Friday Favorites | No. 22

Friday, June 5, 2015

Happy Friday and National Donut Day! That combo makes for a pretty good Friday if I do say so myself :)

I can't believe that we are in June already, but when you are having fun time does seem to fly by! It was a fun week, so why don't we take a look back at my top five favorite moments:

Saturday was spent at the pool relaxing and enjoying the sunshine.


I missed the food in California so much when I was living in Miami, especially Mexican cuisine and Santa Maria tri tip...I got to enjoy both on Saturday during our bbq at the pool ::yummy::


I have been pouring my homemade blueberry syrup on EVERYTHING this past week.


Hiking with friends has become one of my favorite things to do! California has so much beauty.


National Donut Day...enough said.


How has your week been? Did you enjoy a donut today?

Homemade Blueberry Syrup

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

When fresh blueberries are in the grocery store, its hard for me to turn them down. I may have been a little crazy this past week and purchased a huge carton. Now, I could have froze some of the berries and used them for my smoothy or oatmeal in the mornings, but guess what?! Ice cream was also on sale (and somehow ended up in my shopping basket)...which gave me the perfect excuse to use the extra berries to make homemade blueberry syrup!


Homemade Blueberry Syrup

{yield: 1 cup}

1½ cup fresh blueberries
1 cup cold water
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice
½ tsp. vanilla extract

In a medium sauce pan, combine the fresh blueberries, water, sugar and fresh squeezed lemon juice. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat, then reduce heat and let simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla extract and serve right away or allow it to cool to room temperate before covering and refrigerating.

Now remember this is a syrup, so it will be on the thinner side, but I find it to be the perfect topping for ice cream, yogurt, oatmeal, pancakes, pound cake...I think you get the idea. It is pretty much great on anything!

Overnight Oatmeal

Monday, June 1, 2015

Mornings before work can be hectic. I feel like I am always in race to get out of my apartment and on the road for work before 8:15 a.m. However, I sometimes hit the snooze button a few too many times and stumble out of my apartment at 8:30 a.m. (most likely without coffee and breakfast).


But now thanks to this simple and tasty recipe for overnight oatmeal, I am never without breakfast before work. All you need are a few simple ingredients to make this heart healthy, tasty and fast breakfast!

Overnight Oatmeal

{yield: 1 serving}

⅓ cup rolled oats
⅓ cup almond milk (any type of milk will work)
⅓ cup vanilla Greek yogurt
1 tsp. chia seeds
¼ cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
drizzle of agave syrup, honey or brown sugar


Start with a pint size mason jar or any cup with a sealable lid/top. Then add ⅓ cup of rolled oats (not instant!), ⅓ cup of almond milk, ⅓ cup of vanilla Greek yogurt and top off with a teaspoon of chia seeds.


Mix all the ingredients together, cover with a lid and place in the refrigerator for 6 to 8 hours or overnight. The next morning remove jar from the fridge, top with blueberries and drizzle with agave syrup, honey or a spoon of brown sugar for sweetness. 

Overnight oats are meant to be eaten cold, but can be microwaved if you prefer them hot! Now if you are not a fan of blueberries, feel free to change it and add bananas or apples to your the oatmeal "base." The beauty is that this recipe gives you the freedom to jazz up your oats with whatever you are in the mood for that day!

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