Creamy yogurt blended with frozen acai berries is crowned with an assortment of crunchy toppings for a yummy breakfast you won’t regret, unlike those 80’s fashion trends…
When I was making this smoothing bowl the dusty pink color reminded me of the frilly prom dresses that were popular when I was in middle and high school. Gunne Sax dresses by Jessica McClintock were all the rage back then but now I cringe just remembering them. If you’re not familiar (be very, very thankful), let me paint you a picture… Little House on the Prairie walks down a dark alley, runs into Madonna and a small gang of tuffs (most likely her back-up dancers) and this dress is what makes it out. No offense, Ms. McClintock, I’m sure this style was great for your bank account, but really, what were you thinking??
Of course, the fashion disaster didn’t stop at the dress. We crimped our hair to the max; blow dried our bangs to stand up 3-inches from our foreheads and then lacquered it all with half a can of Aqua-Net. Looking back, I’m pretty sure the 80’s are solely responsible for the hole in the ozone layer, and probably global warming in general. As if all this wasn’t bad enough, we felt the need to add a bow or a half-ponytail wrapped in a scrunchie to that mess on top of our heads because the lace and ribbons on the Gunne Sax dresses just weren’t enough. Ugh! How did our Moms let us out of the house looking like that, you ask? Probably because seeing their daughters walking out the door looking like a flower shop somehow made them feel like we wouldn’t get into trouble. I guess they missed the ripped fishnet stocking and high heel leather lace-up granny boots underneath all those layers.
These dresses came in a confusing mix of taffeta, calico, gingham and floral prints and pastel colors like baby blue, peach and the aforementioned dusty pink. Pink was THE color of the 80’s. As were John Hughes movies. Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Some Kind of Wonderful (which was pretty much the same movie as Pretty in Pink just with the boys and girls switching roles, but it was still one of my favorites), Weird Science, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off… John Hughes was probably the 80’s saving grace. John Hughes could make a Gunne Sax dress look cool, or rather he could write Molly Ringwald’s character in Pretty in Pink to rip one apart and put it back together to look cool.
This smoothing bowl resembles the 80’s in one way, its dusty pink color, a result of the yogurt blended with acai berry. That’s about as much 80’s as I can handle these days. I do a lot of green smoothies for breakfast, mainly because I’m always rushed in the morning and they are easy to sip on the drive to work, but I like the smoothie bowl because the chewing action required when you eat with a spoon rather than sip through a straw helps to release enzymes needed to digest food once it hits the stomach. The theory is if you just sip and swallow, these enzymes don’t get released as soon and some of the food will pass through your system quicker so you won’t get as many of the nutrients. It may also play a role in how fast the sugars in your food are processed by your body; slower is better when considering the effect on your blood sugar. I actually try and “chew” while I’m sipping my smoothie but it’s definitely a bit awkward.
This smoothing bowl is pretty straight forward, make a base with the yogurt, acai (or berries of your choice) and chia seeds then add whatever toppings you like.
I use unsweetened, organic, grass-fed whole milk yogurt but any yogurt, including non-dairy, will work. Personally I like the contrast between the tart yogurt base and the slightly sweet granola and crystalized ginger but if you prefer, add a drizzle of honey to sweeten.
Makes one serving.
½ cup yogurt
1 3.5 oz pkg frozen acai (I use Sambazon Pure Unsweetened) or 1 cup frozen berries
1 teaspoon chia seeds
Mix the above ingredients in a blender until smooth. Pour into a bowl and top with the following:
Chopped peaches and nectarines
Dehydrated raspberries
Toasted coconut flakes
Chopped pecans
Granola
Thinly sliced crystalized ginger
Drizzle of honey to sweeten
