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

Sweetie Pie Lemon Poppyseed bowl, figs, and fruit puns!

                                     These fruit puns are more than funny; They are simply the best.

                        Sometimes, my little sister likes to eat the watermelon rind. What an entertaining little eater she is!

   Today's recipe is all about my prismatic bowls! Lemon poppyseed might just be my favorite flavor of all time. Honestly, it rules over every other sweet and tart flavor in the flavor hand-book. I like lemon poppyseed better than chocolate, dark chocolate, carob, vanilla, carrot cake, and even angel food cake! This recipe is much like my recent post on lemon poppyseed perfect pancakes. It's still creamy, sweet and tart, and makes you want to have it for breakie, lunch, and even dinner!

   Share this with everyone, because soon love will die, and only our minds will be able to free the fray whilst sharing warmth and kindness. Because soon love will die.

LEMON POPPYSEED- WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
*1/2 C of rolled oats- NOT quick-cook
*1 C of any plant-based milk (I used coconut milk for a creamier and more tropical flavor)
*1 tsp. each of poppyseeds, coconut sugar, vanilla, and maple extract
*half of a spotty-dotty mashed, and ripe banana
*2 Tbs. freshly squeezed lemon juice
**OPTIONAL** I put in a bit of fig puree- about 2 Tbs. for some extra sweetness and flavor***

HOW TO MAKE LOVE (THE RIGHT WAY):
1. In a small sauce pan, boil the coconut milk and vanilla. Once it is boiling, add in the oats and a pinch of salt for added flavor since oats tend to be really bland themselves. Constantly stir the oats so they don't stick to the pan.
2. Once the oats are thicker, add in the mashed banana lemon juice, and pureed fig if you're using the pureed fig. Don't you dare stop stirring! 
3. Once the oats are thicker with not alot of liquid left, stir in the coconut sugar and let sit for about 3 minutes.
4. Pour into a bowl and enjoy! Top your soon-to-be-food-baby with lots of fruit, more plant-based milk, nuts, berries, exotic fruit, and even mulberries and granola/grawnola.

ENJOY AND I LOVE YOU ALL. DON'T FORGET YOU TELL SOMEONE YOU LOVE THEM, BECAUSE MAYBE, JUST MAYBE, LOVE WILL SOON DIE.

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!

 

Peachy Pear and Plum Maple Banana Ice Cream (vegan, gluten free, vegetarian)

          Ahh yes. These are the wondrous days where I get to cozy up with a warm blanket and drink packs of yogi tea and eat pumpkin-spiced everything! I was at Trader Joe's last Sunday and I noticed that there was pumpkin everything! There was pumpkin cornbread, butter (that stuff is quite divine), granola, breads, pie pumpkins, pie, and even….. wait for it…. PUMPKIN BODY BUTTER!! Oh my goodness gracious-the body butter is the best stuff I've ever  slathered on! It has a perfect autumn aroma and a crisp pumpkin scent that adds sparkle to it. Anywho, am I making your tongue watery? I cannot wait to shower you guys with pumpkin recipes that are perfect for fall.

   Another fruit that is very compatible with the season are peaches! My favorite peaches in particular are Hale peaches; They are huge babies. A couple weekends ago, I went to the Sandy farmer's market with my grammy, my little twin-sisters Audrie and Arissa, and my adorable cousin Madi (Go check out her blog! It is http://madiriye.blogspot.com ). It was so fun walking around and piling wooden crates sky-high with the juiciest and most delectable peaches we'd ever seen. You can never have too many peaches, am I right? Pears were also abundant as I tried more samples than I should have. 

        Crisp fruits and veg are my favorite things to eat during this chilly season of black cats and ugly witches.

This recipe for Peachy Pear and Plum Maple Banana Ice Cream will literally melt you away. Blend it up and put in the freezer, eat it in a mason jar and jump outside into the pumpkin colored leaves, or even catch up on ANTM whilst snuggling up to a heat-blankie. Needless to say, Autumn has officially arrived and so lettuce make the best of it. 

What you will need:

*2 small or 1 very large super squishy and spotty-dotty FROZEN banana(s)

*1/2 frozen D'anjou pear and large Black Velvet plum

*1-2 very ripe and juicy Hale peaches or 3 small peaches

*1/2 tsp. each coconut sugar and vanilla bean extract (I use TJ for both) 

*4 oz. any plant based milk you desire (I use Almond Breeze almond milk)

*5 ice cubes

*either 1 tbs. pure maple syrup or 1 tsp. maple extract (I used the extract)

**OPTIONAL: 1 scant tsp. lucuma or maca powder

How to make this beauty: 

1. With your Blendtec blender(what I use)/food processor/vitamix, put in all of the ingredients except the coconut sugar and peaches. press the ice-cream or frozen yogurt button for 50 sec.

2. Add in the last two ingredients and pulse. You should have a really creamy and smooth ice-cream like texture.

3. Top with any ingredients you would like. You could use: coconut sugar, sliced nuts, granola, grawnola, maple syrup, agave, more delectable fruit such as apples or slice pears, pumpkin seeds, or even some carob sauce. My carob sauce recipe will be up with the next post.

4. ENJOY ;D