gluten-free pasta, bell pepper, kale, and kalamata olives with a fresh tomato basil pasta sauce. Perfect for easy weeknight dinners!

Well, hello, stranger.

I came home from yoga teacher training this weekend with a voracious appetite that couldn’t be satiated.

This weekend we began our “teach outs” where each student teaches a 60-minute sequence of their own to the group.

It’s hard to believe that in just three weeks I will receive my YTT certification!

Anyway, this weekend we had SIX teach outs, so, that means 6+ hours on the mat.

I woke up today and texted my YTT group text saying, “Guys, I tried to do a chaturanga today and just almost died.”

It’s true. So I took a break from yoga to make something delicious.

After working out the mind, body, and soul for 22 hours this weekend, I definitely wanted all of the carbs.

And nothing says carb-loading like a healthy bowl of pasta, right?

This 1-Pot Tomato Basil Pasta comes together on the stovetop in less than 30 minutes for an im-pasta-bly good weeknight dinner!

Or, post-YTT meals– just sayin’.

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Tahini Tempeh, Sweet Potato Noodle, & Broccoli Bowl

By Flora & Vino 4 Comments

Easy weeknight dinner idea with tempeh, sweet potato noodles, and broccoli florets drizzled with lemon and tahini. Perfect for a fuss-free meal prep.

Hi!

How are you new year intentions going?

I didn’t really set any hard fast goals other than that I wanted to start meal-prepping again.

Somewhere in the midst of moving and holiday deadlines I decided that it was OK to eat out on the daily.

Yes, even food bloggers can spend way too much money on prepared food.

“But Lauren, don’t you eat the food you make?”” my friends often ask, perplexed.

Well, yes, but the eats don’t always work out that conveniently.

Allow me to explain.

During my busy holiday season, for example, I might have cookie recipes to share with you all week.

Cookies on the counter, cookies in the freezer, cookies in the fridge, cookies on my photography backdrop board, more cookies in the oven.

Yum. Cookies galore.

But it’s either eat cookies for lunch and dinner or suck it buttercup and dirty up the dishes I just spent an hour cleaning to making something savory.

This is where meal prep comes in clutch for me, and maybe for you too, friend.

You might not be surrounded by multiple cookie recipes but you might be in a work environment where you can’t break to make a feel good meal.

I’m not talking making 25 meals on Sunday evening pre-portioned in Tupperware.

I am talking about having readily available washed and chopped vegetables, fruit, and plant-protein prepared with potential in the fridge.

Which is precisely why I love this Tahini Tempeh, Sweet Potato Noodle, & Broccoli Bowl so darn much.

It comes together in less than 30 minutes for a vegan and gluten-free plant-powered bowl!

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Spaghetti Squash Noodle Bowls

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Spaghetti Squash Noodle Bowls made with spaghetti squash, asian spices, and veggies! Made in one pan on the stovetop for an easy workweek dinner.

Hello, winter!

Tonight I brought in the winter solstice at my yoga studio by doing 108 sun salutations in honor of the longest day of the year.

But now I’m hungry, so let’s all congregate in the kitchen and get warm.

Cooking always seems to become more of a priority this time of year, when hot healthy food is the center to family gatherings and the oven is a source of warmth.

I thought we could kickstart the new year with these Spaghetti Squash Noodle Bowls that are super comforting and packed with cozy cooked veggies and a tangy Asian flair.

These bowls are the perfect easy meal for #meatlessmonday or any day of the week, requiring only one baked spaghetti squash, one pan, and all the veggies and spices your heart desires.

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Creamy Cauliflower Rice Risotto

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Gluten and grain-free cauliflower rice with a coconut milk base and simple seasonings. Perfect as the base to your plant-based meal or as a cozy side.

Well it’s been an interesting past few days being phone-less, friends.

My iPhone started displaying some troubling signs on Sunday but I ignored them.

On Monday the touch screen was fickle and only worked about 50% of the time.

Yesterday (Tuesday), the screen was frozen for the entirety of the day, save a few 10 minute pockets of time where I managed to put up a few Instagram stories and backup my phone to the Cloud.

Today I finally made my way to the Apple store and received a shiny new phone for my faulty display troubles.

So now I’m getting settled with a full iCloud restore and getting reacquainted with being “in touch”.

I joked that the technical difficulties were the universe’s not so subtle way of telling me to take a break already.

Which I fully intend to…after I share this Creamy Cauliflower Rice Risotto with you.

This plant-based version of risotto with cauliflower rice and mushrooms will keep you cozy and satisfied this winter!

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Creamy Vegan Pumpkin Pasta + Juliénas

By Flora & Vino 6 Comments

Creamy vegan pumpkin pasta sauce with pumpkin puree, almond milk, and herbs served over chickpea pasta. Pair with a glass of red for pasta night!

Hey! How’s your week going?

It’s been SO windy all day here in Virginia, the kind of wind that makes me feel a bit like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz.

(Side note: Do you consider The Wizard of Oz to be a Halloween movie???)

The waving trees and leaves outside feels like a real-life manifestation of the whirlwind in my head.

Between YTT and work and adjusting to my new home, it’s still a category from synapse to synapse.

But there truly is no place like home because I’m lucky to be warm and cozy inside enjoying Creamy Vegan Pumpkin Pasta this week.

It’s creamy and orange to tickle your fall fancy while being vegan and gluten-free.

Pour a glass of Juliénas and let’s make pasta with pumpkins.

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1-Pan Tofu Cacciatore with Zoodles

By Flora & Vino 1 Comment

Hearty plant-based cacciatore with bell pepper, onions, and tomatoes over zucchini noodles with tofu cubes for protein. Perfect for easy weeknight dinner.

How long have you been digging the plant-based life?

When the doctor asked me recently how long I’d been vegan, I had to stop and do that thing where you mentally count on your fingers.

1…2…3…4…5…

“Six years this fall!” I said, surprising myself.

Wow, that’s a whole lot of plants, friends.

Considering it’s my 6-year “plantiversary”, let’s cozy up to this 1-Pan Tofu Cacciatore with Zoodles.

One pan to rule them all packed with peppers, protein, and simply delicious seasoning over zucchini spirals!

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Avocado Collard Greens Pesto Pasta

Cashew Butter Soba Noodle Stir Fry

Nut-Free 1-Pot Macaroni & Cheese

1-Bowl Hummus Pasta Salad

1-Pot Tomato Basil Pasta

Tahini Tempeh, Sweet Potato Noodle, & Broccoli Bowl

Spaghetti Squash Noodle Bowls

Creamy Cauliflower Rice Risotto

Creamy Vegan Pumpkin Pasta + Juliénas

1-Pan Tofu Cacciatore with Zoodles

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