Flora & Vino

Salad

Tri-Colored Roasted Cauliflower Salad

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Quick and colorful 1-pan cauliflower side roasted to perfection with simple seasonings and herbs. Enjoy as a holiday side or add protein for a cozy entrée.

Tri-Colored Roasted Cauliflower Salad by Flora & Vino

Can we talk for a second about how close the holidays are?

Today is two weeks until Thanksgiving and yesterday was six weeks until the new year.

Not that I’m counting or anything.

To be honest, I haven’t even fully acknowledged that it’s November, let alone the side I’m going to bring to Thanksgiving Day dinner at my parents’.

Luckily, I hope this Tri-Colored Roasted Cauliflower Salad can help us with our holiday dish scramble.

It’s the perfect side dish to add some cozy color to any plant-based plate!

You just need one pan, three heads of cauliflower, the perfect neutral, high-heat cooking oil, and your favorite fresh herb to bring this salad to your dining room table.

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Root Veggie Chip Arugula Salad

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Easy arugula salad with crunchy root veggie chips, crumbled cashew cheese, and caramelized onions. Perfect for a light autumn lunch or side salad. 

Root Veggie Chip Arugula Salad by Flora & Vino

Today I left the house at 7 AM in shorts and felt 60 degree breeze hit my bare thighs.

I proceeded to jump into the car and blast the heat and seat heater, because how else do you get warm in September?

It’s definitely starting to feel like fall here in Virginia; colorful leaves cascading off of trees and a definite chill in the mornings and evenings.

With the first “official” day of fall in just a few days, all I can see are shades or sepia and burnt orange and gold.

When I think of fall, I immediately think of ruby-colored root veggies.

How about root veggies in chip form?

You’re going to love this Root Veggie Chip Arugula Salad for a light autumn lunch or side salad this season!

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Delicata Squash Quinoa Power Bowl

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Power bowl with roasted delicata squash, quinoa, spinach, basil, and toasted pine nuts. Oil-free, gluten-free, and packed with protein and leafy greens!

Delicata Squash Quinoa Power Bowl by Flora & Vino

At yoga teacher training last weekend we wrote our fears (about beginning training) on scraps of paper and burned them standing in a circle in the parking lot.

When it was my turn, I read my fears aloud (public speaking, lack of time, judgement) and then added sheepishly, “One of my other fears is fire, so, uh, could someone else light this for me?”

One of my yoga teachers grabbed my paper, squatting towards the asphalt and lighting my folded fears with ease.

The truth is that all of my fears wouldn’t fit on that scrap piece of paper even if I wrote SUPER small.

They’ve been a little out of control lately adjusting to living, cooking, and working in a new space.

Change. Is. Hard.

For example, I used an electric stovetop my *entire* life, and was more than apprehensive about the gas cooking range in my new townhome.

“You mean I have to cook over an open flame???”

Fear of fire, friends.

Well, and the very real fear of accidentally leaving the gas on, because I can be so haphazard in the kitchen.

This Delicata Pesto Quinoa Power Bowl is the first thing I’ve cooked in my new home and I’m pretty proud of it.

These power bowls are an excellent basic meal to make this fall for an easy protein-packed lunch or dinner.

Feel the fear (and the fire) and do it anyway!

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Kidney Bean Arugula Salad

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Simple and flavorful kidney bean salad with arugula, cherry tomatoes, pine nuts, and avocado. Perfect for a quick protein-packed lunch. 

Kidney Bean Arugula Salad by Flora & Vino

TRUTH: Doing any indoor activities outdoors immediately elevates the entire experience.

Ex: yoga, running, wine-tasting, reading…

I remember one day in college my English professor stood up in the middle of class and said without warning, “Let’s have class outdoors today!”

All of us undergrads grabbed our paperback books and notebooks and sat under oak trees discussing Shakespeare’s sonnets.

It was the best class ever.

I’m sitting outside as I write this and it occurred to me that I should probably do this more.

“This” being take advantage of working outdoors if and when I want to.

Early on in solo entrepreneurship, I was absolutely guilt of idealizing the “be your own boss” life.

Working for myself, I assumed it was going to be a spontaneous flow of lunch dates, walks with Harper, and skipping out of the studio early for the early yoga class.

Turns out it’s more of an 80 hours workweek model, and my lunch date tally is still in the single digits.

But then there are moments, working on the deck cradling my laptop between crossed legs, that I feel free-er than I ever have.

Especially with this Kidney Bean Arugula Salad to my left!

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Watermelon Quinoa Kale Salad

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Fresh light summer salad popping with juicy watermelon, heirloom tomato, cucumber, quinoa, mint, and roasted sunflower seeds. Perfect for summer lunch!

Guys, I really can’t believe it’s July.

Summer always leaves me scratching my head wondering where all of the sunny days went.

I’m hurrying to get my favorite summer recipes in before we blink and turn into fall pumpkins.

This Watermelon Quinoa Kale Salad might have the power to make summer last forever.

Or at least as long as you like within your kitchen.

