Refined Sugar-Free

No-Churn Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream

Five ingredient vegan ice cream made with coconut, cashew, maple syrup, and cacao. Stir in chopped dark chocolate chunks for an added chocolate crunch!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

How’s it going?

To be honest, it doesn’t feel like Memorial Day.

Sure, the temps are getting warmer, but I’m fiercely missing that rowdy sense of community that annually kickstarts the summer season via cookouts, BBQs, and backyard parties.

This time last year I was in a bikini pool-side baring my ghostly legs for all of the neighborhood to see.

Then afterwards I probably went to a winery with hundreds of other people, crowded onto picnic blankets on the winery grass.

This year, I’m holed up in my townhome, feverishly snapping photos of chocolate ice cream.

Ah, how times have changed.

But some things have stayed the same.

For example, as you probably guessed by the title of this recipe– I *still* don’t have an ice cream maker.

So I’m coming at you with a sweet dessert idea for Memorial Day that doesn’t require any fancy equipment and it definitely doesn’t require a crowd to finish off.

This No-Churn Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream is chocolate-y, creamy, and simple to make with just 5 ingredients!

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Giant Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookie

By Flora & Vino 7 Comments

Giant vegan, gluten-free, and grain-free almond flour chocolate chip cookie for two! Lightly sweetened with maple syrup and dairy-free chocolate chunks.

If you’d told me a year ago that I’d be living alone during a pandemic, I would have cried and then laughed and then cried some more.

Ah, 2019 Lauren didn’t have a *clue* what was about to go down.

If anything, current events have taught me about my own inner strength and perseverance in the face of uncertainty.

We just keep going, friend.

I hope that you, too, feel more capable than ever of getting through hard things.

Because we’re doing all of this together.

And today, we’re going to bake together.

Current events have also taught me a thing or two about baking a mean vegan cookie.

These Giant Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies are resilient, too, you know.

They’re chewy and sweet and popping with chocolate chunks.

Make them in one-bowl with pantry friendly ingredients you already have at home.

And they only take 15 minutes to bake in the oven.

Let’s bake a BIG cookie!

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Apple Pecan Pie Oats

By Flora & Vino 2 Comments

Apple pecan pie oatmeal bowls served with a sautéed apple pecan compote. Naturally sweetened with raisins, banana, and a touch of maple syrup.

I’ve been a bit nostalgic this past week, friends, remembering simpler times and the family reunions every summer growing up.

On my family’s annual trip to Indiana to visit extended family, we always stopped at Cracker Barrel before returning to the endless highway.

So I have one question for you.

Have you tried Cracker Barrel fried apples?

No?

Well, it’s one of the best sides on the menu.

Every member of my family ordered a side of fried apples with our entrees regardless of whether we stopped for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

These Apple Pecan Pie Oats with Sautéed Apples remind me of a much healthier spin off of that addictive southern comfort side.

And we could *all* use a little comfort food right now, right?

And, like at Cracker Barrel, at my house, you can “order” these apples to go all day long.

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Blueberry Maple Baked Breakfast Bars

By Flora & Vino 9 Comments

Blueberry Maple Baked Breakfast Bars with oats, plant-based protein and blueberries naturally sweetened with dates and maple syrup.

Breakfast is *usually* my favorite meal of the day.

Anyone else?

It’s the meal I spend those last dreamy minutes before sleep and the first precious moments of the new day pondering.

That being said, it’s also equally nice to know what’s for breakfast when life gets hectic and your mornings fly by like commercials on fast forward.

Especially when breakfast is these Blueberry Maple Baked Breakfast Bars.

These time-saving, life-altering bars can be prepped in under an hour with only SIX ingredients that you probably already have on hand.

Ready to get preppin’?

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Tahini Date Shake (2-Ways!)

By Flora & Vino 13 Comments

Delicious plant-based protein shake with creamy tahini and sweetened with dates and frozen bananas. Choose a vanilla or chocolate protein base!

Hi, how’s it going?

Lately I’ve been going back through the F&V archives, retesting and recreating some of my first ever recipes to make them new again.

I stumbled across this Tahini Date shake this past week and knew I had to recreate it for you, friend.

It’s hard to know when to share my protein shake recipes.

So many combinations, so little time, you know?

Honestly, I typically default to “don’t post” them because they seem, for lack of a better word, basic.

I mean, I know you know how to blend together some frozen fruit and milk!

This Tahini Date Shake, however, is some next level shaker-y.

