Refined Sugar-Free

Butternut Squash Pie with Almond Flour Crust

Vegan and gluten-free butternut squash pie with an almond flour crust. Perfect for a fun holiday dessert alternative to pumpkin pie!

Hey, guys!

Tomorrow will officially be two weeks until Thanksgiving Day.

What do you have planned for Thanksgiving?

Ever since the severity and length of the pandemic was obvious, I started to stress about how the holiday season would pan out.

“But what about the holidays?”

The thought loomed in my mind all summer and fall.

As COVID continues to rage on in United States, the fourth Thursday of November will look a little differently for me.

I’ll be zooming my parents and sister to share our Thanksgiving plates instead of sitting across from each other at their dining room table.

But friends, the most wonderful time of the year can still be wonderful.

Let’s create new traditions this year, like this Butternut Squash Pie with Almond Flour Crust.

It’s vegan and gluten-free with a sweet and creamy squash filling and a flaky almond flour based pie crust.

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Low Sugar Applesauce Apple Butter

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Easy 5-ingredient apple butter made with unsweetened applesauce. This fall spread is lightly sweet with maple syrup, apple cider, and a touch of kombucha.

I miss my extended family, guys.

Most of them are split between Indiana and North Carolina with a few scattered from coast to coast.

Our annual family reunion was canceled this year in an abundance of COVID caution.

We’re planning on connecting virtually over the holidays in a Zoom Room, but it’s not *quite* the same as exchanges hugs and laughs and food.

I texted my Aunt Janet on Halloween and told her how much I missed her apple butter.

I always coveted the little mason jars she sent to my parents and me, eating greedy spoonfuls on anything and everything.

It was brimming with fresh sweet apples, warm spices, and just the right amount of sweetness.

Feeling nostalgic, I decided to create my own apple butter this season that’s made super simple with applesauce.

You can make this Low Sugar Applesauce Apple Butter in under an hour with just 5 simple ingredients!

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Pumpkin Apple Bliss Balls

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

This post is brought to you by Bare Snacks, but all words and eats are my own. Thanks for supporting the sponsors that keep me hungry!

Pumpkin apple bliss balls made with oats, chia seeds, nut butter, pumpkin purée, and applesauce. Add baked apple chips and pecans for some crunch!

I’m writing this in my recliner next to windows so mottled with raindrops that the leaves on the trees look like an impressionistic painting.

The weather has been seriously gloomy this week.

Which is kind of a bummer because that means no outdoor adventures.

Well, unless you count braving the grocery store in sheets of rain.

The weather is a big switch from last week when I climbed Juliet’s Balcony at Great Falls National Park five times.

It was a good day of climbing; the rock felt grippy and malleable under my chalked fingertips and my feet found impossibly comfortable footholds.

At the top, I whooped and hollered and at the bottom I sat with M and we ate Pumpkin Apple Bliss Balls.

Usually when climbing outdoors pre-packaged bars are my go-to for refueling.

So it really was a treat to sink my teeth into these energy bites made with apple, oats, and pumpkin.

Make these Pumpkin Apple Bliss Balls in 10 minutes and take them with you anywhere you need a all boost!

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1-Bowl Orange Cranberry Bread

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

1-bowl orange cranberry bread bursting with cranberries and citrus. Naturally sweetened, oil-free, and gluten-free. Perfect for a festive breakfast!

Does anyone else burn their tongue like *all* the time?

Last night I burned my tongue on some seriously good chili and today I’m paying the price of being *so* impatient.

I could barely taste my matcha this morning as I sat on the couch to journal, running my tasteless tongue over my teeth in remorse.

Let’s hope I have some taste buds left to enjoy this 1-Bowl Orange Cranberry Bread that’s new on the blog today!

This zesty festive loaf is perfectly sweet and tart with fresh squeezed citrus and whole cranberries.

It comes together in one bowl in under one hour for a delicious breakfast, dessert, or snack.

