Salad

Easy Vegan Pasta Salad

Easy Vegan Pasta Salad made with your favorite noodles and raw vegetables in a simple red wine vinaigrette. Perfect for summer meal prep!

This coming weekend is the second meeting of my 300 hr yoga teacher training, which also is technically my *first* weekend because I missed the first due to sickness.

I’ve found myself planning, replanning, and agonizing over the details of work, life, and yoga this week, wanting everything to be *just so* for a successful weekend.

I’m nitpicking at my clothing, my accessories, my gear; the small things that I bring that I feel are in my sphere of control.

The training is forcing me out of my routine, out of the state of Maryland, out of my comfort zone.

In a sense, it feels very much so out of my control.

But I try to keep reminding myself that there is no perfect yoga pants, morning routine, or notebook that will make this weekend EASY.

And it’s good to do HARD things frequently in life, right?

The one thing I know that I’ll need is a quick healthy lunch that doesn’t need reheating, assembly, or fussing.

And contrary to what I said about doing hard things, I like my food choices and recipes to be without a doubt easy!

This Easy Pasta Salad is made with your favorite noodles and raw vegetables in a simple red wine vinaigrette.

It’s perfect for summer meal prep, camping trips, weekends away, and anytime you’re craving something simple and fresh.

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Spring Buckwheat Tabbouleh

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Spring Buckwheat Tabbouleh made with buckwheat groats, chickpeas, herbs, and fresh vegetables in an olive oil and lemon dressing.

This week we *finally* planted some seeds!

Spring has sprung here in Maryland, and we’ve been enjoying beautiful spring days in the seventies.

Living in a condominium, we do most of our planting on our back deck (a space I’m so grateful to have!).

This year, for the first time, we planted seeds in a large wooden planter box!

Last year, our zinnias and nasturtiums looked a bit cramped, so this year we afforded them a bit more space.

Right now, the planter box doesn’t look like much.

It’s just a huge box filled with damp soil that Flora loves to dip into when we open the door (she loves to eat dirt!).

But the anticipation, expectation, and excitement of growth is there, planted along with the tiny seeds.

I can’t wait to see nasturtiums, marigolds, zinnias, and herbs of all shapes and colors emerging from the soil!

For now, we wait.

Luckily, I have something for us to eat in the meantime.

This Spring Buckwheat Tabbouleh is made with buckwheat groats, chickpeas, herbs, fresh vegetables, and herbs in an olive oil and lemon dressing.

It’s the perfect hearty yet light meal for the spring season.

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Thai Mason Jar Salad

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Thai Mason Jar Salad with raw vegetables, baked tofu, herbs, and a creamy SunButter dressing. Perfect for an easy meal prep lunch!

When I was younger, the time change never really seemed to phase me.

I woke up losing an hour, shrugged at the differing light, and went on about my day as usual.

These days, at the ripe old age of 36 (almost 37, eee!), I feel like it takes me a solid week to fully adjust to a change of 60 minutes.

All week I’ve felt a bit jet-lagged, a bit foggy, and my biological clock definitely is still living by the old time.

I get hungry, tired, and motivated all at the times that I did prior to setting our clocks forward.

Doh.

But friends, the longer daylight is *so* nice.

We’ve been taking long unhurried walks with Flora through the neighborhood, basking in the sun and marveling at budding flowers.

It feels like my soul is waking up from a looooong hibernation, and, after shaking off the seasonal depression, and is ready to light up spring break in a bikini.

So, if you too are dragging after losing an hour, you’re not alone.

But we have so much to look forward to!

Luckily, I made us a recipe that will make the week ahead *so* much easier.

These Thai Mason Jar Salad are made with raw vegetables, baked tofu, herbs, and a creamy SunButter dressing.

They’re perfect for an easy meal prep lunch to bring you into spring.

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Black Bean Taco Salad

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Black Bean Taco Salad for one made with romaine lettuce, black beans, avocado, and raw veggies with a creamy garlic cashew dressing.

I’m not sure when it happened, but I am suddenly a fantasy (romantacy???) reader.

It all started when my bookclub selected ACOTAR for our April read and, like so many of you and the entirety of BookTok, I became obsessed.

The series quickly became my summer staple, and I devoured all 5 books in the series with a voracity that I haven’t felt since my Harry Potter days.

Since then, I moved on to the world of Fourth Wing, where I’m about half way done with Iron Flame (Book 2).

After realizing that Book 3 won’t be out for a while, I did my research and have another fantasy series lined up next, per your suggestions from Instagram.

When I asked what to read next, 100% of you said The Serpent & The Wing of Night.

I didn’t even question it; I downloaded the series on my Kindle immediately.

