Saturday, October 11, 2014

Perfectly Prim Pear, Raspberry, and Citrus Morning Baked Oatmeal + The Beginning of Prismatic Bowls!

   Doesn't everyone love that "stick to your ribs" breakfast? Oatmeal may be the best way to go with that phrase.
   Well, when I was a little youngling, about 4 years old, I loved to eat mush for breakfast. I'm not sure why the crap tasted just like freaking card board even though it made me really happy and even though I had never even eaten card board, but I eventually stopped eating it because the world of Quaker's instant oatmeal, blueberry muffins, and smoothies opened up. My lovely bowls of mush became forgotten until I rediscovered them 5 years later hidden in the back of my pantry. Of course I became excited about it and quickly heated up a bowl or two in the microwave. The end result was YUCKY! It was also "HOW COULD ANYONE EVER EAT THAT WITH WORKING TASTE BUDS?" My lovely bowls of mush dreams were ruined that night.
   Fast-forward about 4-5 years later and here we have what I call "prismatic bowls". Oatmeal bowls that are homemade are much better than the packets! Homemade oatmeal doesn't have all that added sugar and it automatically adds that touch of warmth when it is made by YOU.
  This oatmeal bowl was inspired by perfect lighting. (It freakin' took me forever to find the perfect lighting to take this picture before I threw the whole bowl on the ground. Sorry, but perfect lighting = perfect everything) For this prismatic bowl, I baked it. Baked oatmeal bowls come out with cake-like consistencies. Try this recipe, because it may just be your inspiration towards a prismatic bowl journey.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
*2/3 C of rolled old-fashioned oatmeal that is NOT quick-cook.
*2/3 C of plant-based milk (I used almond milk) + 2 Tbs. of lemon juice and 1 tsp. of vanilla extract
*1/2 each of a very mushy and ripe Bartlett pear and tangerine + squeezed juice of other half of the tangerine
*1 tsp. of baking powder and honey
*1/3 C of mashed raspberries/strawberries
*OPTIONAL*** add in 1 tsp. of Organic Burst baobab powder (This has 6x more vitamin C than oranges, 5x amount of potassium in bananas, and has more calcium and iron than any dairy product! It tastes like a rainbow in your mouth and is definitely a superfood boost!

HOW TO MAKE:
1. 10-15 minutes prior to making your oatmeal, pre-heat your oven/toaster oven at 350 degrees and in a small measuring cup, stir the lemon-juice and vanilla into the milk for a vegan buttermilk! This will make your oats creamy and tart, but not too tart with a hint of rich vanilla!
2. After 10-15 minutes of step 1, mix all of the dry ingredients together in a medium sized bowl.
3. Mix your raspberry/strawberry puree together with the tangerine juice and honey. Add this to the dry ingredients.
4. Slowly pour in the vegan buttermilk and make sure that everything is thoroughly mixed. Add to a sprayed ramekin (I used coconut oil spray from Trader Joe's) and pop it into the heated oven/toaster oven.
5. Bake for 20-23 minutes and let it sit and cool on a cooled surface for at least 5 minutes. This is the hardest part because you are going to have to restrain yourself from eating it before you make it pretty and top it with lots of toppings! The straggle is most definitely real here!!
6. Enjoy and top with lots of almond milk (or whatever milk you used). You can top with many nuts, seeds, sliced fruit, sauces such as carob or even pumpkin butter!

HAVE THE MOST LOVELIEST DAY EVER AND ENJOY!!
                                                                                       Xxx, Alli

Seattle, sippin' fruit and juice, and lots of laughs!

                                                               Whether it's in Utah,
or Seattle, 
green smoothies make up at least 25% of my diet. I'm not going to tell you that they refresh my mind or that they let my inner organic shine through. Green smoothies make me happier-inside and out! I'm not sure what it is, but something about green makes me want to eat it and makes me not want to at the same time. You can literally make any kind of green smoothie taste good, no matter what shade of green! (I personally like lime green best, like the Seattle picture one) 
   In July, I took a trip to Seattle with my cousin Sarena and we went alone on a plane to see our dear aunt, Ching. Auntie Ching is a flight attendant who travels many places! She gets to explore Paris, Amsterdam, Alaska, and many more places that I cannot think of at the moment. Us three girlies had the time of our lives! AC (short for Aunt Ching) was so kind and lovely to have us. She really was the star of our trip with her great wit! We probably pulled muscles in our tummies from laughing so much.


                                         We went to Pike's Market and sampled the tastiest treats!
AC took us to her nail person and we brought her some lovely flowers from Pike's market!

To be morally honest, we spent most of our time there eating! I didn't mind that.

