A month ago, I gave my best friend Rachel a coupon for a free smoothie bowl as part of her birthday present. I’ve been making smoothie bowls for myself almost every morning for breakfast. But so far, I haven’t really made them for anyone else. I recreated one for my bosses at the bakery, but I didn’t do a custom bowl.

Rachel browsed through pictures of my past bowls on Instagram and made a list of ingredients that she liked. When she sent me the list, I immediately had a vision of the bowl I wanted to make. I wanted it to have strawberries and banana, and I decided to add kiwi for contrast and flavor. Almonds and granola would add some crunch and balance out the sweetness.

Rachel came over this morning to redeem her free smoothie card and I made her this bowl. Originally, I thought I’d line up the kiwi with the other fruits, but then I decided to sprinkle it on top of the granola for color contrast.

When I was in grad school, I had a theory that what flavor ice cream you order says something about your personality. I think the same is true for smoothie bowls. When I was creating this one for Rachel, I kept what I knew about her in mind. She’s sweet, kind, practical and always there when you need her most. She’s a great friend and person, and I wanted this bowl to reflect that.

I’m not a huge Bruce Springsteen fan, but Rachel is one of the biggest Bruce fans in the world. In honor of her and this smoothie bowl, I bring you this song.

“The Rachel” (from me, to you)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups strawberries, hulled
1 cup sliced kiwi
1 ripe banana
1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk
2 tbsp Greek yogurt
sliced strawberries, sliced banana, diced kiwi, sliced almonds and granola for topping

Directions

Put the strawberries, kiwi, banana, almond milk and Greek yogurt in a blender and blend on high until smooth. Pour the mixture into a bowl and top with the sliced strawberries, banana, diced kiwi, sliced almond and granola. Enjoy!