Banana

"Nice"cream

8:30:00 AM


I will be the first to admit, finding foods to enjoy without any added sugars is really hard and sometimes I give in. Scrolling through my instagram feed, I kept seeing users post colorful photos of nicecream. Nicecream? My first thought was something like "it's run by someone who lives a vegan lifestyle so it must just mean it's dairy-free." I actually wanted some so bad. It looked so good! And who wouldn't want an ice-cream inspired dish for breakfast? 

 I thought I would never be able to have it because added sugars. That is, until I found out that nicecream just simply meant, frozen bananas blended up in a blender with soy or nut-based milk. SUPER easy. SUPER...nice. 

 Here are some of my favorite flavors that I've made with my mini blender (my $15 purchase is definitely getting great use.) 

 1. Peanut-Butter Banana

        -2 medium bananas, sliced and frozen
       -1 spoonful of peanut powder
       -soymilk
       -cinnamon

Banana Icecream
I totally combined the top recipe and the bottom, just with a bit less pb powder and cinnamon! 

2. Simple Berry Pick me up
  -2 medium bananas, sliced and frozen
  -berries of your choice (I used raspberries and blueberries)
  -soy/whatever nut milk you prefer

Link

3. Just Bananas

     -2 medium bananas, sliced and frozen
    -nut milk
   
Nicecream



 4. Banana Bread Nicecream

   -2 medium bananas, sliced and frozen
  -cinnamon
   -nutmeg
  -walnuts to top
  -choice of milks




5. Blueberry Banana 

    -2 medium bananas, sliced and frozen
   -handful of blueberries frozen, or thawed
  -nutmilk
 -some cacao



I like to add chia seeds sometimes to these if I think I want some more fiber. I love these so far and I can't wait to try some more! Honestly these are so simple, and so much more healthier for you than what's sold at the store, though you can still go out and get them. I like to freeze the bananas for about a day before making them, if I wait too long they'll go brown when I take them out of the freezer pretty quick. Because I live in a dorm, I like to be the courteous neighbor and make my breakfast nicecream the night before so that I'm not waking up anyone super early!

Have you ever made these before? I was so excited it worked that I nearly ran down the hall making everyone try it! You can mix and match flavors as well!
I hope you enjoy them, especially as it gets closer to summer!
x Kenzie

Chicken

Cashew Chicken Zoodles

8:30:00 AM


I love Chinese food. There's just something about it that is so good tasting to me. When I saw this recipe from my favorite food blogger, I knew I had to give it a try and put my own twist on it. If you love Chinese food like I do, but want a healthier take on it. You have got to try this recipe out right now. 
Real Food
Link

It's not too spicy and not too hot, and perfectly real food. 
Zoodles


Here's What You'll Need:
2 skillets
Spiralizer
2 Tablespoons seasame oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup sliced cabbage
1 large bell pepper
1/2 chopped green onion
2 medium zucchini (spiralized) 
3 chicken breasts cooked and shredded
3 ounces cashews

Sauce:
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1-2 teaspoons Sriacha (or other hot sauce)

Here's what you do:
  1.  Cook Chicken and shred, set aside and cut up veggies
  2. Heat 2 tablespoons sesame oil and garlic over medium. Add carrots, cabbage and pepper. Cook about 5 minutes until tender. 
  3. Add zucchini noodles and shredded chicken along with onions and cashews. Cook and stir for about 3-5 minutes Turn to low heat
  4. Combine Sauce ingredients in small saucepan over low heat. Whisk until peanut butter has melted and everything is combined. (About 5 minutes)
  5. Add sauce to chicken and veggies, toss together and combine. (about 2 minutes)
  6. Enjoy! 
Zucchini Noodles

This was our favorite recipe so far, and I hope you give it a try! I love spiralizing and creating new recipes and now that I'm on a 10 day break from school, I'm excited to try even more and share them with you all! 
What is your favorite dinner recipe? Do you have any plans for Easter? Find anything new that you've loved lately? Let me know in the comments! I am so ready for the weather to get warmer now! 
xx 
Kenzie

Happiness

Why I Love Being a Morning Person

9:00:00 AM




Great Britain

Yes, there are people who actually enjoy waking up at 7am, opening the windows and listening to the world wake up. I for one, really don't mind waking up early on a weekend. You're probably wondering why, and don't worry, I've made a list for you to try to explain. 

1 & 2 .I have more time. I'm not on a schedule, and I'm not hopping out of bed in a rush to get anywhere. I can drink my chai latte, have a little dorm-room workout session and scroll through my blog feed on bloglovin. Because I have more time, I'm not stressed. It's relaxing, especially in the spring when I can (wait until my roommate leaves) and whip open the windows and hear the birds chirping and see the sun. 

