Energy Bar Review and Savoring the Bay

Superfood the drink surprised me by being pleasantly sweet and much like any other fruit smoothie, a disjunct from the unappetizing green mush it is. I wondered whether the bar form of Odwalla's invention would be similarly colored...

Moment of truth: 

It is! Despite the disturbing dark green color, the bar is also sweet--almost too sweet, but I guess the natural sugars would be able to jumpstart a workout. 

A closer look at the ingredients revealed a very strange assortment of fruit flavors: dates, raisins, grape, and banana. I wonder how long it took the company staff to come up with such a combination. The texture of the bar is soft and chewy but nicely broken up by crunchy rice crisps. I like that it has no chocolate covering or any sort of glaze because I could carry it around in my backpack without worrying about melting or deformation. Last, but not least: why is the stuff green? It boasts of containing spirulina, the health benefits of which I am not sure.

My rating: 4/5.  

On to a different topic: I feel like I have to soak up the most of my beloved Bay Area before I go to Boston...tomorrow morning! I will have to get up at 5am to make it comfortably to SFO--it's always good to be too early when it comes to flying.  

I started my day with a breakfast date at the adorable La Note in Berkeley with a college pal. I got their brioche pain perdu previously, which was alright; this time, I opted for a short stack (2) of oatmeal raspberry pancakes because I was once again in the mood for something sweet. 

Wowza! They were delightfully fluffy, and so much fun to eat with the swirl of raspberry jam on top. I drenched the suckers in sugary syrup after snapping this photo, promptly devoured the plate, and then semi-regretted it because I felt really full. However, I have now resolved to try all their pancakes. The lemon gingerbread with poached pear variety is particularly intriguing. It's on my hit list.   

I tried to walk it off when I got home by strolling to the annual Live Oak Park Fair. This event features a lot of random trinket-makers and household decorative pieces, i.e. artsy plates, paintings, tiles, etc. It's fun to browse around, but I never purchase anything because I don't really want to invest in that sort of stuff as a college student. 

After a small lunch of stir-fry, I went on a ~30 min run around my neighborhood. All the time, I was thinking what the running environment and weather conditions will be like in Boston.   

And yes, I finally did resolve my packing issue. Sadly, I will forego a pillow. Bye for now, Berkeley! I will be sure to document my travels.