Flora & Vino

Sides

Corn, Tomato, & Avocado Salad with Zoodles (Oil-Free)

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Easy raw summer salad with corn, tomato, avocado, cucumber, and zucchini noodles. Oil-free and simply dressed. Perfect as a light nutritious summer side!

Corn, Tomato, & Avocado Salad with Zoodles (Oil-Free) by Flora & Vino

This has been the summer of corn for me.

For a long time one of my “fear foods” was corn.

“But Lauren,” you might say, “Corn is a veggie, at honestly it’s not very scary…what gives?”

Well, at some point I decided (probably due to misconstrued messages from diet culture) that corn wasn’t good for me and should be avoided at all costs.

This went on for several corn-on-the-cob-less years, until, in my recent healing I decided to add all of the corniness back in my life.

This summer I decided that, actually, in fact, corn is delicious and I’m going to eat it in all of the things.

Who’s with me?

At our last book club my friend served up a corn-centric summer salad that was so simple and delicious!

I’m excited to share my own version with you– packed with summer produce and an unexpected zucchini noodle twist.

This Corn, Tomato, & Avocado Salad with Zoodles (Oil-Free) is the summer side you’ve been waiting for.

It’s light, refreshing, and ready to serve less than 10 minutes for any summer occasion!

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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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Vegan Pineapple Coleslaw with Cherries

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Creamy plant-based coleslaw without oil or dairy! Cabbage and carrot mixed with an almond milk yogurt dressing with pops of pineapple and dried cherry.

Vegan Pineapple Coleslaw with Cherries by Flora & Vino

Happy Friday Eve!

Last weekend on our camping trip we took Harper hiking along Lake Anna.

I love the feeling of being swallowed up by the woods; only green trees and wet dirt and Harper’s fluffy white frame for as far as I could see.

Starting the day outdoors always leaves me feeling more grounded and at peace, almost childlike, you know?

And that, dear friends, is what summer is all about.

But enough about me– let’s talk about you.

Is anyone attending a cookout or barbecue this weekend?

This Vegan Pineapple Coleslaw with Cherries is the perfect go-to plant-based slaw to add to your summer spread!

Add some pineapple and cherries and it’s a freakin’ party.

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Oven-Baked Tofu Fries

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Easy oven-baked tofu fries perfect for a protein packed snack or side. Meal prep them in advance to add protein to workweek meals.

Oven-Baked Tofu Fries by Flora & Vino

I used to meal prep like it was my J O B.

Working in an office, I was determined to have access to all of the foods that made me thrive.

So I planned in advance, down to the very last Tupperware container.

In the height of my meal prep days. I sliced tofu into thin strips and baked until crispy brown on the outside and tender on the inside.

It was lost on me that these thin strips sort of resembled fries, until I baked one batch too long, removing their erect rectangular shapes from the cookie sheet in amazement.

And so it began, making Oven-Baked Tofu Fries for #mealprepsunday.

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Oil-Free Roasted Veggies with Almond Butter Sauce

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Oil-Free Roasted Veggies with Almond Butter Sauce

At first I wanted to go on a big elimination diet this January.

I wanted to do the Whole30, a juice cleanse, go sugar free, cut out wine, or something.

I mean, can I really just enter the year unabashedly the same as I was in 2018?

It’s hard to stay the same when the rest of the world seems hell-bent on change.

While I totally support whatever but changes you’re making in your life this January to make you feel your best and brightest, what I decided for me is that adding things instead of excluding them is so much more fun.

So let’s choose to add in the rainbow with a side of almond butter dipping sauce that’s easy and delicious, yeah?

Grab your favorite veggies and your favorite jar of AB and let’s get roasting!

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Eggplant Rounds with Herbed Yogurt Sauce & Pomegranate

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Eggplant Rounds with Herbed Yogurt Sauce & Pomegranate

Happy New Years Eve Eve!

Welcome to the last post on F&V of 2018.

