My First Meal on the West Coast

I hardly consider myself a California girl. But the entire time I was toiling away in Boston I was dreaming of the Bay Area's bounties. Fresh, good food was hard to come by. I went into a local market and found bruised bananas, apples that cost $2.50 a piece, and miles of cafeteria style overcooked veggies doused in glistening brown sauces. This is the food that feeds the minds of students at one of our nation's oldest and most well respected universities.

All day while sitting in the library I dreamed of salads with lots of fresh, perfect vegetables, citrus fruits, yogurt, sushi, won ton soup, and kombucha. At the end of the day I'd eat a ho-hum dinner followed by an better than average hunk of chocolate. My body felt tired and out of whack and my mind hummed.

This is why I was so glad to come home to a nearly empty fridge that was stocked with three very important things: plain yogurt, frozen organic blueberries, and amazing apple juice brewed from the fruit that grows adjacent to a Sonoma coast vineyard.

I don't often fancy smoothies but on that morning -- after a seven hour flight and taxi ride home at 2:30 AM -- a simple, sweet-sour blueberry smoothie was just what I wanted. And in the few days since I've become a near smoothie addict. I'm sure my liquid diet will end soon; I am starting to get hungry for other things. But in the meantime, I am relishing the blue sky, sunshine, and California treats.