Life is like a cloud.
It's heavy, more cumbersome. It's also rainy but sunlight always shines through the murky, gloomy globs of mist and air. Actually, life is more like the weather- the right weather, that is. Life is like the weather in Utah, always right on the seasons and quick to shift out of order unexpectedly. Because how could it be like the weather somewhere always alluring and too honey-colored and charismatic, like in the South or in Hawaii?

As humans, we like to keep things on edge. The windy, boisterous days sum up hard faces and silent treatments, while the rainy days suffocate too much bliss and elation. In a weird way, those days level out in the early midst of Springtime and sometimes Autumn. In the real weather of Autumn/Fall, there are the crispy chills of burnt char and there is not much of the dewey scent lurking in the air anymore. Lemons are abundant in this season; There's only sour faces and too many sweet, superficial know-it-alls.

I'm not comparing how my mood is in these seasons, I'm just comparing the seasons to life. In the Summer, the cold lemonade stand resemble rebellion, and adventure is fresh in our minds. How about stepping out on the deck in a funky new halter top, or try rocking that pink mascara? But then there's the snow. The snow, there's only so much that I can brag about here in Utah. It's not slushy- rather a warm heat-blanket that covers the world around me. The books about Christmas aren't lying, the snow really is a huge blanket. Our lives revolve around the winter time. Not exactly the season, but life resembles it in a beautiful and wispy way. You're never too mental and never too alluring.

The point is that our lives must be sticky-sweet and too ripe but sour. If our lives revolved around the weather in, say Hawaii, there would be too many artificial sweeteners. I'm not bashing warm weather, but balance is good. In life balance is the key.

Balance is the key to a lifestyle. In food, in exercise and daily life, balance is everything. A little too much weight on one side, and the key to balance can be destroyed- forgotten and lost is what they say. It's so easy to leave out the essentials and to forget about balance. There is no such thing as normality, but there is such a thing to being sweet and sour. When life gives you lemons, make strawberry smoothies. Don't make lemonade. Just make lemon-water, it's more hydrating anyway.

STRAWBERRY MERRY SMOOTHIE

*1 C of frozen strawberries

*3/4 C of coconut milk

*1 tsp. of raw cacao powder and vanilla extract each

*1 super ooey-gooey persimmon

*1 package of frozen, pureed acai

*OPTIONAL, but what gives the best color and flavor: 1/2 of a frozen pitaya (you can use 1/2 of a PitayaPlus pack

*1/2 C of filtered water

Blend it all up in your Blendtec blender and practically inhale enjoy and have a wonderful, healthy Thanksgiving!

Xxx, Alli <3

VBK's Best Healthified Pancake Saturday Stack [wild blueberry and cinnamon mylkshake pancakes]

So many Pancake Sundays have gone by without notice. Such a shame. At least tomorrow shall be celebrated and praised with pancakes. I'm not sure why-maybe it's because making pancakes and taking pictures of them and noshing decorations for them making them pretty cute takes a long time. I am a girl with not a lot of patience. I like to get to the end of the story, where the girl lives happily ever after in the spotlight. I like my banana ice-cream right out of the blender, as opposed to letting it freeze for 2 hours just for the consistency. And I like pancakes that take less than 30 minutes. I'm pretty sure I've just done that. 

So fluffy, so light, and cinnamony with warmth and a heavenly scent that fills the house. I guess I should really take the time to make some delightful pancakes like these more often, because it's obviously all worth it! 

Cinnamony cinnamony eat it up, yum! These taste even better with wild blueberries inside them. They burst with a jammy flavor in your mouth- but don't let the wild blueberries spill everywhere! That happened to me and it was so not fun sweeping them up while they're juices spilled purple all over the place! 