Not only does it pack some powerful antioxidants and vitamin C, but it does so while being a total stunner.

Bright red cranberries and flecks of orange make for a beautiful bread that’s almost too pretty to eat.

Almost.

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Apple Pie Yogurt Bowl

By Flora & Vino 1 Comment

This post is brought to you by Bare Snacks, but all words and eats are my own. Thanks for supporting the sponsors that keep me hungry!

Easy blueprint breakfast yogurt bowl with warm berries, sautéed apples, yogurt favorite granola, nut butter, and baked apple chips for crunch!

I still remember the first time I *really* meditated.

It was a Friday night and I decided to stay after my normal vinyasa flow for the later meditation class.

Sitting cr0ss-legged, I tried not to fidget, alternating small micro-movements in my fingers and toes to prevent my phalanges from falling asleep.

I focused on the guided words of the instructor and my breath, anything to prevent my mind from an internal laundry list loop.

Afterwards, I blinked my eyes open, certain only ten or so minutes had passed since I closed them.

When I realized it had been a full thirty minutes I was astonished.

I conveyed this to a fellow yogi practicing beside me and he smiled knowingly and said, “That’s how you know you’re meditating.”

“Hmm,” I said, still sitting.

I stretched, assessing the waking world beyond my mat with bleary eyes, feeling as though I was returning from a really special place I didn’t know existed.

Guys, I miss that place.

Lately my meditation practice has been sorely lacking.

I’m the first to admit that I click the “X” out of my virtual pre-recorded yoga before the savasana party even begins.

But I’m trying to get back into it, practicing quieting my mind in the AM before making a big bowl of yogurt for breakfast.

This Apple Pie Yogurt Bowl is apple pie in yogurt form with sautéed apples, almond milk yogurt, and a crispy apple chip flourish.

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Vegan Ferrero Rocher Truffles

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Vegan ferrero rocher truffle copycat candies made with dark chocolate, coconut milk, and hazelnuts lightly sweetened with pure maple syrup.

Pumpkin carving is *always* harder than I think it will be.

And messier.

The pumpkin pulp managed to find its way around my living room despite the blanket of newspapers I spread underneath the carving space.

M and I knelt in concentrated silence, working our paring knives back and forth to create triangular teeth and wide oval eyes.

His was scary and mine was silly.

We arranged the pumpkins on the doorstep and backed up six feet to admire them from the sidewalk.

Lit with a single candle, their faces flickered, flanking either side of my doorstep like spooky watchmen.

I snapped a few pictures to document our success, beaming with pride at our pumpkin carving abilities.

I’m also pretty proud of these Vegan Ferrero Rocher Truffles that will light up your holiday season.

You just need five ingredients to make a vegan, gluten-free, and refined-sugar-free version of this classic candy!

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Pumpkin Almond Butter Brownies

By Flora & Vino 11 Comments

Grain-free and oil-free brownies made super fudge-y with almond butter, almond flour, and pumpkin. Bake a pan for a decadent fall dessert!

Today I tackled my tax preparation for the year 2020.

If you own your own business, you might be familiar with the beast that is tracking and categorizing your annual expenses.

Usually I’m much further along than I am right now.

Partially because Dan used to take care of all of the tax *stuff* for me because he liked spreadsheets and I like that he liked spreadsheets.

Also because when COVID hit the tedious parts of being an entrepreneur felt all the more taxing (ha, pun totally intended).

But I decided recently that I needed to get that ish done for several valid reasons.

For one, the bulging magazine rack stuffed with receipts was always on my mind, which definitely detracted from my creative energy.

Secondly, I think I needed to prove to myself that I could be responsible and organized enough to do this tax prep thing alone.

It was basically the last thing that I hadn’t officially taken over since the divorce.

So this morning I used up all the ink printing Amazon purchases, online grocery receipts, and business subscriptions.

