Refined Sugar-Free

Paleo Cashew Butter Chocolate Chip Fudge

Paleo Cashew Butter Chocolate Chip Fudge with cashew butter, melted dark chocolate, and dark chocolate chunks. Perfect for a clean dessert!

Recently, I started turning my phone off at the gas station after realizing it was a safety hazard.

I’m probably the biggest rule follower you’ve ever met, so you bet I abide by all of the safety guidelines.

Anyway, those 60-100 seconds sometimes feel like the longest of my entire day.

Filling my tank tonight, I stood there, feeling a foreign sense of disconnection and unease.

Phone-less, stranded between two locations, completely immobile.

Lately I’ve been leaning into experiences like this that make me feel the discomfort of just BEING, you know?

No where to go, nothing to do, nothing to achieve.

On a more delicious note, I’ve also been leaning into this Paleo Cashew Butter Chocolate Chip Fudge.

You can make it in 10-minutes with only 2-ingredients– interested?

LET IT BE.

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5-Ingredient Chocolate Tarts (No-Bake!)

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Easy 5-Ingredient Chocolate Tarts (No-Bake!) with a date-nut-cacao crust and 2-ingredient chocolate ganache filling. Top with fresh berries!

I’ve basically been hot ALL DAY.

The sweat started rolling in solid core this morning and didn’t stop.

It’s been a hot humid weekend here in Virginia with temps well above 90.

I guess it’s June’s way of saying, “I’m out, it’s JULY. ”

Yesterday I did a poll on Instagram asking everyone how hot it was near them.

It did comforted me a little to see that it’s sweltering where some of you are, too.

If you’re craving something sweet, don’t you DARE turn on the oven.

Make these 5-Ingredient Chocolate Tarts that are no-bake, grain-free, and refined sugar free!

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Chai Coconut Cashew Ice Cream

By Flora & Vino 3 Comments

Easy Chai Coconut Cashew Ice Cream with masala chai, warm spices, coconut, and cashews sweetened with maple syrup. Enjoy with a drizzle of date caramel.

FACT: I’m probably the most nostalgic person you’ll ever meet.

In high school when we signed yearbooks my friends and I exchanged hard cover copies and kept the other’s for days on end.

We wrote novels on the unmarked pages in the back, filled with song lyrics and inside jokes and notable quotes from the year.

When I went off to college I missed EVERYONE, even the people I didn’t really like or talk to much, just because they filled a comfortable known space in my world that was now oddly empty in comparison.

In fact, every time I make a big change in life, I look back on where I just was with the prettiest rose-colored glasses.

Except this Chai Coconut Cashew Ice Cream, because I can see it for its deliciousness right here and now.

Can you?

You just need 5 ingredients plus spices and your favorite Chai blend to make this no-churn ice cream yours!

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Frozen Fruit Kabobs

By Flora & Vino 1 Comment

Your favorite red, white, and blue frozen fruit kabobs on skewers and drizzled with melted dark chocolate. Perfect for a healthy fourth of July treat!

Where’s the coolest place you’ve watched fireworks?

My favorite is a local vineyard here in Virginia– it’s really high up on a peak and sitting outdoors on its grounds you can see all the way to DC on the skyline.

The winery doesn’t put off their own fireworks, but then they don’t need to.

After sunset, big bursts of color appear along the horizon, in every direction.

I love to sit, perched on a blanket on the lawn, Ooohing and Aaaahing and pointing every which way.

Why watch one fireworks show when you could watch 20?

This year, I’m bringing dessert.

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Chocolate Dipped Fudgsicles

By Flora & Vino 2 Comments

5-ingredient vegan fudgsicles made with coconut milk, cacao, and nut butter. Lightly sweetened with maple syrup and dipped in dark chocolate.

It was HOT here in Virginia this past week.

The kind of heat that makes Harper lay down in the middle of the cement on our walks, eyes staring up at me above her panting tongue, as if saying, “You expect me to walk with you…in this?”

Well, it would be nice, Miss Harper.

Several times this year we’ve had to call Dan to rescue her.

I wave him on after she’s secured in the back of his Jeep, ready to walk home while Harper rides in style.

To be honest the heat has never really bothered me.

In fact, I kind of love it.

Stepping outside in the summer sun, I can feel any tension drop away as the humidity envelops me in a warm palpable blanket.

But just because I like the heat doesn’t mean I would think to refuse a chilled treat to cool down.

