Why Smoothie Bowls are Making Breakfast Great Again

What's a smoothie bowl you ask? Well, I think of it like, the drink you made too thick to go up a straw. It's perfect for the person who is conditioned to have a bowl-of-something for breakfast (me), or the lover of soup but chili at 8am just won't work (also me), or the smoothie lover that battles with the chunks of things getting stuck in her straw as her healthy efforts continuously get thwarted by a blockade of coconut flakes or that one piece of banana that just. didn't. blend. (me, too many times.) You've been there...

Anyways...

Take whatever smoothie type ingredients you have(generally includes a liquid base, fresh and/or frozen fruit, and optional yogurt for probiotic benefits), blend it up thick, pour into bowl, then happily top with your favorite crunchy bits. Today was chia seeds, almonds and unsweetened flaked coconut.

The result?

✔️Better balanced nutrition than cereal, but still a cold bowl of something eaten with a spoon ✔️No need to make a mess arguing with the bottom of a straw stuffed with a lump of...Something...😒 ✔️Freedom to throw whatever extra healthy crunch factor on top ✔️Easily hide vegetable servings to your kids, or spouse, or let's face it...You.

So can I tell you about how unnaturally excited I am about finding guava (guavas?) at my grocery store?! Once again, living in such a culturally diverse neighborhood has given me the chance to look at food through the eyes of other nationalities.

When people come to visit I often want to bring them to the grocery store, just to show what bizarre variety of foods that are available.

Or the taco place around the corner.

Or the Brazilian sandwich shop.

Or my favorite Indian restaurant.

It may seem silly, but it's a simple reminder that despite so many differences, we all share the love and need for food.

Every culture has recipes passed down from their families before them, and celebrate in their own ways. It's comforting to feel a sense of connection, even if it's in the grocery store on a typical Tuesday afternoon.

Anyways,

I've never seen a guava. If I was called in to identify the guava that committed a crime, I couldn't pick it out of a line up of fruit. Crazy right? Well, they were on sale this week.

Not only that, but they were what filled the produce section with this incredibly sweet smell. So, for $3.00, I decided to meet the fruit that I only in the past have sampled a taste of in some tropical variety of rum punch.

Did you know?! The skin is edible, they kind-of have the texture of a pear, they are high in fiber, vitamin C, have seeds that are edible (but don't chew them, like blackberry seeds) and they are a welcome addition to my current breakfast smoothie bowl craze.

Moral of the story: opportunities to expand your understanding of the world are everywhere, and in ordinary places...If you're willing to look for them. Find something new to try today, and throw it into a smoothie bowl!