Berry Muesli for 2 [Clean, Vegan, GF] and a Trip to Oregon

Here is a simple breakfast recipe that will keep you cool and refreshed in the heat of summer. Easy to make, but full of protein and fill to keep you satiated. This is built for two, but easy to make for 1, or more than two. Read up on a faboulous trip to Oregon while you eat your breakfast 🙂

You know, I think I could live in Oregon. I’m just going to come out and say it. I really loved it. It was my first taste of the Pacific Northwest and I just loved it. You see, I grew up in the Northeast and was used to the rolling hills, seasons and trees. Being in the deep South with none of those things for the past 3 years has left me aching for the mountains and the trees and greenery, in particular. The moment I saw it, I just didn’t want to leave.

It’s funny, though. I’ve known that I’ve missed such things, but I never really feel it until I’m back in that sort of environment. It just makes my heart so happy that I can feel it deep in my bones. It’s an incredible wash of feelings that just shocks me everytime I feel it and it comes on spur of the moment. I guess my long-term place needs to be a place such as this, with all the things I have been deeply missing.

I started my Oregon experience driving down the coast and stopping in Tillamook. I had initially planned to hike Overlook, but it was down pouring so instead I went to Tillamook creamery and am so glad I did!

Obviously, you have to get ice cream while you are there. I got the monster cookie flavor and it was SO tasty. Highly recommended. They also have a self-guided tour of the factory, and you can watch how cheese is made. They also have a very fabulous cheese tasting section which I was super pumped about.

You could also learn about (and try out) milking a cow, as well as other facts about the creamery. They have a huge store as well where you can buy a number of their products. It was a great way to spend a rainy day.

We spent some time in Portland too. We went to the Rose Festival, but found that this was mostly geared towards children so we instead spent the day trying out various craft breweries. I have recently really gotten into to sour beers. So good. We also got ice cream and Salt and Straw. They have some really interesting flavors and I recommend checking them out if you are in the Portland area.

We also went to a brewery called Rouge and they had these cauliflower “wing” bites as appetizers and OMG they were SOOO amazing. I have plans to try and re-create. Even meat loving friends- I am sure- would have loved these buffalo bites.

We also spent a full day in wine country, Oregon. It happened to be the weekend of their wine festival and so we spent a full day just lazing around tasting various wines from various vineyards. It was such a wonderful, relaxing day that I had very muched needed. Let me know if you want any details on the wineries I visited. I would be happy to share!

We also spent a day around Mt. Hood. We hiked to Mirror Lake, went up to Timberline Lodge (the hotel used in The Shining movie and currently still has snow! It’s very cool up there because you are above the clouds!), explored the various fruit stands, orchards etc along Highway 35 (aka the Fruit Loop) and did a grueling hike up Dog Mountain. (I was sore FOR DAYS and probably looked like a giraffe that was just born and learning how to walk).

You see, I had thought my hiking companion had stopped and turned around, so I wanted to get to the summit and back as quickly as possible. There was one point that pointed to the left path and said “extremely difficult” and then another to the right path that said “difficult”. Of course, I chose the left path. It was crazy and the incline was insane. Part of it I was by myself in the forest, but by the time I got to the top, all the sweat was worth it. (The first picture is a panoramic from the top of Dog Mountain).

Once you got through the forest, it opened into a huge swath of light and wild flowers. It was a marvelous sight. Due to the incline, I ended up spending much of my time down running. It only took me 30 minutes to get down the mountain and about 1.5 hours to get up. I did not see my friend on the way down, so I thought she’d be by the car. No. Apparently, she had wanted to keep going and try to get up to the top. She took the right path, so that’s why I never say her. I had to wait for her for 4 hours. It was terrible. I had no water, food and she had the car keys. Not ideal. However, I did end up taking this cool train picture that went by while I waited for her.

It was very late by the time she came back down, but we went to get dinner (got a banging crunchy peanut butter and jam and mozzarella panini). And then found a Dutch Brothers (which has amazing hot chocolate combos, I got a white chocolate/ chocolate macadamia nut hot chocolate that was just so so good). Why don’t they have them over here?! Oh well, probably for the best. We then drove the 3 hours up to Seattle and you can look forward to that post next! Until then, I’ll leave you with this picture of Mt. Hood that I took while we were driving.

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Berry Muesli for 2 [Clean, Vegan, GF]

A quick, healthy muesli for 2

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 0 minutes

Servings 2 bowls

Author AZ@…And A Dash of Cinnamon

Ingredients

• 2/3-1 cup old fashioned oatmeal (1/3-1/2 cup for each)
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (1/2 scoop for each)
• 1-2 cup frozen berries
• few dashes cinnamon each bowl
• 1/2 cup something crunchy like pepitas, or nuts *optional (1/4 cup for each)
• almond milk or milk of choice

Instructions

1. Easy! Split the ingredients in half…

   add to 2 bowls…

   add your milk of choice…

   eat and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

This is easy to make for 1 or more than 2 people. Make it your own and add whatever you have on hand! I highly recommend frozen berries though as it sort of thickens the dish a bit and adds a delicious coolness.

I link up with Deborah and Sarah’s, and  the fit foodie mama’s Meatless Monday, #recipeoftheweek,What’s for Dinner

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