We at least bought 8 pounds of blueberries at this one blueberry farm. They were big and fresh, juicy and sweet, and probably perfect for a hangover for anyone who needs them, haha! XD

 Every morning for breakie, we slurped on some smoothies. AC had just bought a new Ninja Blender, so every night and morning was a blast of fun creating lots of smoothie recipes. I always took a green smoothie that was filled with lots of greens! At the Pike Market, greens were literally around every corner.
YASSSSSSS
   Anywho, the asian stores we went to had so many exotic fruits to behold and try. There was jack-fruit, pitaya/dragon fruit, lots of lychee (I kind of…. ate a whole bag myself! oops), berries that were insanely sweet, and even durian was there. Oh and the pineapple was good too, mmmm. Of course we had to experiment smoothie recipes, so below is the recipe we all came up with:

SEATTLE'S GREEN MONSTER DRINK-WHAT YOU WILL NEED: 
*2 celery stalks- cubed
*2-6 oz. of freshly squeezed orange juice
*1/2 a granny smith green apple 
*10-12 green grapes 
*3/4 of an asian pear
*about 5 strawberries (LEAVE THE STEMS ON. IT IS ADDED NUTRITION)
*1 whole cubed and diced cucumber- peeled
*a handful of both spinach and kale

BLEND IT ALL UP AND ENJOY! I SUGGEST YOU DRINK THIS BY A BEAUTIFUL HYDRENGEA BUSH LIKE I DID.

AT-THE-TOP-OF-THE-PAGE GREEN SMOOTHIE RECIPE-WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
*2 oz. each of almond milk and coconut milk (I used Trader Joe's) 
*1 tsp. each of date sugar, hemp seeds, and maple extract
*4 oz. of frozen pineapple and raspberries
*3 ice cubes
*HUGE handful of baby spinach (Yeah, baby! XD)
*1/4 each of a Fuji apple and a very huge and juicy orange

BLEND IT ALL UP AND THERE YOU GO HAVE A NICE DAY XD





Friends, going bananas, and lemon poppyseed pancakes!

 
   These girls plus a very wonderful friend from London, are some of my very favorite friends right now. I love making new friends out of nowhere and I find that my expectations towards how people should act are decreasing, as I have learned that everyone is different and nobody can read my mind. I used to fret when somebody would not smile back at me or if somebody accidentally commented something stupid on a very sensitive topic. I would fear for our friendship if someone would not text back in 24 hours. I used to, and I would worry about silly little things, but I have realized that the world does not revolve around me. Nobody can read your mind. Without asking or telling them, no one can know what you want them to say and do. YOU must do it for them. You must reach out and stop waiting for others to reach out to you. If you don't reach out, then you just might miss out on some great life experiences and friendships that could've been great life experiences and friendships.
   You might be surprised when I tell you this, but I was a very shy and timid little girl a couple years ago. I would not raise my hand in class when I had a question in fear of a wrong answer/dumb question. My little voice was my shield against the dark and bloody world. My very small and quiet voice was because I didn't want to be heard. I would try to talk and make great conversation with a new 'loud' and 'booming' voice, and you probably could have heard my loud voice booming with confidence at very rare moments- even though I really had none most of the time. I spent years following people around being ignored and used because I was (and still am) very gullible, and my sweet figure looked like I could've been easily shoved around. I had no real friends who actually knew me because I would not let them know me.
   I expected people to pry deep into my heart and find some gold and silver. When that didn't work I decided I would do it for them. I let others see the real me, not the superficial happy person mask I always put on. I became a real person with real friends; I took my mask off. I became a bright light in a dark world, and you can too! You can either choose to hide behind superficial masks, or choose to take off your mask and reveal the real you. THAT is how you make friends. The girls in the picture above cannot see through me anymore because I am real and whole. I cannot show up to school half of me and half of somebody else- because I am a whole. You must be 100% you and nobody else. Sorry, but even 75% does not cut it, sweetie.





   Any-who, lettuce get on with the lemon-poppyseed pancake recipe because I know you will all love it! These pancakes are fluffy, tart and sweet, and oh-so-good! You only need a few ingredients to make this stack of heaven, so lettuce begin!

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
*4 egg whites from the carton (I used Kirkland)
*1 cold, spotty-dotty banana
*3 oz. of old-fashioned rolled oatmeal (I used Trader Joe's)
*3 Tbs. of freshly squeezed lemon juice and 1 tsp. of poppy seeds
*1/2  tsp. each of coconut sugar, vanilla bean extract, and baking powder
*2 Tbs. of any plant-based milk (I used almond milk from Trader Joe's)

HOW TO MAKE: 
1. Blend the oats, banana, and egg whites in your blender/food processor (I used my Blendtec)
2. Pour all of your ingredients into a big bowl and stir until the batter is thick and creamy. Pour about 2 oz. of the batter onto a preheated stove at medium-medium low heat.
3. Now you should have really fluffy and light pancakes! You can top them with whatever you'd like. You could use: sliced fruit, pure maple syrup, agave nectar, kisses, nuts, cacao nibs, soy/coconut milk yogurt (for vegans, or even for anybody!), greek yogurt, love, and any nut butters you desire. Happy eating!
                                                                    LOVE you all!

 
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