VBK''S BEST PANCAKE SATURDAY STACK   

*1/8 C of coconut flour and pumpkin puree each

*1/2 C of oat flour (you can either buy this or grind rolled oats up in a blender/food processor.) + 1 Tbs. of rolled oats

*2 Tbs. of greek yogurt, plain or vanilla works well

*1 tsp. each of baking powder, vanilla bean extract, cinnamon, and either natural maple syrup or maple extract

*1/2 tsp. each of nutmeg, optional maca powder, and coconut sugar

*1/4 C of coconut milk

*2 egg whites or for a vegan substitute, use 1 flaxseed egg

Method to happiness:

1. Mix everything together and flip on a pre-heated pancake pan and top with lots of goodies.

2. ENJOY!! 

Let's go wild blueberry picking please

Xxxx, Alli

Spinach & Avocado Frozen Yogurt + Very Berry Kitchen's Favorite Banana "Ice-Cream!" (the oh-so vanilla post)

The days are going by too quick; It is almost Thanksgiving and we just barely got over Halloween! I have been getting lots of sore throats and cold chills recently, and I really hope that I don't start coughing all crazy because I literally look like quasi-modo whenever I cough! (Special Fact: drinking pineapple juice is 5x more helpful than cough medicine.***) Pumpkins and distinct kinds of cooky-shaped squashes are everywhere. I mean, literally everywhere because my sisters even have pumpkins in their rooms.

Next weekend, I plan to have a "healthified" booth at a Japanese boutique where you can sell anything you want! My uncle Mike is going to sell his bottle openers, and my bootiful cousin Madi is going to sell her precious bows  which are oh-so lovely! (I can't say that the bottle-openers are oh-so lovely! Teehee) 

Anyway, I'm still deciding on what to make for the boutique, because I want everything to look and taste sinful, but the treats and desserts will all be totally healthified and pro-nutrient dense! Maybe I'll make my legendary sweet-breads, or maybe even a fully-raw vegan cake. But for now, we shall eat and fantasize over a big bowl of spinachy-avo-froyo! Lettuce (pun pun!) have our froyo and always eat it.

SPINACH & AVOCADO FROYO + VBK'S FAVE NICE-CREAM!

*1 C of plain greek yogurt mixed with 1 tsp. of vanilla extract

*a huge handful of baby spinach

*2 Tbs. of soy milk (or any other plant-based milk your heart desires)

*1 rip of a vanilla bean

*1/2 of a super ripe banana

*1 frozen kiwi- diced so your food processor/blender can run smoothly

*1/4 of a mushy and super creamy avocado

*2 frozen, spotty dotty bananas + 1/2 of a banana- not frozen

*1 rip of a vanilla bean

*1 medjool date- pitted and pureed (if it's not pureed, then you might get teensy chunks of the date, even you have the highest-speed blender/food processor out there)

*2 ice cubes

*1/2 tsp. maple extract (or 1 Tbs. pure, natural maple extract)

*a tiny scoop of PB + a tiny drop of almond milk

Very Berry Kitchen's method:

1. In a very high-speed blender, blend the all of the ingredients together for the green frozen yogurt part. Pour this into half of a container and freeze.

3. In a food processor/blender, blend all of the banana ice cream ingredients together, save the PB and maple. After everything is blended all the way through, add the PB and maple and pulse. Pour this into the other half of the frozen container and freeze for at least 45 minutes for a creamier consistency. 

3. Top with any other yummies and ENJOY!!

this is the same recipe, but with some blackberries added to the nana nice-cream part <3

Xxx, Alli

One More Month Of Loveliness & Honey-Baked Strawberry and Poppy-Seed Almond Mini Bread Loaves

There are countless times I have jumped into big piles of burnt leaves.

A season I have always dreaded has actually grown on me. Pumpkin has burst into a flavor I have appreciated greatly and balsamic vinegar has become a staple with all things sour-dough. Maybe the charred leaves are good for props on instagram. And maybe, just maybe, I really do enjoy cinnamon flavored everything. 

Jumping for joy 

I love pictures! Pictures are memories that never end. You can replay the memories over and over again in pictures. Here's the thing: we all grow up but in pictures, everyone stays the same. Nobody is reminded of the animosity of a person someone has become. Or of the dead. Everybody is reminded of the sweet and crisp memories that they shared with the people in the pictures. That is just how life goes on and on and on. 