You’re going to love this easy summery mix of sweet watermelon, hearty kale, nutty quinoa, bright mint, and toasted sunflower seeds.

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Vegetable Pasta Salad (Grain-Free!)

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Lightened up pasta salad packed with fresh chopped vegetables, grain-free chickpea pasta, and a light balsamic dressing. Perfect for healthy summer lunches!

Have you been to the pool yet?

I went for my first time this season on Memorial Day with a girlfriend.

It was late on the holiday and I really just wanted to lay there motionless in the sun until dark, but I recognized with a sigh that the workweek was quickly approaching.

So we shifted out convo to preparation for week, which sifted to food and meal prep and easy things to throw together with the limited time we had.

I confessed that lunches had me particularly perplexed lately.

What do you eat when you don’t want salads for lunch, but also aren’t in the mood for cooking?

(I swear I’m a food blogger, haha.)

“What about a pasta salad?” she asked.

Yes, what about that.

This Vegetable Pasta Salad (Grain-Free!) is packed with protein and raw vegetables for an easy lightened up vegan pasta salad!

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2-Minute Lemon, Spinach, & Chickpea Salad

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The fastest light summer salad with fresh spinach and chickpeas in a fresh lemon and avocado oil dressing. Perfect for a light lunch during hot weather!

Are you team kale or team spinach?

For years I was decidedly team kale, lacinato, or curly.

Maybe that’s because I ate a lot of frozen growing up so kale felt new and exciting.

But lately I’ve been all about that fresh baby spinach life.

I buy a giant tub each week at the store each week and what I don’t eat in salads I freeze and add to my shakes.

I don’t care how much you love kale, you’ve got to admit, you can *always* taste a bit of it in your shake, right?

Anyway, I’m not here with a shake recipe today, friends, I’m here with a fresh salad recipe!

This 2-Minute Lemon, Spinach, & Chickpea Salad is ready in under 5 minutes for a light and breezy summer meal.

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10-Minute Black Bean Taco Salad

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Easy vegan taco salad with black beans, raw chopped vegetables, and easy plant-based toppings. Perfect for meal prep and breezy summer entrée salads.

10-Minute Black Bean Taco Salad by Flora & Vino

Happy Friday, friends!

Maybe we should celebrate with a little fiesta, what do you think?

I’ve always been a big taco salad fan, especially when dining Mexican.

I was also a big fan of telling the waiter that it was my birthday so he would bring the birthday sombreros out to my sister and I (oh, wait, was that just last year?!).

Usually the taco salad itself was so filling that I could only feebly munch on the ginormous puffed tortillas shell-shaped bowl after the interior was gone.

This week I brought taco salads back in a big way with this p lant-based bowl that’s hearty and filling without the traditional shell exterior.

How about we make this 10-Minute Black Bean Taco Salad for a lightened up version of the classic?

You just need fresh veggies, black bean protein, and some simple dressings to make this vegan and gluten-free taco salad.

Birthday sombreros optional but recommended.

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Chop’t Chickpea Salad with Green Cilantro Tahini

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Fresh chopped salad with raw rainbow vegetables and chickpeas. Garnish with a green cilantro tahini and hemp hearts for warm weather lunches!

Chop't Chickpea Salad with Green Cilantro Tahini by Flora & Vino

Do you spring clean?

Last weekend I donated six bags of “stuff” and instantly felt Marie Kondo- status.

So, maybe we can freshen up our eats a little, too.

It’s salad season and my lunches are coming out of hibernation with some serious crunch and color.

Throughout winter my lunches are typically a reheat of last night’s leftovers; a totally respectable and convenient affair.

But for today let’s let the leftover stay leftover and whip up something vibrant and crisp.

If there ever was an appropriate place to use #eattherainbow, it’s for this Chop’t Chickpea Salad with Green Cilantro Tahini.

It’s fresh and light, perfect for spring and summer lunches, with your favorite raw veggies and a creamy oil-free green tahini dressing.

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Red Bean & Pomegranate Salad with Yogurt Tahini Dressing

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Colorful raw salad dressed with sweet red beans, pomegranate, and a zippy yogurt tahini dressing. Perfect for meal prep and plant-based lunch inspiration.

Red Bean & Pomegranate Salad with Yogurt Tahini Dressing by Flora & Vino

Hello, world.

I’m sitting writing this out and about!

It feels so fresh to stare out into the daylight outside of a coffee shop instead of through the artificial lights of my office cave.

I need to remember this when I’m totally IN IT (have you seen Garden State?) in the workweek, feeling that intense vortex of busy-ness that doesn’t always lead to productivity.

Sometimes you have to get out and smell the roses to write about the roses, ya know?

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How was your weekend?

I ate out a lot more than usual; a welcome break from my usual kitchen happenings.

We had a lovely dinner at True Foods Kitchen last night and today I celebrated my dad’s belated bday with my parents and sister.

So now I’m refreshed and ready to get into the new week with a little meal prep– starting with this Red Bean & Pomegranate Salad with Yogurt Tahini Dressing.

It’s light and nutritious, with a creamy oil-free dressing and pops of pomegranate and sweet red beans.

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