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

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