Then I squinted at the monstrous Excel spreadsheet columns and relearned how to create formulas for cell addition (I’m not an Excel person, guys!).

And, finally, I sat cross-legged on my geometric area rug and shoved receipts into dated manilla envelopes.

The relief I felt when the enormous pile of papers was sorted and the tallied totaled was immeasurable.

I’ll try to measure it by comparing it to the deliciousness of these Pumpkin Almond Butter Brownies.

These 1-bowl brownies are vegan, gluten-free, and oil-free with a hint of pumpkin and lots of cacao!

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Easy Maple Spiced Nuts

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Safeway. All opinions are 100% my own.

Simple spiced nuts baked with cinnamon and nutmeg sweetened with coconut sugar and maple syrup. Bake for a holiday appetizer or gift!

Wait, how is it October?

On my neighborhood walk yesterday, M and I meandered through the neighborhood to check out the Halloween decorations.

There were plenty of pumpkins and on doorsteps and cob webs in windows.

One of the houses near the edge of my complex is *really* into decorating.

Multiple scarecrows, pumpkins, ghosts, and ghouls demanded attention from the lawn and sidewalk, making it impossible to walk by without taking notice.

As hyped decorations as they are, they seem to be equally as disinterested in the clean up.

To the right of the playful Halloween scene lie a heap of Christmas nutcrackers, lights on strings, and fake fir trees.

And it’s been there since last December.

Laugh out loud.

Whether you have your Halloween or Christmas decor on standby or not, the holidays are coming!

So here’s a quick recipe that’s bound to make you feel cozy this fall and winter.

These Easy Maple Spiced Nuts are easy enough to make in 30 minutes for a sweet crunchy snack, dessert, or appetizer.

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Grain-Free Sweet Potato Breakfast Cookies

By Flora & Vino 2 Comments

Grain-free sweet potato breakfast cookies made with baked sweet potato, almond flour, and SunButter. Perfect for an easy grab and go fall breakfast!

Do you ever moments where you completely forget we’re in the middle of a pandemic?

Usually the knowledge is acutely present in the forefront of my consciousness, but every now and then I completely forget.

It mostly happens when I’m outdoors, mask-free, soaking in the sunshine, walking and laughing with M.

Guys, those moments are the best.

It also happens when I’m writing– sharing content Instagram by means of a virtual connection that I was accustomed to far before it was the new normal.

Or when I’m scurrying around the kitchen, throwing plants in pans to make dinner.

Let’s do more things that make us forget about the precariousness of the current age.

Or we could also make cookies.

These Grain-Free Sweet Potato Breakfast Cookies are perfect for a make ahead fall breakfast.

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Low Sugar Fig Jam & Apple Chips

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

This post is brought to you by Bare Snacks, but all words and eats are my own. Thanks for supporting the sponsors that keep me hungry!

Three ingredient fig jam made with fresh figs, lemon, and a drizzle of maple syrup. The perfect fall spread to top on toast, warm oatmeal, or yogurt bowls.

It’s getting colder, but I still haven’t turned on the heat in my place.

I wake up to a cool 68 degree living room, where I stumble to the couch, swaddle myself in blankets, and do my morning journaling while sipping on a matcha latte.

I kind of like it.

Lately I’ve been working on reducing my energy consumption.

Yep, I’ve been giving the dial knob on my Nest thermostat a bit of a breather.

Like not heating and cooling to a perfect 72 degrees, but instead ebbing and flowing with the changing fall temperatures.

This means embracing chilly mornings with sweaters and long pants and warmer afternoons with open windows and tank tops.

I’ve found a nice surrender and presence in accepting and adapting to the weather outside the window.

Ah, autumn.

I’ve also been embracing all of the seasonal fall produce, like fresh figs and apples.

This Low Sugar Fig Jam & Apple Chips is the naturally sweet fall snack that you need this fall!

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Refined Sugar-Free

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