Anyway, the leaves in the American Fork canyon were beyond beautiful. They were not charred to a flaming red and pumpkin orange yet. They were bursting with dynamic yellows and the Aspen trees were thick with syrupy golden yellows and crimson red leaves. If I were a leaf, I would want to live in the season of Autumn forever. 

Well, I'm a person. I can at least eat Autumn spices and foods forever. So to be very honest with you all, I have been noshing eating lots of warm, creamy, honeyed sweet-breads everyday this Fall. 

I have a standard recipe for all of my mini loaves that pop in and out of my little toaster-oven, so you can surely tweak any of the recipes to make them you very own! This recipe that I'm featuring is going to be an almond poppy-seed and strawberry bread. I use only wholesome ingredients in these loaves, along with only whole wheat flour. You can mix up the whole wheat flour if you really want to: spelt flour is nice, oat flour, almond flour, or even regular all-purpose flour would suffice in this recipe. 

Nothing tastes more like the season of pumpkin spiced-lattes than these babies do!!

HONEY-BAKED STRAWBERRY AND POPPY-SEED ALMOND BREAD + ingredients

*3 Tbs. of whole wheat flour 

*1 1/2 tsp. each of bourbon vanilla extract, freshly squeezed (or bottled) lemon juice, maple syrup, and poppy-seeds

*2 Tbs. of low-fat greek yogurt (I used Trader Joes' brand, but you can of course use any other vegan sub. like soy yogurt or coconut-cultured yogurt. I just haven't found a brand I really like.)

*1/2 C of soy milk

*1/3 or 1/2 of a small mashed, and spotty dotty banana (just as ripe as you would use for traditional banana bread)

*1 tsp. of baking powder

*3 small and very berry delicious strawberries- roughly sliced

*some honey for drizzling over

My method:

1. In a measuring cup, mix the vanilla, lemon juice, maple syrup and milk together. This makes a vegan buttermilk with the lemon juice and milk. Let sit for 10-15 minutes or until it starts to curdle. 

2. Mix all of the ingredients together. Let this sit for approx. 10-15 minutes longer. 

3. Pour the bread batter into tiny bread loaves and drizzle with lots of honey/agave nectar. In a pre-heated toaster oven @425 degrees, bake for 16-18 minutes and ENJOY!!

Springtime, Missing Seasons, and Peachy Cinaamon Pear "Strudel" Baked Oats

I have an appetite for all things warm. I'm a flower child awakening at sunset. I'm a dragon fruit cactus that only opens up during nighttime, because nighttime is when all of the quiet and creepy animals and insects pop out into the fray of the moon reflecting its sliver rays onto the earth. I'm curling my toes hoping, wishing, and praying that the Fall weather will be delayed so I don't have to take my heat blanket out just yet. I need some balmy rain to heat me up- not the mysterious gloomy kind which only melts my happiness and leaves me feeling bitter and despairing inside. What can I say? I am attached to the weather. My mood is oscillating in the early spring time when mother nature is deciding which days will be wrecked with slush and rain, and which days will not be. I guess I'm spoiled. I take the heat for granted, and complain about the cold. I guess nighttime is when I should really be sleeping, but I lie awake at night dreaming about luminous sunsets and balmy winters at Disneyworld instead.

Today I will be sharing with you guys my favorite heat-me-up meal. I could tell you all that this is a meal to dream about at night, but I would rather you eat this in the day and fantasize your dreams at night. 

 These oats are perfect for rainy autumnal mornings when the weather isn't treating you well. In the background, there is a stack of pear and chai spiced pancakes topped with PB and raspberries. (Maybe I'll make a post on those pancakes one day :D) Anyway, strudels have never really been that great until this little beauty came along!

Peachy Cinnamon Pear Strudel Baked Oats (and what you'll need)

*2/3 C of old-fashioned rolled oats + 2 tsp. to sprinkle on top

*1 drop of stevia, or 1 Tbs. of pure maple syrup

*1/3 C each of any plant-based milk you desire (I used almond milk, but you can use rice, hemp, cashew, coconut, or even oat milk if you want!), and applesauce

*1/3 of a squishy-mushy overly ripe pear (Bartlett is the best kind in my opinion. bartlett is usually sweeter, softer, and easier to bite into)

*1/3 C of freshly squeezed peach juice. You may want to freeze a couple of too-ripe peaches that are too squishy to eat, and then microwave them. 

