Oats

Blueberry protein overnight oats made with Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Organic Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats. Perfect for quick summer meal prep!

Last weekend M and I went beachfront camping with two of our friends and their baby on the Nanticoke River in Maryland. 

Of all the camping trips we’ve done together, I think this one was the hardest. 

So, camping is always innately hard, right? 

For me, that’s part of the charm of it. 

It strips down your life, making all of those small mundane tasks you do without thinking more difficult, forcing you into the present by problem-solving. 

Need to do the dishes? You have to walk 5 minutes to the closest water station, lugging dirty pots and pans and detergent with you. 

Want to make coffee? You have to light the camp cooktop and boil some water in the camping kettle. 

Fancy a shower? Well, you may or may not be in luck, depending on how back country you are. 

Usually, by infusing my life with a little discomfort, it reminds me of the little joys in life. 

So I was prepared to do without and be on the water and in the summer sun, but I wasn’t prepared for the extreme heat, the thunderstorms, and the exposed campsite (without any shade!) 

We made it through one sweaty, sleepless night, narrowly dodging some severe weather. 

I swear I didn’t sleep at all, tossing and turning in my toasty sleeping bag, opening an eye every thirty minutes to check for the first signs of daylight; nature’s way of signaling an appropriate time to emerge from my tent. 

When the weather threatened for more storms the next evening with even higher temps, we did what any nature-loving experienced campers would do. 

We bailed. 

Honestly, if it wasn’t for the tarp our friends brought to create some man-made shade and these Blueberry Protein Overnight Oats for breakfast, we might have bailed even sooner. 

These Blueberry Protein Overnight Oats are made with blended blueberry milk and oats naturally sweet with maple syrup.

They’re perfect for quick summer meal prep wherever your summer adventures take you!

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Strawberry cheesecake overnight oats with raw cashews, rolled oats, and strawberries. Perfect to make in advance for a healthy breakfast!

This past weekend my hiking group completed our first hike of 2021!

We eased into the year of hikes exploring 5 miles of trails on Sugarloaf Mountain, in Dickerson, Maryland. 

The morning of the hike, I fueled with one of my pre-hiking staples; overnight oats.

I *love* eating oats before being active because they’re packed with protein, fiber, and complex carbs.

They’re satiating, quick, nourishing, and did I mention delicious? 

I had the idea early this year to make a vegan “cheesecake” overnight oats variation, and, well, here it is! 

These Strawberry Cheesecake Overnight Oats are made with raw cashews, rolled oats, and strawberries.

They’re easy to mix up in advance for a healthy meal prep breakfast that will have you excited for breakfast and energized for whatever happens afterwards. 

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Chocolate baked oatmeal with nuts, banana, almond butter, and chocolate chips. Bake it in under an hour for dessert for breakfast!

I’m going to get straight the point of this post: I love this Chocolate Baked Oatmeal so much!

So much that when M decided he liked them too, I baked him another pan so we could each have our own.

I packed both pans in our cooler and took them to southern Virginia this summer to visit family. 

In the mornings at the mountain home, I enjoyed my baked oats with fresh berries, yogurt, and granola. 

This Chocolate Baked Oatmeal is made with nuts, banana, almond butter, and dark chocolate chips for a nourishing breakfast that tastes like dessert. 

Make a pan for a cozy breakfast situation that is concise, decadent, and nutritious!

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Chocolate Cherry Overnight Oats with dark chocolate and fresh or frozen cherries. Perfect for a healthy grab and go breakfast for the week.

I come from a long line of oat-eaters. 

I’ve known for a while that my mom eats them almost every morning. 

Then, when I was recently in North Carolina visiting extended family, I realized that the oat-love extends to my aunts and uncles, too!

We sat around the table and comparing notes on how we take our morning bowl of oats. 

It’s actually comical how similar our tastes are, miles apart and without familial influence.  

We all love texture– all the nuts, seeds, berries, and nut butter.

Some of them are even on the overnight oats bandwagon, or, ONOs, as I fondly refer to them. 

So, how do you take your oats? 

I’ll have to ask my family if they’ve ever thrown in chocolate and cherries– which is my current favorite combination. 

These Chocolate Cherry Overnight Oats are made with dark chocolate and fresh or frozen cherries.

They’re perfect for a healthy grab and go breakfast for the week! 

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Key lime pie overnight oats with lime, yogurt, and creamy avocado for color. Serve with blueberries and granola. Perfect for meal prep!

How are the spring time allergies, buds? 

It looked like it was snowing today, there was so much plant and tree matter flying through the air. 

This is my first time navigating allergy season in Maryland, and I was really hopeful that the sniffles might just…skip me.

My symptoms are mostly triggered by those awful orange oak strings that litter the streets and sidewalks. 

So that was probably wishful thinking because our back porch faces a wooded area filled with oaks.

Doh. 

I’m limiting my time outdoors a lot more than I’d like and showering in the evenings to get the tree stuff off of me. 

It’s hard because this is the time of year when it’s the *perfect* temperature to do all things outdoors. 

However, I know something that tastes like spring and summer straight from the fridge. 

These key lime pie overnight oats are made with lots of lime, yogurt, and creamy avocado for a sunny meal-prepped breakfast! 

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Pumpkin peanut butter protein oats for one! Mix up these easy oats for a pumpkin and protein-packed breakfast that’s perfect for busy fall mornings.

This past weekend I had a plant re-potting party here at F&V.

M and I squatted on the deck and transferred my spider plant, split leaf philodendron, and aloe vera to bigger pots. 

Scooping dirt into ceramic pots and patting the earth around my plant babies was totally therapeutic. 

The move was inspired by my split leaf philodendron, which has grown at an exponential pace since I bought it on a whim from Whole Foods last year. 

Did you know that plants need to be moved to bigger pots about once a year for optimal health?

When I last repotted my philodendron it surprised me by exploding with happy green leaves and new vines. 

I mean, it makes sense that they need a pot that properly fits their expanding root system. 

Just like us, they need room to grow. 

Give yourself some room to grow by making breakfast in advance this autumn.

These Peanut Butter Pumpkin Overnight Proats are perfect to prep ahead for a fun fall breakfast. 

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