Bananas

5 Ways to Do Oatmeal

7:00:00 AM



If you were to ask what my favorite breakfast was, or one that I eat almost every other day, the answer would be oatmeal. It's quick, and easy, and you can easily change it up whenever you'd like. If I need something to warm up my insides on a cool morning, oatmeal is my go-to. When I was little I used to ask for "oakmilk" and requested raisins to be put into it. Since then, I've learned to say oatmeal correctly, and switch up the ingredients to keep my breakfasts different and not so boring. 

Here are a few things to consider when you make your next bowl of oats and are stuck on how to switch it up:

1. Different fruits. 

This is easier now that the weather is warmer, usually in the cooler months I go for bananas and occasionally blueberries. Strawberries, raspberries and blackberries are coming into season and will be added into my bowls! 
Oatmeal


2. Crunchy Toppings. 

I love having a bit of crunch in my oats, usually a handful of raw almonds, cashews, or even some walnuts is great! 
Oatmilk


3. Power toppings

This comes in the form of chia seeds, hemp hearts, and cacao nibs. Personally I go for chia seeds as they're more available for me. 
Oatmeal

4. Nut butters

If you love nut butter like I do, then adding a little scoop of peanut butter, cashew butter or almond butter will conquer that craving right away in the morning. Sometimes, if I know I didn't get that much protein in the week, I will use powdered peanut butter. Just put it in before making the oats and stir it up to get the not-so-overwhelming and peanut-y taste!


5. Spices

I love adding cinnamon to top off my oatmeal. I read somewhere that cinnamon is really good for your metabolism, and it tastes great. 
Organic Oats


Oats are so great for you and I love a nice warm bowl. What are your favorite toppings? What is your favorite breakfast or your most common breakfast that you have?
Have a great week! x 
Kenzie

Autumn

Sunflowers and Monster Cookies

8:00:00 AM


When you go to bed at half past midnight and are woken up at seven in the morning because you have a roommate who decided to make use of the microwave at such an early hour, and then eat her breakfast only to fall asleep shortly after eating, immediately putting you in a grumpy mood, it's important to treat yourself a little bit.
 Last semester was cold, and Winter-y. You remember. Being my first weekend back at University, I decided to check it out. I was up already anyway...so why not?


Peppers

There was Autumn in the air, and I started to feel very excited that I can pull out my new jackets bought a few months ago, and my favorite ones as well.
I parked my car a block away, pulled my bag over my shoulder and grabbed my camera. It felt so nice having my camera with me once again, on one of many adventures. I've missed it.
The park was scattered with people of all ages and rows of vegetables, fruits and homemade goods. There were peppers, and squash and pumpkins. I love Autumn. 
Along the way I picked up a few samples of bread and dip, and good-for-you granola, which seems to becoming more popular! I love making granola, I find it quite fun! 
There were HUGE wheels of bread of all kinds! My eyes weren't that big, there would be no way one person could eat that all by themselves in one sitting, but I suppose that isn't what they're meant for! 
They did look great though! Being woken up at 7am almost, I thought it would be nice to get myself a bit of a treat, there were homemade cookies with all natural ingredients, so I picked up this Monster Cookie-cookie for $1, because you know what. I deserved it. It was delicious, soft and fresh..It's still my birthday month anyway. 
Across from the food market, there was an art market as well, where a lot of cool jewlery and tapestries were on display. I picked up some little stickers, that I'm sending off in the mail with some of the cards I'll be writing soon! As well as, a little something for my Grandma, even though her birthday isn't until November...at least I'm not shopping for Christmas yet....right? 
I kept walking by a cute bouquet of Sunflowers, having really wanted them, it was kind of an impulse buy. And by kind of, I mean it was. I don't have a vase, or any idea how to keep these flowers alive. But they're pretty to look at while they're here. 
It's always nice to treat yourself. Because who's going to buy you flowers if you've just got yourself/ anyway? Whenever I feel down I can always look at these and have a better mood. They're so bright! I love it!
Have you been to the markets lately? Are they still happening around you? What is your favorite thing to get? 
I hope you're having a great week! 
xx
Kenzie


Almond

Black Coffee: Waffle Bar

9:00:00 AM



I love food. And you probably know, especially if you follow me on twitter, that I love breakfast. Honestly could eat breakfast all day long. I love going to bed just a bit hungry only to wake up even hungrier for breakfast. I can't really say that I have a favorite place for breakfast or even a favorite breakfast food. It is all just so great.
   With my birthday being the long weekend, I had the chance to go to a new restaurant in downtown Minneapolis, near the University there, called Black Coffee and Waffle Bar. The moment I stepped inside, it smelled incredible.

Waffles

The morning was rainy, but I was too excited for this waffle place to even care a little bit. 
We glanced over the menu, though I had already picked out what I was getting weeks ago....I told you I was very excited right? 

I ordered an iced chai, which was incredible and the spices in it were amazing. 
Chai tea
It was like a refreshing sip of Christmas (which is the next thing I'm looking forward to). 
This chai also did not make my stomach sour, which was even more reason to enjoy it. 
Coffee art
They also have lattes, this is my Uncles' and I couldn't resist taking a photo of the art. 
After waiting 30 minutes for our waffles, and finding a spot to eat, our group of 8, finally tucked into our waffles. In the time that we were waiting, my mom so kindly took photos of me in front of the big black brick siding they have. This was actually fun because every time we walked back inside, to get out of the rain, the amazing scent of fresh waffles and coffee instantly wrapped us in a nice warm, dry blanket. 
Bbloggers
Top: Forever 21 ; Skirt: Forever 21 : Tights: Target

Outfit of the day
Shoes: Target

You probably saw the top one on my instagram. 