*1 tsp. each of date sugar, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and baking powder

*1/2 tsp. nutmeg 

Method:

1. mix all of the wet ingredients together in a medium sized bowl. 

2. mix all of the dry ingredients together and slowly stir and add to the wet ingredients. Pour into a ramekin, (I use coconut oil spray so it doesn't stick) and sprinkle a few baby pear slices on top. For a crispier effect, sprinkled the 2 tsp. of oats, 1/2 tsp. of coconut sugar and cinnamon on top. This makes it so the oats look like a cobbler/strudel. 

3. At 350 degrees, you should bake your "strudel" at around 18-22 minutes. Serve with more plant-based milk and enjoy!!

Blueberry Bushes Forever & The Blue-Miracle Bowl Straight From Heaven

Ahhh…. the simplicity of it all. Isn't it incredible how the simplest fruits and vegetables can color and fill your life up?

I need a blueberry bush in my garden. In my cozy, homie, and not-green-enough garden. I mean, my garden is very green, but I'd like it to be a bit more versatile- with snow peas and watermelon sprouting voluntarily in the summer and avocado trees and broccoli bushes showering me with love during whatever season they are best in. Overall, I would like a lot of things. I would like a kitten named Coffeepot, a new screen in replace of my shattered on one my phone, and a towering blueberry bush that would last forever.

My summer trip to Seattle was lovely (you can read more about it in one of my recent posts). Blueberry picking and sight-seeing was the highlight of the trip, but mostly blueberry picking. It felt super therapeutic to roam and skip through the large bushes that seemed never ending. The blueberries were ripe and juicy- almost too juicy not to eat every one of them! I was in heaven. I was in a grassy green land where I felt like I belonged somewhere. I belong in a blueberry bush! We took home 8 pounds of pure, unadulterated blueberries that evening. Picking the berries became a full-on competition to see who could grasp the biggest and juiciest berries, and I think I won. (even though I pretty much ate all of  the bluebs anyway! Teehee)

Blueberries actually are not my favorite fruit, it's just the joys of picking them. Simplicity is best, so lettuce (pun pun!) water our broccoli gardens and carry on with the blueberry picking and eating. You can learn a lot about yourself by finding therapeutic adventures you love!

THE BLUE-MIRACLE BOWL OF LOVELY AND BLUEBERRIES (along with the recipe):

For the Vanilla Lovely Ice Cream

*1 tsp. of vanilla bean paste and date sugar each

*1 scant tsp. of lemon juice- freshly squeezed or from the bottle

*3/4 tsp. of maple extract

*2 ice cubes

*1 3/4 spotty-dotty frozen banana

*1/4 C coconut cultured yogurt or greek yogurt

For the Pink and Pretty Ice Cream

*3 frozen bananas -spotty and dotty indeed

*Either 3/4 C of frozen raspberries, or even better, one frozen pitaya/dragon fruit packet 

*2 ice cubes

*1/4 C of pineapple and frozen orange each + the orange zest

METHOD:

1. In your Blendtec blender/food processor, blend the solids first for the vanilla part, and then add the liquids and pulse. If your blender/food processor has a difficult time doing this, then add 2-4 Tbs. of any plant based milk you prefer. (I use almond milk from Trader Joe's) Scoop that into a big bowl and place it in the freezer for at least 20 minutes.

2. blend the frozen things first for the pinky-party-whatever flavor. Add in the rest of the ingredients by pulsing and then fully blending. scoop this on top of the vanilla flavor.

3. Now you're ready to top your ice cream with toppings! I topped mine with (of course) blueberries, more berries, and desiccated coconut. Now Enjoy! 