These Chocolate Dipped Fudgsicles require just 5 ingredients and a timeout in the freezer before they’re yours!

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Orange Coconut Creamsicles

By Flora & Vino 4 Comments

Orange coconut creamsicles made with orange juice, coconut cream, and a touch of maple syrup. The perfect healthy treat to beat the heat!

If you’re reading this post from somewhere cool know that I am more than just a little jealous of you.

It was SO hot here this weekend, friends!

You know it’s hot if *I* think it’s too hot, because I’ve always loved the dog days of summer.

Heat? I laugh in the face of heat, Ha Ha Ha.

(I just saw The Lion King in theaters– if you get the reference.)

I went to hot yoga on Saturday and left honestly uncertain whether the great outdoors was remotely any cooler than the humid heated studio was.

Then on Sunday I got up early and laced up my tennis shoes, excited to get my run in before the sun was up.

Except the temp didn’t wait for the sun to start skyrocketing.

I ran about a mile and decided to switch my steady state cardio to popsicle making.

So here we are, left with the delicious results of our recent heat wave.

These Orange Coconut Creamsicles are guaranteed to keep you cool, calm, and collected today and the rest of the summer!

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Pineapple Sorbet (No Sugar Added!)

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Easy 2-ingredient pineapple sorbet with frozen pineapple, coconut milk, and no-added sugar. Perfect for a healthy warm weather treat!

I remember the first time I heard about banana ice cream.

Not banana flavored ice cream, but ice-cream made from bananas.

Frozen bananas blended into creamy nice cream.

It seemed too good to be true, right?

But then I tried a chilled bananas smashed into sweet frozen mush and my perception of fruit and dessert became delightfully intertwined.

Well this post is kind of like that but better, because it’s pineapple.

You only need two ingredients to make this easy pineapple sorbet with frozen pineapple and coconut milk and zero added sugar!

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No-Bake Tropical Protein Bars

By Flora & Vino 1 Comment

No-Bake Tropical Protein Bars with dried fruit, cashews, coconut, and SunButter. Naturally sweetened with orange juice and no-added-sugar.

What’s your preferred form of expression?

I’m much better at expressing my feelings through writing than speaking.

This won’t surprise you, friend, because you’re reading this on a screen somewhere.

When I was a little girl and needed to get something off of my chest, I wrote it all out on a wide rule sheet of paper and placed it under my parents’ pillows for them to find.

It always felt a little less scary to and chaotic to corral words on a page instead of on the tip of my tongue, you know?

These No-Bake Tropical Protein Bars might get you tongue tied, too, but only because they’re so darn good.

You just need 10-ingredients and lots of tropical fruit to create them!

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Dark Chocolate Chia Pudding

By Flora & Vino 4 Comments

Easy dark chocolate chia pudding sweetened with maple syrup and topped with cacao nibs and fresh mint. Perfect for meal prep snacking.

Do any of you have green thumbs?

What I want: A house filled with green plants like the striking minimalist photos I thumb past on Instagram.

The Reality: To be honest I’m really bad about caring for plants.

The few we do have around the house, a healthy money tree, a snake plant my parents gave me when we moved in, and a large Ivy that Dan trained to wrap around the speakers and windows of his “man cave”, are only alive and well thanks to Dan’s diligence.

Dan is good about watering them, pruning them, and positioning them in the right amount of sunlight

….and I’m good at admiring them and that’s about the extent of it.

So when my friend gifted me some home-grown mint this past weekend at book club brunch, I accepted it with excited determination.

I vowed to use the mint in a recipe, and to keep the darn thing alive.

I did one of those things already…

and it’s called Dark Chocolate Chia Pudding.

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Blueberry Banana Breakfast Bread

By Flora & Vino 17 Comments

1-bowl Blueberry Banana Breakfast Bread made with gluten-free oats, banana, almond butter, and lots of blueberries. Perfect for breakfast or snack!

Longest short week ever, am I right?

This week I went to an outside the studio yoga event that involved meant meeting lots of new yogis.

When was the last time you did something outside of your comfort zone?

Being an adult means you get to make all (or most) of your own decisions, so it’s really easy (for me) to decide to keep things cozy and predictable.

Especially working from home, I find that it even more imperative that I, you know, leave the house every once in while.

It was so fun connecting with like-minded yogis and I was proud of myself for taking a step into the unknown.

So, now the rest of our week and weekend decisions should be easy.

Like…do I want to bake this Blueberry Banana Breakfast Bread now or later?

…always now!

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