Are you ready?

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Dark Chocolate Coconut Butter Cups

By Flora & Vino 5 Comments

2-ingredient coconut butter cups made with dark chocolate and coconut butter. Vegan and oil-free with no added sugar. Perfect for a sweet clean dessert!

You guys, I’ve had a major sweet tooth this week.

The kind of sweet tooth that finds me loitering around my chocolate drawer (yes, I have a chocolate drawer!) around 11 PM, just casually opening it, you know, to make sure everything is still there.

So it felt appropriate to share something sweet with you this week.

Like these Dark Chocolate Coconut Butter Cups.

You need a jar of coconut butter and my favorite dark chocolate to bring these to your house in under an hour!

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Golden Oats with Butternut Squash

By Flora & Vino 6 Comments

Golden oats with butternut squash and turmeric! Perfect for a cozy breakfast served with fresh blueberries and a spoonful of cashew butter.

I have a small fridge that is constantly overflowing with all of my recipe creation leftovers, hummus containers, resealable bags of superfoods, and fresh produce.

If you open the door, be prepared for an avocado or a tomato or some sort of veg to come tumbling out.

Enter at your own risk.

Hardhats welcome.

In this case, I had a good amount of leftover butternut squash purée looking a bit forlorn and loveless.

And you know what we do with leftover veggies here at F&V…we show them all of the love.

These gorgeous Golden Oats with Butternut Squash taste just as good as they look.

Who’s ready to turn their breakfast into gold?

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Double Chocolate Banana Bread

By Flora & Vino 5 Comments

Vegan and gluten-free double chocolate banana bread with almond flour, oats, bananas, tahini, and dark chocolate. Perfect for weekend baking!

“How are you doing being home alone?” my yoga friends asked me on our weekly Zoom date this past week.

I stopped and paused, carefully considering.

“I’m OK,” I finally said.

And I meant it.

It’s a little strange and kind of amazing how we humans can grow and adapt to the curveballs the universe pitches.

I’ve definitely settled into this new normal with a quarantine routine heavy on walks, work, and virtual connection.

I feel so lucky than I can keep F&V running and continue to share delicious eats with you during these unprecedented times.

So let’s make some good stay-at-home memories, shall we?

So word on the street is that the top googled recipes right now are for banana bread.

This Double Chocolate Banana Bread is gluten-free, oil-free, refined sugar-free, and made easy with just 1-bowl and a loaf pan!

And plenty of spotty bananas and dark chocolate, obviously…

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Peanut Butter Blueberry Rice Cake Toasts

By Flora & Vino 1 Comment

Rice cake “toast” in 2 minutes! Peanut butter, jammy blueberries, and gluten-free granola on gluten-free rice cakes. Perfect for an easy breakfast or snack!

I’m not sure when it happened, but I am nocturnal.

I guess it’s just the new quarantine norm, here.

Last night I was up until 1 AM catching up on Jimmy Fallon The Tonight Show: At Home Edition and sending rambling video texts to my gal pals.

I rolled out of bed at 8 AM today slightly disoriented but definitely ready for breakfast.

Luckily, I have these Peanut Butter Blueberry Rice Cake Toasts to wake up to.

This “toast” situation is one you’re going to *want* to stay at home to make.

It’s vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, and refined sugar-free with just four ingredients you have in your pantry and freezer.

And they take 2-minutes to whip up.

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Cashew Butter Chickpea Snack Cookies

By Flora & Vino 14 Comments

5-ingredient snack cookies made with chickpeas and cashew butter sweetened with maple syrup and apple sauce. Perfect for a quick snack or dessert!

Happy Sunday, friends!

Does anyone else have major dish washing fatigue right about now?

As if it wasn’t enough to eat every stinking meal at home, we have to clean all those pots and pans, too?

I’ve set aside some time today to *actually* meal prep.

If you’re thinking, but Lauren, why meal prep during a quarantine?

Well, it occurred to me chatting with friends this week that it might be better to make larger portions in advance rather than making small meals on the spot.

We might have the time and space free to cook and bake at home constantly, but do we really want to?

As much as the kitchen is my happy place, I have other happy places that I’m missing.

Luckily, the recipe I recommend you meal prep today is made with just one blender and a cookie sheet!

These Cashew Butter Chickpea Snack Cookies require only 6 pantry-friendly staples to bring them to your kitchen.

Grab a can of chickpeas and a big spoonful of cashew butter and let’s get into it.

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Refined Sugar-Free

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