While everyone was tucking right into their waffles, I did manage to get a few snaps of them before they were in our bellies!
Almond Butter
(This was mine.) 
I chose the Naughty Waffle, it had strawberries, blueberries, bananas, granola, almond butter, and whipped cream on top!) 

Swiss Waffle
This one is my Uncles', he chose the One Bad Pig Waffle, it had ham and swiss on top of it. 

(I couldn't stop taking pictures of my waffle, it just looked incredible!)

Breakfast

While the waffles had to be waited for, my drink came out right away and that was very nice! I was extremely happy with how everything tasted, and if you are ever in the Minneapolis area, you need to check this place out! (This isn't a sponsored post but it should be.)
They have different varieties of waffles and you can even make your own! 
(Check out the website here!)

I hope you all enjoyed your weekend! I had a great one and I can't wait to show you more from it! 
Thanks for reading! Make sure to follow me on bloglovin, google +, instagram and twitter! 

Leave a comment and tell me your favorite breakfast food!! 
Can't wait to read them all! 
xx
Kenzie









breakfast

Anytime Crepes

3:11:00 PM


The best thing about trying something new is that you can come back and try it over and over again until it works out. That is especially true for cooking, which I found out while making these whole wheat-crepes. 
Crepes are the kind of food that are light, and made especially to wrap your favorite filling in a nice little jacket, and are fun to enjoy! Crepes are also quite easy to make, so I've included a recipe! 

Here's what you'll need: 

*1/2 cup skim milk
*2/3 cup water
*2 table spoons vanilla
*1 cup all purpose flour (I used whole wheat flour as it's more filling)
*1 tablespoon sugar
*1/4 teaspoon salt

A little side note; I had accidentally forgotten to add in 1/4 cup melted butter...I started melting it and the phone rang so I had turned off the microwave and couldn't quite figure out why my crepes weren't spreading as easily....this would be why, but they still tasted great! 
They're pretty simple to make as well; 
-In a Medium sized bowl, mix the milk, water, melted butter (if you decided to use it), and vanilla. 
-In a smaller bowl, mix flour, sugar and salt well. 
-Whisk the two mixes together until the batter is smooth
-Warm medium sized skillet on medium-high heat, coat pan with non stick spray and pour in about 2 tablespoons of batter, you can add more or do less depending on how big of a crepe you would like
-Swirl the pan to allow batter to spread, I also helped it along with running a spoon gently over it
-Cook until edges are crispy and golden. This is quite difficult to do with whole wheat flour, and I haven't baked with it long enough to know just how it works, but it seemed to be fine once there was a bubble or a small hole in the batter. Then flip to the other side. 
And repeat with remaining batter!!

After you allow them to cool, you can add in your favorite fruits! 
I soon discovered, we had no whipped creme and I haven't been feeling like a chocolate-eating person lately so I opted for some vanilla yogurt as a filling! It was great and a healthy alternative! I put strawberries inside, along with raspberries as well as on the top and sprinkled the crepe with some powdered sugar! 
This was definitely one of those recipes where I had went to bed thinking about having a crepe and by the time I woke up I had to make one!

 You can also use these for desserts, or a fun snack if you'd like! 
Making these was a lot of fun and I'm sure I'll make some again this summer! 
Thanks for reading as always!
xx
Kenzie
Have you made crepes before? What are you favorite add-ons? 

adventure

In the Strawberry Fields

2:08:00 PM



Awhile ago, the sun was playing games behind a few clouds and my grandmother, sister, mom and myself all piled into my grandmothers van and drove just a little ways to a little farm. 
We were going strawberry picking. It was humid out, and my sister was the least enthused as per usual, but we were going anyway. 
 We arrived at a multi-berry farm. They had an "advice booth" set off to the side, and their shop set up in a little shed near the barn. Two dogs sat inside while the woman told us how to get to the field, giving us our baskets and leaving us to pick the berries ourselves. 
 I love strawberries, so I was really excited to get to it. 
There were a few other people there, but it wasn't too crowded. We had two rectangle shaped baskets per two people. My grandma and sister decided to pick together in one aisle and my mom and I picked another one. 
 The strawberries were so tiny, but nice and red! 

If you've never been strawberry picking, this is what the rows look like, they're really long, but that just means there are plenty of delicious berries on them! Because there are many people who like to pick their own strawberries, the farm we went to had set up little orange flags to let their guests know where the last people stopped and where you might want to start in order to get the best berries!
There were a ton of berries, we collected a nice full basket! I was mostly excited to use them in smoothies as I had already made strawberry bread with the store bought strawberries. 


They were smaller than your average strawberry I suppose, but they tasted even better! 
I did use some of them that night in a mango-strawberry smoothie and throughout the 
week with other fruits in the mix. 
We froze a few to keep for future. 
It was a very successful strawberry picking day! 

Do you pick berries or other fruit where you live? 
What's your favorite fruit??
I hope you enjoyed this post! 
See you next time! 
xx
Kenzie


Instagram