So, yeah…I like fantasy.

Who knew?

M, apparently, who is sitting smugly beside me while reading, saying, “I told you so!”

He’s always been a self proclaimed fantasy lover, while I’ve always been a self proclaimed fiction and non-fiction lover.

I always felt like if the story line wasn’t based in reality, it was hard for me to connect with the characters.

It was hard for me to IMAGINE.

But lately, all I want to do is pick up my Kindle and dive into a world of my mind’s creation, one that serves as a welcome escape.

Something else I’ve been escaping into lately is this Black Bean Taco Salad.

It’s so easy to meal prep for the week ahead made with romaine lettuce, black beans, avocado, and raw veggies with a creamy garlic cashew dressing.

This means you have more time for reading on the couch with your fantasy friends!

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Summer Harvest Millet Bowl

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Summer Harvest Millet Bowl with cucumber, corn, peaches, avocado with a light vinaigrette. Perfect for a summer salad!

Summer Harvest Millet Bowl served in bowl with peaches, avocado, arugula, and pumpkin seeds on side with white and blue striped towel and two forks

A few weeks ago while M and I were hiking, I literally ran into a tree.

I guess it’s *starting* to feel funny now, but at the time I was anything but smiles.

Let me explain a little so you can decide for yourself just how clumsy I am or am not.

We were hiking a local path that AllTrails said would take approximately 2 hours and 9 mins to complete.

About half hour in, we decided that AllTrails had most definitely lied, and this trail was going to take *way* longer than said 2 hours and 9 mins to complete.

It was then that I made my first mistake: speed hiking.

We started to pick up the pace, you know, working on our cardio, hiking briskly with what I *thought* was agility…

(*snort*).The path was shaded, but I kept my baseball cap and sunglasses on because the sun peaked out at the clearings.

If you didn’t already guess, this was my second mistake.

And my third mistake, friends, was falling into a lazy pattern of watching M’s footsteps and placing my own feet there, not bothering to glance up very often.

This was all good and fine until I speed-hiked without abandon into a massive tree branch arching across the pathway right at eye level.

Rude.

The tree was in a blindspot of my baseball cap, and I hadn’t thought to look up before placing my feet where M’s had just been seconds before.

I was shocked when I felt the density of that branch collide with the skin and bones above my eyebrows.

It didn’t move, but I most certainly did, bouncing backwards and leaping up with a scream, removing my cap and gushing to M about a possible concussion.

Somehow we managed to finish the rest of the 6 miles of hiking and on to urgent care, where the doctor confirmed that I “passed all the tests”.

If I did have a concussion, it was super mild, but I learned an important lesson that day.

It’s a lesson I keep relearning over and over and over again; and that lesson is to SLOW THE EF DOWN.

No one needs to speed hike on a Saturday, no one needs to set an AllTrails record, but you DO need to make my latest recipe.

Take your time in enjoying this Summer Harvest Millet Bowl, because it’s worth a moment of mindfulness.

This Summer Harvest Millet Bowl is made with cucumber, corn, peaches, avocado with a light vinaigrette.

Perfect for a summer salad, when the livin’s easy (and concussion free!).

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Vegan Elote Corn Salad

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Vegan Elote Corn Salad made easily with frozen corn and a creamy vegan dressing. This summer salad is perfect served warm or chilled!

Do you remember the viral video from last year with the little boy explaining his love of corn…

“It’s corn!”

Well, that basically sums up this post in a nutshell (er, corn husk?).

Today, we’re using an underestimated frozen good in the F&V kitchen…frozen corn!

I almost always have a bag in my freezer, and today we’re giving it some love to make a craveable summer salad to share.

This Vegan Elote Corn Salad is made easily with frozen corn and a creamy vegan dressing.

The best part is that this summer salad is perfect served warm or chilled!

It’s perfect for a plant-based option for outdoor gatherings, backyard barbecues, and cool cookouts.

Grab a few ears (of corn) and let’s do this!

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Smashed Cucumber & Black Soybean Salad

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Smashed Cucumber & Black Soybean Salad with raw vegetables in sesame sauce served over grains with avocado. Perfect for light lunch or dinner!

Lately I’ve been feeling good in my skin, strong in my body, and confident in my presence.

Maybe it’s the warm weather that cocoons our condo by noon, maybe it’s the dumbbells I’m lifting before breakfast, or maybe it’s the shorts and t-shirt uniform.

I really think summer is my season, and every time it rolls around, I wonder if I might be 10% happier if I lived in a place that was habitually 70 degrees and sunny.

Maybe.

But I also want summer to be like the candle I only light on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings; special and significant when it comes and glows.

