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Chocolate Dipped Coconut Bars

4-ingredient Chocolate Dipped Coconut Bars made with melty dark chocolate and shredded coconut. Perfect for a deliciously simple dessert!

What was your favorite candy bar growing up?

For a long time mine was Mounds bars.

It’s basically an almond-less Almond Joy, which was ideal for me because I had a vendetta against nuts in candy back then.

I think that it was a texture thing.

You could never find them in the Halloween Fun-Size candy assortments, but I popped out and back in the checkout line to grab their bright red wrapper.

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Summer Spinach Salad with Turmeric Tahini Dressing

By Flora & Vino 4 Comments

Summer spinach salad with turmeric tahini dressing, quinoa, summer vegetables, and avocado. Perfect to meal prep for lunch!

Happy Sunday!

How are you enjoying the end of your summer?

It’s honestly felt a lot like fall here in Virginia in the past few days, but I’m not complaining.

The crisp cool weather felt so amazing on our Sunday run this morning.

This Summer Spinach Salad with Turmeric Tahini Dressing is my last ode to summer in salad form.

The combination is fresh, bright, and light, with a sweet cider-y dressing that will get you jazzed about fall.

It’s also perfect for meal prep, for anyone going back to school or just back to the kitchen basics!

Oh, lunchtime.

I feel like most people would say that breakfast is the most hectic meal of the day, but for me, it’s definitely my mid-day meal!

Usually, when lunchtime rolls around I’m halfway through a photo shoot in a kitchen that looks more like the target of a natural disaster than a place for civilized eating.

So, I’ve been a bit lazy about my lunchtime “recipes” lately.

And by lazy I mean I’m throwing all of the raw and steamed veggies, leftover quinoa, avocado, and a tahini dressing in a bowl.

This solid blueprint never fails to fuel me, and if it ain’t broke…

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Double Chocolate Cheesecake Bars

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Raw vegan chocolate cheesecake bars naturally sweetened and gluten-free! Made with a chocolate “cookie” crust. Perfect for deliciously healthy dessert.

Who else feels they blinked and missed summer?!

Things have been busy here and I’m trying to evaluate my “busy-ness” to make sure it’s all serving me or you, buds.

I also want to make sure it’s all quality and not quantity.

Kind of like my chocolate cheesecake.

No, but really, please excuse my current chocolate craze.

The last three recipes on my page are cocoa-based, but I’m not complaining, are you?

I think we could all use a sweet finish to summer and a few extra antioxidants.

These Double Chocolate “Cheesecake” Bars are thick, creamy, and chocolatey while being totally dairy and refined sugar free!

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Beet Brownie Bliss Balls

By Flora & Vino 4 Comments

5-ingredient beet brownie bliss balls made with cacao powder, nut butter, and roasted beets! Perfect for a healthy snack, dessert, or pre/post workout fuel.

Friends!

How has your weekend been?

I’ve had beets on the brain since my trip with Love Beets this past week to visit their organic beet farm and factory.

After eating many a beet during my stay in upstate New York, you’d think I might be sick of this hearty root veggie.

…FAT CHANCE.

Things have been a little topsy-turvy here after traveling, so I decided to grab some beets upon my return and make bliss balls!

These Beet Brownie Bliss Balls only require 5-ingredients, 1 Love Beet, and a little room in the fridge (and your stomach) for healthy snacking all week long!

Fun Fact: You can trace my first version of these bliss balls back to the Total Solar Eclipse of Summer 2017.

Did you see it?!

I didn’t have the special viewing glasses here at home, so Harper and I stayed indoors and made bliss balls instead.

To be honest I didn’t notice it getting freakishly dark outside, so maybe we weren’t in a very good viewing zone.

Anyway, snacking on chocolate and beets to celebrate, I fondly called them “Blackout Beetroot Bliss Balls”.

But they taste like brownies, so I decided a name change was in order.

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Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Pudding

By Flora & Vino 7 Comments

Easy protein-packed red-bean based pudding that you can serve in 10 minutes. Packed with protein, fiber, and antioxidants to fuel your day!

Story time.

Dan came up home from work while I was photographing pretty pudding cups and before he could even change I dropped my camera, picked up the closest pudding cup, and shoved it in his face aggressively asking, “Would you eat this???”

“Yeah,” he said, and I quote, “Looks like a dessert a restaurant would serve.”

Well, shucks, thanks, babe.

I smiled gleefully, because I’d definitely want to dine at the restaurant that serves Chocolate Peanut Butter Pudding Cups for dessert, wouldn’t you?

They only require 5 ingredients and 10 minutes for the perfect protein packed pudding that’s oil free, gluten free, and naturally sweetened!

It’s not exactly a secret that I love my bean-based desserts.

If you have any doubts, check out my dessert archives and go crazy over all of the chickpea cookies, and bean based brownies and blondies!

I just really like my desserts to pack a whole foods protein punch instead of being void of all nutritional value.

Legumes have this magical way of melting into recipes to take on sweet flavors while leaving all of their “beaniness” business behind.

Of course, when Dan found at that these pudding cups were bean-based, he wasn’t crazy about it, but that’s why you’ve got to tell people after they’re drooling, OK?

Or after they’re on pudding cup number two.

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Peach Raspberry SunButter Smoothie Bowl

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Peach Raspberry SunButter Smoothie Bowl with frozen peaches, raspberries, and a spoonful of SunButter! Perfect for a quick breakfast.

Let’s talk about peachy perfection for a hot second.

