Breakfast Bowls

In Japanese culture, the appearance of a meal is often just as (if not more) important than how it tastes. It's so important that they even have a word for it - moritsuke - meaning the arrangement of food on a dish. And this concept definitely holds true in real life - no one takes the most bruised, dull apple on the shelf in the grocery store; they take the apples that are smooth and shiny.

The same principle applies to eating healthy. When something looks good, it makes it that much more appealing to eat.

Enter Breakfast Bowls, beautiful layers of yogurt, fruit, granola, and chia seeds (and any other add-on that you like!). Not only are these bowls of deliciousness nice to look at, for me it also presents an opportunity to be creative about what I'm eating. This particular bowl starts with a layer of Dannon low-fat strawberry yogurt on the bottom, topped with fresh strawberries, bananas, Nature Valley Protein granola, and chia seed gel.

Ryan's creation

Because I work in finance, I have very little opportunity to express my creative side. Don't get me wrong, I love math and science, but I am also a classically trained pianist and artist. In fact, when I was in high school, I originally intended to become an art history major in college... so finding little ways to manifest my creativity is very meaningful for me. (Even if it's through fruit bowls!)

A painting I did of Ivy when she was a puppy (Acrylic, 2013)