I’ll be the first to admit that I fall victim to the whole new year new you mentality.

I spent a lot of time between Christmas and New Years listing all of the good aspect of my life that I want to do bigger and better in 2019, and all of the not so grand things I’d be just fine with leaving in 2018.

There’s something magical about the start of the new year that makes big changes feel totally tangible and transformative.

Two years ago on New Years Day I started this humble space on the Internet, the blog you’re reading now.

A year ago on January 1st I quit my gym and joined a yoga studio and watched how my time on the mat changed the way I viewed my life.

This year and today, we’re making Eggplant Rounds with Herbed Yogurt Sauce & Pomegranate for the perfect plant-based NYE appetizer.

So, see, big things.

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Rosemary Roasted Cauliflower Salad with Toasted Hazelnut & Mulberries + Bordeaux

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Rosemary Roasted Cauliflower Salad with Toasted Hazelnut & Mulberries + Bordeaux

My parents used to tell me that if I kept frowning like that, my face would stay that way, which really only made me frown harder.

Recently, I saw a meme that read, “It takes XX (insert low number) muscles to smile and XX (insert high number) muscles to frown. Frown harder, let’s get ripped!”

Laugh. Out. Loud.

Lately, though, I feel like my face is frozen in permanent photographer face — the Canon body pressing firming into my third eye while my right eye is all squinty.

The face only a mother could love?

The face I make when I’m about to take the perfect picture of  Rosemary Roasted Cauliflower Salad with Toasted Hazelnut & Mulberries.

So…am I ripped yet?

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Vegan & Grain Free Sweet Potato Casserole

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Vegan & Grain Free Sweet Potato Casserole

Confession: I may or may not have started listening to Christmas music this week.

In my defense, I always feel a few weeks ahead of the rest of the world because in the “blogger-sphere” we constantly anticipate the upcoming seasonal recipes.

Dan came downstairs and told me it was a little weird, seeing as how it wasn’t Thanksgiving and all.

Ok, ok. We can give thanks first.

In my last post, I talked about how Thanksgiving sides rule, so today I want to introduce you to the one side that rules them all.

This Vegan & Grain Free Sweet Potato Casserole is low in sugar and super easy to whip up in advance for your guests this week!

All you need are a bunch of taters and a cookie crumble topping!

Let’s get casserole-ing.

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Dijon Tahini Green Beans (Oil-Free!)

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Get your greens in with this saucy side that’s oil-free with a creamy dijon tahini dressing. Perfect to complement your holiday spread.

Dijon Tahini Green Beans

True or false: Most epic feasts are all about the sides.

TRUTH.

Everyone always gets all worked up about what I’m going to eat for the plant-based Thanksgiving main, and I’m over here loading up on sides like it’s no big deal.

But sometimes green holiday sides can look (and taste) a little less than green, you know?

After being baked and buttered, what was once green is now a soggy chartreuse sight on your plate.

So.

I made this verdant side that’s vibrant and fresh with an easy oil-free dijon tahini sauce.

You’re going to love these Dijon Tahini Green Beans to bring life to your holiday spread!

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Stovetop Cauliflower Rice Stuffing

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Stovetop Cauliflower Rice Stuffing

True story: I never liked stuffing.

I did not like it here or there,

I did not like it ANYWHERE.

I’m trying to pinpoint why I didn’t like it at such a young age, but all I came up with is that it was too bread-y, or herb-y, or SOMETHING for my palette.

I always had a sad soggy lump of it on my Thanksgiving plate long after the cranberry sauce, sweet potato casserole, and green beans had disappeared, leaving only traces of their appeal in bits smudges of red, orange, and green.

But what if you could eat the rainbow in your stuffin’, too?

This Stovetop Cauliflower Rice Stuffing is both grain-free and gluten-free, packed with savory herbs and veggies, and made exceptionally easy in just one pan.

Let’s get stuffing!

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