Because it’s been warmer here, I’ve been enjoying a lot more fresh vegetables in our meals.

This Smashed Cucumber & Black Soybean Salad is bound to make you feel good in your body, your skin, and your soul.

It’s made with raw vegetables and black soybeans in an easy sesame sauce served over grains with avocado.

I think it’s perfect for a light lunch or dinner for warmer weather!

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Spring Quinoa Salad Jars

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Spring Quinoa Salad Jars with roasted radishes, green peas, fresh dill, and pistachios. Divide dressing and salad between jars for meal prep!

This past weekend M and I went hiking with two of our good friends and their (almost) one year old son.

It’s been such an honor and privilege to watch this little guy grow up, surrounded by so much love.

Each time we see him, he becomes more curious, more active, more himself.

This became even more apparent when we stopped after the hike for lunch.

As I watched him sprawled on a blanket, exploring his surroundings with all five senses, I told them they must never get bored.

They laughed.

Truly, though, I am in awe of my friends (there are so many!) who have bravely and newly become parents.

Sometimes, even on my best days, it feels like a struggle to keep me, myself, and I alive.

Sure, I have my plant babies, but every now and then one of them will get unhappy and won’t recover.

RIP two aloes, three cacti, and one alocacia. Hide your succulents, friends!

For many years F&V has been my pseudo baby; a hub and home that I birthed out of nothing and continue to nourish, foster, and grow.

But I still hope that someday I’ll have something squishier than sweet potatoes, warmer than freshly baked muffins, and sweeter than chocolate to hold in my arms.

And on that day, I will be calling up ALL of my mom friends for advice on keeping things (not green) alive.

But, until that day, I’m truly grateful to continue sharing my passion child with you!

Today we’re making Spring Quinoa Salad Jars.

These jars are made with roasted radishes, green peas, fresh dill, and pistachios.

Divide the dressing and salad between jars for a delicious and vibrant meal prep lunch!

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Kale Caesar Salad

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Kale caesar salad with crispy chickpeas and vegan caesar dressing. Serve with cherry tomatoes, hemp hearts, and cheezy white bean dip!

I’m hard to please when it comes to eating out.

That’s facts.

It’s something that I’m working on accepting about myself, because my whole life I’ve wanted to be easy going, relaxed, and go-with-the-flow.

But many times when I purchase food out, I take a few bites and would honestly rather be eating something at home.

Now, in my defense, that’s because I’m super sensitive to salt, garlic, and spiciness, three things that people love to dump on vegan food to make it “tasty”.

Yeah, it’s kind of like I’m allergic to flavor (HA!), but I truly believe that plants taste delicious as they are.

Can anyone else relate?

Anyway, there used to be a kale caesar salad from my local Greenheart Juice Shop that I always grabbed for a healthy lunch along with a juice or smoothie.

It was delicious and flavorful and made you feel a bit like you’re glowing from the inside out after consumption.

I’ve spent a long time trying to recreate that salad at home, because they don’t sell the salad anymore!

Now, I haven’t had the salad in years, but I think what I came up with is pretty darn near perfect.

For my picky eater-outers, this is a salad that doesn’t compromise flavor but also won’t knock you over with the big three!

This kale caesar salad is made with crispy chickpeas and a creamy vegan caesar dressing.

I highly recommend it with cherry tomatoes, hemp hearts, and my latest cheezy white bean dip!

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Curried Chickpea Salad Collard Wraps

By Flora & Vino 1 Comment

Curried Chickpea Salad with almond milk yogurt, avocado, and curry seasoning. Add cranberries and walnuts and serve in collard leaves!

I’m taking a four week writing course this month.

I’ve always enjoyed writing.

As a kid, whenever adults asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I responded, a writer.

I created a children’s book series in elementary school sharing the adventures of a miniature Schnauzer, Joana Schnauzer, and her house pet friends.

All throughout middle school and high school, I wrote in my composition notebook journals with the word “PRIVATE!” roughly taped to the front.

In college I wrote sestinas and stream of consciousness in scrolling cursive about learning, love, and loss.

After college I mostly wrote for my job, technical stuff I didn’t really understand, or, frankly, like.

Then I found Instagram, and shared posts with you about food, fitness, and life as a 20-something.

Now as a 30-something (almost 36!), I can safely say that you’re my favorite person to write for, friend.

Writing isn’t a skill I’ve actively tried to improve since my school days.

So I hope this writing course will re-inspire an old burn in my *and* help me communicate better in words just how delicious plants are.

Today’s recipe is also taking an old idea and making it new.

This Curried Chickpea Salad is made with almond milk yogurt, avocado, and curry seasoning for a delicious light lunch.

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