I’m heading to New York today on a business trip, and sometimes before I travel I do this thing where I idealize the trip in my head and try to make all aspects of it “perfect”.

You know, imagining yourself in all of your best outfits, with that perfect hair and makeup day and your best attributes all lit up and glowy, inside and out.

The best version of yourself.

But then I remembered, amidst the hustle of packing today, my anticipation colliding with that promised future moment of perfection that never came, that there is NO PERFECT.

Except for this Peach Raspberry SunButter Smoothie Bowl… it’s pretty darn close.

Stay in the imperfectly perfect present moment with this smoothie bowl for the rest of the summer.

It’s banana-free, low in sugar, and packed with everything you need to start your day well and good.

I got several requests for recipes with peaches on Instagram, and….not to bore you with another banana-free smoothie bowl, but this bowl has been my favorite this summer!

If you’re all about fresh peach summer produce like I’ve been lately, you’re going to LOVE this smoothie bowl!

I love adding frozen peaches to my smoothie bowls because they’re a bit lower in sugar and add a subtle sweetness to your combo.

Per my perfectionist persona, I had to try multiple variations of this bowl to find my most favorite version.

The combination of sweet peaches and tart raspberries with a spoonful of SunButter is perfect for a fresh summer breakfast!

You’re going to love blending up this bowl and watching it turn a pretty pink.

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Stone Fruit Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with Maple Tahini

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Stone Fruit Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with Maple Tahini for a hearty breakfast packed with seasonal fruit and a delicious maple tahini drizzle.

While breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, it’s also the one my taste buds voted most likely to be predictable.

Yours too?

I know, it’s hard.

You wake up and want the tried and true.

But here’s an idea– let’s talk about sweet potatoes, sweet peaches, and maple tahini.

Are you drooling yet?

Snap out of your breakfast rut with these Stone Fruit Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with Maple Tahini for easy plant-based fuel!

I went through a major sweet potato phase about two years ago where I was eating a sweet potato a day.

If I got to the end of the day sans sweet pot, you bet your bottom dollar I loaded one up for dessert.

I mean, they’re hard not to love, and act as the perfect base for any meal.

They’re oh so versatile, comforting, and filling.

You can go sweet or savory; simple or extravagant.

Lately, I’ve been craving them for breakfast loaded up with a hearty mix of fruit, nut or seed butter, and yogurt.

You’re going to love these Stone Fruit Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with Maple Tahini.

They’re sweet, satiating, and packed with all of my favorites.

Not to mention fiber, protein, healthy fats, and complex carbs.

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Strawberry Coconut Almond Butter Overnight Oats

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Easy overnight oats with strawberries, shredded coconut, and a spoonful of almond butter. Prep several jars in advance for easy weekday breakfast on the go!

Do you partake in “self care Sunday”?

Self care is all the rage lately– putting yourself first, saying no to things that don’t serve you, choosing to do a face mask and drink kombucha when you *should* be folding laundry.

So I’m going to throw it out there for the taking– I think the best way to pamper yourself is with overnight oats!

Because, hear me out, what are overnight oats but a delicious gift from present to future self?

And my future self looooooves gift.

These Strawberry Coconut Almond Butter Overnight Oats come together with a handful of ingredients you can mix in advance for easy breakfasts on the go!

I did my self care Sunday pretty late last week, per usual.

It must have been close to 9 PM when I pulled down three mason jars and apathetically measured out oats, almond milk, chia seed, and shredded coconut.

Eying them under the artificial kitchen lights, I decided they needed something, so I tossed in a big spoonful of roasted almond butter.

Because nut butter makes everything better.

I placed them in the fridge, fell asleep, and forgot about them.

Monday morning, amidst the fast pace of a new week, I remembered said oats, covered them in diced strawberries and was so enamored with the flavor combination that I could have KISSED Sunday night me.

Thanks, Sunday night Lauren, you’re a real gem.

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The Best Vegan & Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins

By Flora & Vino 15 Comments

The Best Vegan & Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins naturally sweetened with maple syrup for a nutritious breakfast or snack.

The Best Vegan & Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins served on blue plate with a knife on wooden board

Well, well, well. If it isn’t Sunday again.

I’m writing this blog post from our community pool.

It’s Sunday and I wanted to bring my work outdoors.

This sounds like a reasonable thing, yes?

Aside from the fact that I’m typing this on tiny half visible keys over shrieks and splashes of kids and the gossipy couple that sat down in the chair next to me (out of all the seats!).

I really can’t believe it’s August already, can you?

So I keep harassing myself with not so gentle reminders to get outside and enjoy the sunshine while it’s here.

But enough about me– can we talk about breakfast?

Let’s talk about these Vegan & Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins.

Correction: The BEST Vegan & Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins!

They only require one bowl, a serious love of blueberries, and a mug of something warm to enjoy them with.

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Summertime White Bean Chili

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Summertime white bean chili with summer vegetables and a kickin’ oil-free broth. Perfect to heat up your summer dinners with some spice!

Hi, guys!

I got my hair highlighted yesterday for the first time in a decade.

The last time was on a whim in college, and I’ll never forget watching in horror as the stylist descended on my capped head with sharp hooks that left my scalp hurting for days.

Oh, and the highlights were more like skunk-lights.

But this highlight left me feeling pampered and sunkissed– a much needed change.

Kind of like this Summertime White Bean Chili; the other “highlight” to my week, if you will.

It comes together in 1-pot with fresh seasonal summer veggies, white beans, and a perfectly spiced oil-free broth.

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