Toasted Coconut + Almond Berry Baked Oatmeal

I hope your Fall is off to a great start! October has long been my favorite month of the year. It kicks off with my birthday on the 1st and then almost always beholds a mix of weather that gradually leads us from the excitement of summer and into the coziness of fall. Oversized sweaters, apple cider, and ALL the coffee make the looming doom of winter a little easier to ignore. This recipe is the very definition of cozy. I'd call it a warm hug for your stomach if I said stuff like that. But I don't say stuff like that so we'll just call it amazing and you'll just go make it and see what I mean. Things are pretty hectic for us during the fall so I like to keep breakfast quick and versatile so I can keep my morning routine moving. This recipe is best prepared on a Sunday afternoon (with a hot cup of coffee) and then stored in the refrigerator to eat off of during the weekdays. In the summer we tend to pour almond milk over the oatmeal squares and eat it cold out of the refrigerator, but on cooler days I take a second to heat it up and enjoy it that way. 

Toasted Coconut + Almond Berry Baked Oatmeal

• 2 cups whole rolled oats

• ½ cup hemp seeds

• ½ cup slivered almonds, toasted 

• ⅔ cup coconut flakes, toasted

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• ¾ teaspoon sea salt

• 1 egg 

• ¾ cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk 

• 1/2 cup maple syrup

• 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil

• 1 banana, chopped

• 1 cup strawberries, sliced

• 1 cup blueberries

Preheat the oven to 350°F and spray an 8x4-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Place the coconut and almonds on a baking sheet and cook for 5 minutes or until golden. When done reserve 2 tablespoons of the almonds and coconut flakes and set aside.

In a large bowl combine the oats, the remaining almonds, hemp seeds and coconut flakes, and the baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

In a medium bowl, combine the almond milk, egg, maple syrup and coconut oil and whisk to combine. 

Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients and stir to combine.

Layer the bananas and strawberries in the baking dish and spread the oat mixture on top. Sprinkle with the blueberries and the reserved toasted almonds and coconut flakes.

Bake for 40-50 minutes or until the top is crisp and the middle is set. Remove and let cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Adapted slightly from Love and Lemons

The Badlands, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, + Rocky Mountain National Parks

Adventuring with the one you love, there's nothing greater. 

Josiah and I LOVE taking trips together. We're not ones to spend a week hanging out on the beach. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the beach. BUT I get antsy laying on the beach after a few hours. I much prefer to be doing something! Because we are both similar in this, most of our trips involve lots of activities or covering a lot of ground. This trip was jam packed from morning until night almost every single day and I wouldn't have had it any other way. 

We started off our trip a day and a half later than we anticipated because our catalytic converter was stolen on our car (a common Chicago crime apparently). Because we had a deadline of when we needed to be in Denver, this could have been a serious bummer. But despite this setback, our spirits were high as we embraced an extra night's sleep at home and slow moving morning before heading off. We stopped in Sioux Falls, SD our first night and made a pit stop on our way out in the morning to take in the beautiful Sioux Falls. After we departed Sioux Falls, we stopped at The Badlands National Park where I was shocked by beauty (and heat). I had no idea the Badlands were so magnificent! I wished we hadn't been so pressed for time or we would have stayed longer. Definitely an underrated attraction. 

Our next stop was in Cody, WY, a little mountain town just outside of Yellowstone. Our hotel was relatively basic, but it had a hot tub and claimed "the friendliest hotel in the west", which I would say is pretty accurate. The next day was Josiah's birthday so I had made arrangements for us to stop at a bakery on our way into Yellowstone to get some birthday treats. I think we both decided we would prefer breakfast burritos over cupcakes, so we sat and ate delicious birthday, breakfast burritos. Our plans literally never go as planned, but I actually sort of love it.

On our drive into Yellowstone, which was GORGEOUS, we listened to Josiah's favorite (my not-so-favorite) band, The Mountain Goats, which I offered as part 3 of many birthday gifts. Once we got into Yellowstone we parked and headed on the hike that Josiah had picked out. Before we started out I expected it to be more on the moderate side, but it quickly became apparent that the trail was going to be a challenge, but the views we saw at the top were so, so worth it! 

After we climbed the peak and made our way back down to the car, I immediately fell asleep. I missed probably 45 minutes of our drive through the park, but no matter how hard I tried to stay awake, my body was spent! We spent the rest of the afternoon checking out the geysers and ooing and ahing at the insane colors they produce. We also saw a bear that was basically twenty feet in front of us and we almost died. But we didn't. So that was good. We headed out the park a bit early, checked into our hotel room (the nicest of the ones we stayed at) that was bigger than our apartment, ordered in some pizza and salad, watched some American Ninja Warrior, and called it a night. 