 3.I'm more productive. Personally, I feel much more productive during the morning hours than in the evening. The evening makes me want to curl up on the sofa and watch some tv, youtube videos etc. I just get a lot done and by the time I look at my clock it's only noon! 

 4. I feel happier. It's probably because I'm less stressed and not groggy or unmotivated. I'm one of those people who love breakfast, and there's a part of me that cries everytime I don't have time for a satisfying bowl of oats. 
Vegan Food

5. It's handy when I travel. Because I'm kind of on a schedule of waking up around the same time every morning, when I get to travel it's not a big deal if I have to wake up early. Whether or not I'm properly dressed is another story!


Are you a morning or a night person? What do you consider early? For me it's 7am. I mean, I can wake up earlier, but I tend to scroll through my phone first! It's a system! 
I hope you're all enjoying the weather wherever you are! 
It's nearly officially spring! 
x 
Kenzie

Clean Eating

Healthy Shrimp and Noodles

8:00:00 AM


I was just home last weekend for a three day weekend and after falling off the clean eating train (and rolling down the hill away from the tracks), I was really looking forward to getting back and being refreshed. Recently, my mom bought a spiralizer to make healthy noodles from and I was really excited to try it out! 

Healthy

Sometimes with lifestyle changes, you have to restart...and reset and fall a couple of times. It's a process, but being able to bake again helps! 
Here's What You'll Need:
Spiralizer
2 Zucchini
1 pound (about 1.5 bags) frozen shrimp
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon minced Garlic
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional, they do give the dish a bit of a pop!) 
1/4 cup white wine
2 Tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon)
Chopped Parsley for garnish

Spiralizer

What to Do? 

First, spiralize your zucchinis! I found that it was easier to cut it in half and then spiralize. It was so much fun! 
Place a large pan over medium-low heat, add olive oil and heat (1 minute)
Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for about 1 more minute
Add shrimp to the pan and cook, stirring until they are pink on all sides (3 minutes)
Season with salt and pepper
With slotted spoon, transfer to bowl, leaving liquid in pan
Increase heat a bit, Add white wine and lemon juice
Scrape any brown bits, cook for about 2 minutes
Add zucchini noodles and cook, stir occasionally (2 minutes)
Return shrimp to the pan and toss to combine
Season with salt and pepper, garnish with parsley and serve hot! 
Parsley

Zucchini and Shrimp

I hope you all try this dish out, I'm on my spring/Easter holiday in a little less than a week from now and I cannot wait. I have a few dishes planned, but other than that it will be really nice to relax! The weather has been so nice lately as well, I hope you've all had a great week! 
Dinner Entree with Shrimp

x 
Have you spiralized anything before? What are some of your favorite recipes? Make sure to leave a comment below! :) 





clean

Spring, Smoothies and Sunshine

9:00:00 AM





I don't think I'm the only one incredibly excited that it's finally March. While we haven't had that bad of a winter here in Wisconsin, I'm still really glad that it's almost spring. I haven't done a "things I love lately" post, but that's what this one is shaping up to be as I type it. 
Rib Mountain
1. I've recently just became the owner of a mini-blender and I've been loving making smoothies in my dorm room! (sorry neighbors). They're so easy to make, and if you need any smoothie inspiration some of my favorite ingredients are Spinach, almond milk, bananas, strawberries and chia seeds! 

Detox Smoothie

2. The sunshine. Honestly, the overcast days make my head feel a bit glum and my legs feel a bit restless. but when the sun comes out I can enjoy the time outside. 

3. Walking. I'm in a photography class this semester, which means I get to take photos outside a lot, and it really makes me slow down and capture the things around me that I wouldn't otherwise notice. 

4. Coloring Books. Those adult coloring books? You can usually catch me in my dorm room with the futon down and twinkle lights on, coloring on a Friday night. I'm wild, I know. 

5. Clementines. It can't be a blog post without talking about food can it? I love clementines, and I honestly cannot get enough of them! 

Sorry this post is so much shorter than usual, I haven't really had that much going on between hurrying around for school, climbing out from under my pile of homework, I haven't had anytime to workout even and it's making me feel a bit anxious to be honest. Spring Break is right around the corner and I've just got to get through the next two weeks before I can officially relax..at least for 10 days. 

What things are you loving this season? Are you planning any fun trips yet? Make sure to leave a comment, I love hearing from you! 
xx Kenzie

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