Frozen cauliflower is the secret to a super thick smoothie bowl. Super charge your morning with my favourite veggie-packed cauliPOWER smoothie bowl!

What emPOWERs you?

Maybe it’s your posse of supporters, your family and circle of friends, or music that gets you pumped up, a favourite quote or scripture, being out in nature, post-workout endorphins, your morning coffee or this cauliPOWER smoothie bowl. Currently I’m very jet-lagged and typing this blog post last minute to keep myself awake, so a loooong nap is what would empower me most.

The past three weeks have been so eventful! I’ve been away in Asia on my grad trip, seeing friends who have moved away, spending time with overseas family, exploring new places, and of course eating all the amazing food! Durian, fresh roti, bubble waffles, rolled ice cream, pad thai… I had it all! From those foods, can you guess where I went? I’ll share more about my travels in upcoming posts because I’ve got a few Asia-inspired recipes churning in my head.

I was fortunate enough to be able to squeeze in three destinations and get back home juuuust in time for my graduation ceremony. Like 12 hours before. My best friend and I had booked our flight in and out of Vancouver well before I found out my exact graduation date. I was going to take a gamble and come back a day later than I did because what were the chances that my graduation would be on the first possible day? But my friend said “don’t do it, don’t risk it”. Always. Listen. To. Your. Friends! My grad ended up being the first possible time slot on the first possible day, bright ‘n early at 8:30am. I relied on jet-lag to get me up in time to smack on some make up and get to campus by 7am.

Graduation morning was a beautiful sunny day surrounded by many of the people I adore most. The people who were and are my top source of empowerment. Without their words of advice, comfort, and motivation, their jokes and laughter, their companionship and presence, their listening ears and tear-catching shoulders, I honestly wouldn’t have survived the rigors of university. There were definitely times throughout my undergrad when I loathed university and wanted to flip the table, retreat to my bed, cry into my pillow, and give up. It elevated my anxiety, worsened my insomnia, threw my health off balance, and seemed to prevent me from pursuing goals outside of campus.

Now that I’m standing on the other side of the finish line looking back on 5 years of memories, I wouldn’t give up the people I befriended in exchange for erasing the hours of painful studying and headaches. The people are what made going to university valuable. The people are what enriched my learning. The people are what allowed me to emerge from university with a stronger identity, wider perspective, and kinder heart. The people are what made the entire experience worthwhile.

My heart is overflowing with joy and gratitude. Not only because I will never have to study for another university exam again, but because so many friends and family took the time to celebrate this milestone with me. They battled rush hour traffic, public transit, and squeezed time out of work to meet me, embraced me with so many hugs, showered me with plants, smiled brightly for many silly photos, and let me force-feed them dimsum (being full is not an option when there’s still food on the table). Although I have no idea where to find a ‘big girl job’ nor which direction my future should or will go, I know everything will turn out alright because I have a strong network of friends and family who will empower and guide me every step of the way.

I’m definitely missing the giant passion fruits and the endless displays of mangoes in Southeast Asia but am also excited to be back for BC berry season. Gotta hit up the U-pick fields and stock up on blueberries so I can make this cauliPOWER smoothie bowl all year long! I’ve made this exact smoothie bowl countless times already; it’s my new breakfast rut. Thus I can confidently say the consistency and portion size have been perfected.

When I first saw people on Instagram putting cauliflower into their smoothies, I was as skeptical about it as I was about cauliflower bread. To be frank, cauliflower is a pretty bad imposter for carby things. Smoothies are excellent places to hide several servings of vegetables, so the idea of cauliflower in my smoothie bowl was more appealing than cauliflower in my pizza crust.

Now trust me when I say that adding frozen cauliflower to smoothie bowls is REVOLUTIONARY! It makes the smoothie base so thick, creamy, and almost whipped (!!) without having to add so much banana and frozen fruit that you fall into a sugar coma afterwards. If you’re worried about tasting the hidden greens and cauliflower, add some if your favourite vanilla protein powder to mask those flavours.

To make this the ultimate cauliPOWER smoothie bowl, top it with my signature clumpy granola and a very generous glop of natural peanut butter! Get in my bellyyyyyy!