The next day we spent 45 minutes in the gift shop and 45 minutes waiting for Old Faithful. I'd say that the gift shop was worth it (new favorite mug and sweatshirt), maybe not so much for Old Faithful, but I guess YOLO. Then the rest of our day was spent driving through the rest of Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons on our way to Grand Lake, CO and taking in the hidden beauty of Wyoming in it's along the way. We arrived in Grand Lake, fell asleep immediately, woke up the next day and grabbed breakfast at a cute diner/ BBQ place close by. Our initial plan for the day was to head into Rocky Mountain and hike, but the incessant rain held us back a bit. We decided to take advantage of the rain and use it as an excuse to slow down at a coffee shop and let ourselves relax. The coffee shop we ended up at was located just on the lake in combination with a boat and water sport rental shop. It was an odd combination, but the coffee shop had the cutest vintage watersport decor that was like nothing i've ever seen and it was run by the sweetest girls. We soaked in that rest time and then decided to brave a hike even though the rain hadn't fully stopped. I'm so glad that we just went for it because as soon as we started hiking the rain stopped and it held off our entire 10-mile hike. After we explored some more of Rocky Mountain (and asked incessantly "WHY DID WE MOVE FROM HERE!?") we landed at our hotel in Estes Park where we spent the next day just before heading to Denver. We spent one day in Denver shooting a wedding and then made our way back through Omaha to visit some friends just before heading back to Chicago. 

In true Jenna and Josiah fashion, this trip was planned on a whim, executed imperfectly, but embraced fully. Our AC stopped working halfway through the trip, we didn't make it to Devil's Tower, we didn't get to do as many hikes as we planned, we made it home at 9pm on a Sunday and Josiah had to roll out of bed for work on Monday, but we wouldn't change a thing. For us, trips are really just good excuses to spend every waking minute together. That makes the moments when everything is going wrong feel like mild hiccups, because as long as we can hold each other through, who needs AC anyway. Okay, we need AC, but being together is still what it's all about. <3 

5-Minute Vegan Mint shake

An herb garden has been on my summer bucket list for the last few years, but has always fallen to the wayside. Partially because we've moved a lot, but mainly because I was fearful of wasting time and money on something I would inevitably kill. "Houseplants that are impossible to kill" may or may not be in my recent google history. Guys, I've even killed succulents. I didn't even know you could do that! I think that it was actually from overwatering. Comforting to know my fault in that situation was just caring too much. 

This summer we decided to actually follow through on our herb garden dream. One of the first weeks that the farmers market was open we purchased some basil, thyme, chives, oregano, cilantro, parsley, and most excitingly, mint. (And tomatoes, which have been the most surprising survivors!) At first I used the herbs as just toppings. I didn't really know what else to use them for. THEN, I stumbled upon this recipe from Love and Lemons that I knew I had to try. This recipe served as a dessert that delivered greens and brought my former after-thought herbs to the forefront. I used Califia Farms Almond Milk (because it will forever and always be the best almond milk next to homemade almond milk) instead of the milk that they suggested, but use whatever you favor. This shake makes the perfect warm weather alternative to dairy based shakes and is going to be on repeat over here all summer. 

5-MINUTE VEGAN MINT SHAKE

• 1 frozen banana
• 1 cup spinach 
• 1/4 cup fresh mint
• 2 tablespoons almond butter 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2-3 ice cubes
• 3/4 cup almond milk
• pinch of salt

In a blender, combine the banana, spinach, mint leaves, almond butter, ice, vanilla and almond milk. Blend until smooth. Add more almond milk as needed for desired consistency. Pour into a glass and serve.

 from Love and Lemons 

I'm Running A Marathon + I Need Your Help!

Just writing that title made me think that I am out of my mind. So if you think that too, I sincerely understand. 

Running a marathon is one of those things that I've always thought I could never do. In fact, it's one of those things I've said I would never want to do.

So how did we get here? Well, five years ago I ran a half marathon, something I thought I could NEVER do either, but did! And then somehow I found myself signed up for the same (insanely hilly) race again two years later. Doing something I thought I could NEVER do TWICE was such an accomplishment for me and I started to wonder if a full marathon wasn't out of the question. I sat on this idea for three years, keeping the idea from coming to fruition because I had some doubts. During this time I watched many of my runner friends complete marathons and talk about how amazing it was, but I still wondered if it was in the cards for me. When we moved back to Chicago I got the final push I needed. One of the new friends I made when we moved back was training for a marathon. She inspired me and almost a week after she shared her race day experience with me, I signed up for the Chicago Marathon without looking back. I'm equal parts excited and equal parts terrified, but ready or not, October 8th is on the horizon and I've gotta keep putting the work in to prepare! 

Where do you fit into all of this? Well let me tell you! Although my initial reason for signing up for the marathon was personal, I am partnering with Ronald McDonald House Charities to raise money to support their programs so that they can continue to do more good and keep families close. I chose RMHC because when my nephew, Hudson, was born, he had to be in the NICU and my sister and her husband were able to stay close to him without the financial burden that a hotel would have added. My goal is to raise $1500 to help ease the financial burden of families put in similar situations. If you're interested in partnering with me, you can donate here. 

Ronald McDonald House Charities' mission to keep families close during some of the most difficult times is filling a need that would otherwise go unmet. Yesterday I got a tour of the Chicago Ronald McDonald Home and it was inspiring to see how the foundation works to not only keep families together, but to help build community within the houses and encourage those staying there to share their stories with each other. 

Whether you can financially donate or not, I am so thankful that you took the time to read this post and I hope that you will help cheer me on during this challenging, rewarding, and growing experience. 

Also, if you're interested in volunteering on race day, let me know and I can get you in touch with the right people. 

Have a wonderful day!