Refined Sugar-Free

Brussels Sprout Cranberry Salad

Brussels Sprout Cranberry Salad with kale, roasted brussels sprouts, quinoa, cranberries, and pecans in a sweet no-oil-added apple cider tahini.

I created this salad on our trip to Indiana last month as a sort of happy accident.

It was about 10 PM, and I was up, running on adrenaline and kombucha, quite literally throwing veggies and leftovers in Tupperware to pack for the trip the following day.

Somehow in my pre-travel anxiety I threw together the best the combination of perfectly roasted brussel sprouts, toasty white quinoa, dried cranberries, and chopped pecans, all mixed in with a creamy oil-free apple cider tahini that I whipped up on the spot.

I didn’t think I worked well under pressure, but this salad begs to differ.

You need to add this Brussels Sprout Cranberry Salad with Apple Cider Tahini to your weekly salad rotation!

While traveling the next day, we happened to stop at a cute plant-based restaurant in Pennsylvania for Dan to grab some grub, and I was surprised to the see that the menu had italicized words under the entrée that read “Gluten Free“, “Vegetarian“, and “Vegan“.

I stubbornly turned down the options, though, recalling how much time and energy went into my Tupperware party the night before.

I wasn’t about to let that salad go to waste, friends!

When we got back to the car, I pulled out red-lidded square Tupperware, determined to love its contents.

But I didn’t have to try hard.

I was practically swooning before we got back on the highway.

I told Dan “OH MY GOD, THIS IS SO GOOD,” between brusselin’ bites more than he cares to remember.

The only consolation in finishing it was that I had two left to nosh on the rest of the trip!

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Paleo Pumpkin Pecan Pillow Cookies

By Flora & Vino 4 Comments

Easy grain-free cookies made pumpkin and pecan butter sweetened with maple syrup. Perfect to meal prep for healthy snacks, dessert, or even breakfast.

Confession: I’m REALLY bad about writing down my recipes.

I know, I know, for shame.

You see, most of them are so startlingly simple, I just kind of will myself to remember while doing some serious taste-testing.

Note to self: New Years Resolution #1…Record ALL the yums.

Luckily, I found an old archived Instagram post that jogged my memory on the measurements for these cookies that are your pumpkin and pecan pie all tied into one.

These Paleo Pumpkin Pecan Pillow Cookies are a recipe you won’t want to misplace.

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Pumpkin Cacao Cranberry Muffins

By Flora & Vino 11 Comments

Easy 1-bowl pumpkin muffins with cacao nibs, dried cranberry, and dark chocolate chips. Enjoy as a healthy breakfast, snack, or dessert.

Currently, there are two perfect pumpkins sitting on our balcony like orange guardians watching over the neighborhood street.

These are our pumpkins; big, bulbous, freshly cleaned…but faceless!

We always manage to go pumpkin picking, but it’s the carving that always seems to get overlooked.

I’ve never been very good at free-styling the face with a kitchen-knife, and my inner art-critic always cringes at every asymmetric slice.

Ooops.

But who said pumpkins have to have faces, anyway?

What I lack in pumpkin carving skills I promise I make up for in pumpkin recipes.

It’s been a while since I shared a muffin recipe on here, so let’s make these wildly appropriate 1-Bowl Pumpkin Cacao Cranberry Muffins as we near Halloween!

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Date Sweetened Chocolate Hummus & Apple Chips

By Flora & Vino 19 Comments

Five ingredient date sweetened chocolate hummus! Perfectly paired with apple chips, fresh fruit, or spread on toast for a sweet snack.

Happy Saturday!

We’re out of town visiting my grandparents, and I spent the majority of the week packing to be away.

While I was packing, I was also snacking.

Amidst the packed and prepped one-pan meals and overnight oats is a tub of homemade chocolate hummus and a bag of apple chips.

I’m so excited to finally share my recipe for chocolate hummus with you, along with my favorite dipping partner!

You’re going to love this Date Sweetened Chocolate Hummus that requires only 5 ingredients and a totally healthy obsession with hummus.
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1-Bowl Butternut Brownies

By Flora & Vino 12 Comments

1-bowl vegan, gluten-free, and oil-free brownies made super moist with the addition of butternut squash puree for a healthy dessert!

Hi, friends!

It might still feel like summer out, but it’s definitely baking season and I made you brownies just to prove it.

I’m more than happy to sweat it out in front of my crowded double oven to create some new fall favorites.

These 1-Bowl Butternut Brownies are gluten-free, no-oil-added, refined-sugar-free, and made with only FIVE ingredients!

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Leftover Quinoa Breakfast Bowls

By Flora & Vino 7 Comments

Leftover quinoa breakfast bowls made with cooked quinoa and sweetened with banana. Ready in 10 minutes and packed with protein, berries, and seeds!

I’m just a little excited about cold-weather breakfasts, guys.