***NOTE: this bowl is bigger than all of the other ones, but you can of course halve the recipe. I usually eat these rainbow bowls as my meals, so they have significantly more ingredients to fuel and fill me up for hours.***

Xxx, Alli

Stupid People & The Never-Ending Neapolitan Pancake Stack Attack

I hate people. I love all of you, but sometimes, people suck. I opened the door for a lady at Whole Foods the other day, and she didn't even acknowledge me! Someone said that my food choices are stupid and living organic and free of pesticides and most dairy products will equal the most boring-est life ever, because apparently eating healthy is too stupid and you "only live once", and yolo actually really means eating all the junk in the world because who wants to spend a life eating healthy crap that tastes like cardboard? (So does that mean that you've eaten cardboard and healthy stuff at the same time? Or are your taste-buds just too cool for nutrition??) Oh, and my sisters are only friends with wifi and they have not gone outside (except for school) in forever. And last but not least, my sweet potatoes all burned in the oven last week because I forgot to take them out and set a timer. (I guess I sucked there, too)

I am not trying to be a hater on the gator. I am just trying to distinguish the difference between holding your tongue and being just plain blunt like a side of plain mashed potatoes for dessert on Thanksgiving at grammy's. Saying the phrases "no offense" and "to be honest" does not cut it, people! So, no-offense-but-I-think-your-new-natural-makeup-makes-your-face-look-just-like-Rod-Stewart's is okay? Just because no offense links a mean comment does not mean that everything should be taken lightly. This is another reason why sometimes people (including myself) suck. Words and wording words the right ways can get really tricky. 

Anyway, that was a rant I needed to get out into the world. So without some more ranting on sucky people, here is my favorite pancake stack and the recipe included down below. These pancakes are so fluffy and moist with rich flavors of carob, berries, and of course the ever lasting vanilla. I often feel the slightest bit of sympathy for vanilla, because berries and chocolate often over-rule the simple, but divine  flavor of vanilla. Vanilla beans are elegant and strong. Their magical essence embraces and pops even the dullest of dullest juices out. Vanilla is the new chocolate touch- and so beware when you stumble across vanilla bean extract in almost all of my recipes. Enjoy!

THE NEVER ENDING NEAPOLITAN STACK OF YUMMY(and what you will need):

*2 Tbs. of pure, organic and raw carob powder (I used Bob's Red Mill brand from Whole Foods)

*4 egg whites from the carton

*1 NOT FROZEN smushy and mushy and spotty-dotty banana

*2 Tbs. of coconut milk

*2 tsp. divided, each of coconut sugar, vanilla bean paste/pure vanilla bean extract (I use TJ)

*A handful of an assortment of berries

*1 Tbs. of honey/agave nectar and lemon juice- freshly squeezed or from the bottle, and maple syrup

*1/3 C oat flour (you can either make this yourself, or buy it very expensive at a health food store. All you have to do is blend up the oats in either a very high-speed blender or food processor.)

*handful of cacao nibs/carob chips

**OPTIONAL: 1 tsp. of mesquite powder for an extra superfood boost and caramel taste***

HOW TO MAKE THE BEST STACK THAT NEAPOLITAN HAS EVER SEEN: 

1. Pre-heat your stove to medium-medium low. Stir the oat flour, egg whites, honey/agave, coconut milk and mushed banana together. Set this aside for 5-10 minutes. 

2. Separate the pancake batter into 2 equal parts in separate bowls. In one bowl, add the carob powder, a tsp. of vanilla bean paste, maple syrup, and optional mesquite powder. 

3. In the other bowl, stir in another tsp. of vanilla bean paste, lemon juice, and carob chips/cacao nibs. Very gently fold in the berries. You should have two flavors of berry-bean and carob-caramel. 

4. Spray some coconut oil or veggie oil onto your stove and turn the heat down to low. Alternate flavors on the stove until you have a pattern of berry, chocolate, berry, chocolate. 

5. Now it's done! Take the extra time to drizzle maple syrup on your pancakes. You can top this with more berries, kisses, sliced fruit, carob sauce, more carob chips/cacao nibs, desiccated coconut, and even greek yogurt mixed with fresh berries for a beautiful pink-berry "frosting". 

ENJOY, MY LOVELIES!! Xxx, Alli <33

                                        I want that costume for Halloween; What a cute kid!