If you’re stuck in a breakfast rut, no judgement!

I’ve been there.

Did I tell you I used to eat oatmeal every day for breakfast for probably…half a decade?

This post is for all of you oatmeal lovers out their shyly thinking about mixing it up.

You’re going to love these Leftover Quinoa Breakfast Bowls that are perfect for busy workweek mornings. …

Low Sugar Pumpkin Apple Butter

By Flora & Vino 5 Comments

Low sugar pumpkin apple butter lightly sweetened with maple syrup and apple juice. Made with 5 ingredients for a fall treat!

Around the time I was getting the hang of the whole college thing, my mom started making Pumpkin Apple Butter.

Like most college kids, I was a fan of fast, portable food.

I used to pack Peanut Butter & Pumpkin Apple Butter sandwiches that I dug out between classes and ate on empty wooden benches or the cement ledges surrounding the campus buildings.

Sometimes, if the classes were really spread out, I ate the sandwich between fast footsteps across campus.

Yeah, I was totally that girl that ran between classes, but I did have some standards.

I only ran sans PB&PAB.

I’ve always been a lover of apple butter and pumpkin butter, so the combination of the two instantly became a favorite fall staple for me.

I remember tiptoing downstairs at night to sneak spoonfuls of that sweet burnt-sienna spread straight from the canning jar.

Aside from the fact that I think homemade jams/spreads taste better, I don’t usually buy store-bought versions because they’re usually so high in added sugars.

Even the recipe that my mom used was super sweet, and I know she reduced the sugar quite a bit when she made it for us.

I decided to make my own low sugar version…one where you can actually taste the pumpkin and apple and spices!

This spread is packed with flavorful fruit and lightly sweetened with maple syrup!

My favorite part, though, is that it comes together with 5 ingredients in only 30 minutes on the stovetop and you’ve got yourself a seriously cozy condiment.

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Sweet Potato Breakfast Skillet Cookie

By Flora & Vino 18 Comments

Sweet Potato Breakfast Skillet Cookie made sweet potato, almond flour, and nut butter. Enjoy slices for a quick fall breakfast!

Tomorrow is the first day of fall, everyone!

I’ve got the perfect recipe for you to make to welcome the season.

This Sweet Potato Breakfast Skillet Cookie requires only one bowl, one skillet, and some serious cravings for cookies for breakfast.

I bet you’ve got all three of them.

Oh, well, and some sweet potato and stuff.

Let me tell you about this “other stuff”…

You might have seen the whole “skillet cookie” thing trending the internet lately.

If you haven’t, it’s basically a giant cookie baked inside a cast iron skillet and then spooned out and enjoyed in all it’s crumbly cookie glory.

Genius.

The minute I scrolled post one of these enticing pictures, a skillet filled with a perfectly browned cookie, my heart immediately did a series of somersaults and cartwheels and backflips.

Or wait…maybe that was my stomach.

I put off making my own for a while, because I wanted to create a healthier version not weighed down by oil and sugar that still tastes like a cookie, you know?

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Maple Walnut Bliss Balls

By Flora & Vino 3 Comments

4-ingredient Maple Walnut Bliss Balls with maple syrup and toasted walnuts! Perfect for meal prep and squashing hunger on cool autumn days.

Clearly my energy ball situation is way ahead of my closet (and most other adult-ish things) this season!

My kitchen is all decked out in Maple Walnut Bliss Balls while my closet is still strewn with tank tops, shorts, and flip flops.

I really should go “seasonalize” my wardrobe for colder weather, but first things first, I want to share with you what happens when toasted walnuts, medjool dates, maple syrup, and oats get together…

It’s called Maple Walnut BLISS and you need to try it for fall.

Maybe even before you pull out the flannel and riding boots, OK?

You’re going to love these four ingredient treats that kind of look (and taste) like sugar dusted donut holes.

These easy to make bites are packed with protein, Omega-3s, and fiber!

The best way I can describe them to you is…they TASTE the way stepping into a mess of crunchy leaves under boots FEELS.

Quintessential fall.

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Superfood Chocolate Maca Cups

By Flora & Vino 2 Comments

Superfood Chocolate Maca Cups with maca and antioxidant rich cacao. Top with your favorite superfoods and enjoy as a snack or dessert.

It seems like people are busy lately, you know?

It’s back to school season, and everyone is getting in the groove of new adventures, new goals, and new intentions.

Luckily, I whipped up the perfect energizing treat to keep us on our toes.

These Superfood Chocolate Maca Cups are oil-free, gluten free, refined sugar free and require only two ingredients to make, plus additional superfood toppings!

I snuck in the popular adaptogen, maca, that supports natural energy and vitality so you can get your energizer bunny on all week long.

A clean, healthy treat that is easy to make, and also reduces stress and fatigue?

I’ll take a dozen. …

Refined Sugar-Free

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