After every new year, I promise myself I will drink and eat better which means more water and vegetables and less junk food. However, after a month of this, I often give up and resort to cookies and candy. One thing, however, which I enjoy greatly that helps keep me on the healthy road is an acai bowl from Playa Bowls. You and many other people across the world may know what this since it is advertised very well throughout social media websites. Along with its impeccable taste it also many health benefits that come with it as well.

Their story:

The co-founders of this nutritious treat are Rob Giuliani and Abby Taylor, both born in New jersey share a love for surfing. On their vacation to Costa Rica and Panama, they enjoyed the acai and pitaya bowls in the downtown areas. They said there hunger was satisfied and they were very happy with its nutrient boost and flavor. When they returned home they were sure everyone in the Jersey Shore and people, in general, would love these bowls just as much as they did. So, Abby and Rob took one of her favorite bowls they had there and made their own homemade recipe that they shared with friends and family. However, Rob wanted to go bigger so they opened up their own little popup stand and sold the bowls right outside their apartment. With 3 fridges and a little teamwork, Playa Bowls was made. Now there are over 30 Playa Bowl locations in the country, and most of them are in NJ ;). 

  Pictured here is the co-founders: Rob Giuliani and Abby Taylor

What is a bowl?

 Now some people are thinking what are these bowls? Like cereal? No not really haha. These bowls are first made by mixing up a mixture of vegetables and fruits (depending on what bowl you get there might be acai in it, or kale, protein powder etc.) in a thick sorbet-like consistency. Then this sorbet is dumped in a plastic bowl and leveled out. Then there are a good 2 handfuls of granola that lay right on top of it. Next comes the best part: the toppings! Now depending on what "flavor" your bowl is you might have different toppings. The bowl I usually has a bed of coconut flakes on one side, then in the middle there is a strip of bananas, and then on the other side, there are strawberries. Lastly topped is a drizzle of either peanut butter, honey or Nutella (which is the one I get)

HOW TO MAKE A PLAYA BOWL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7L8K4axmVgs

Menu

Their menu for newcomers is a little overwhelming. They have a total of 7 bowl sections and within those bowl section, there are around 9-10 bowls listed. Each bowl is about 9, 10 or even 11 dollars depending on what you get. This might seem a little confusing so their categories of what type of bowls you can get are Acai, Pitaya, Banana, Chia Pudding, Green, Coconut and Oatmeal Bowls. Now all this means is that within the thick sorbet mixture these ingredients will be in it. So if you get an acai bowl, in the smoothie mixture there will be acai mixed with other fruits or if you get a Chia Pudding bowl in the smoothie mixture Chia Pudding will be the main ingredient, that's all. Now within these 7 categories, there are combinations of these bowls under each. For example, under the Pitaya section, one of their bowls listed under this category is a Pink Flamingo bowl which still has Pitaya in the smoothie mixture but its topping is Granola, bananas, and honey which differs from the other bowl listed under the category. So, in essence, every bowl listed under each category has a different topping or mixture of fruits in the pitaya bowl. 

full menu: https://playabowls.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/PlayaBowlsMenu.pdf


Example

Personally, I've been to Playa Bowls many times, sometimes after a sport or workout or even for a meal like a dinner or breakfast. The one bowl I usually get is under the acai category and that's the Nutella bowl. This bowl is a blend of pure acai. Then a bed of granola is added. For the toppings, it usually is coconut, banana, and strawberries. However, I usually get pineapple instead of coconut flakes because I'm not a fan of them. So that's another plus that you can mix or match and replace with whatever you want. Lastly, I get the Nutella drizzle but sometimes I get honey if I'm trying to eat healthier or no drizzle at all. Another bowl that I've tried very recently is under the Pitaya bowl section which is called the Electric Mermaid. This is not your average bowl, it's bursting with flavor and very out of my comfort zone. The electric mermaid's smoothie is a blend of Pitaya, banana, pineapple, and coconut milk. Next, a layer of granola is added. Now its toppings, are kiwi, pineapple, mango, and coconut flakes (which I replaced with strawberries), drizzled with honey. All in all, this is one of my favorite places to go because I don't feel bad eating it. I don't feel like I'm eating anything unhealthy or pigging out because I'm eating our fruits. I recommend this for all people all ages, it will be loved by everyone.                                                                   

TO THE RIGHT IS A NUTELLA ACAI BOWL
AND BELOW IS THE ELECTRIC MERMAID BOWL



More?

Wait there's more? Yup, their menu is jam-packed with fresh juice blends and smoothies. Some of their juices include Beach Break, which is Pineapple, ginger, carrot and lemon, mermaid fuel filled with kale, pineapple, apple, and mint and more. They have about 7 juices and each is $4.99 for a 12 oz, $5.99 for a 16 oz and $6.99 for a 20 oz. Next, they also have ice cold smoothies. One smoothie in particular I enjoy is the Acai energy, which is a blend of acai, strawberry, banana, apple juice, and coconut milk. Under there smoothie category there are about 12 options and 16oz's are $6.99 and 20 oz's are $7.99. They also have a wide selection of merchandise, like shirts and sweatshirts that have their signature pineapple logo like the one at the top!

LINK FOR MERCHANDISE: https://playa-bowls.myshopify.com/    ***its really cute

 Her picture is there Pink Pitaya smoothie, Green smoothie, and Orange power smoothie.








ALL LINKS FOR PICTURES:

LINK FOR BOWL PICTURE:https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1CAASUN_enUS761US761&biw=1366&bih=666&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=OZZIXJX4NOqH_Qac7bWIAw&q=playa+bowls&oq=playa+bowls&gs_l=img.3..0i67j0l9.48569.48569..49231...0.0..0.92.92.1......1....1..gws-wiz-img.T-6rQXiC-ts&surl=1&safe=active&ssui=on#imgrc=7NZRQ0GPq_ZW7M:INK FOR PINEAPPLE PICTURE: https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1CAASUN_enUS761US761&biw=1366&bih=666&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=OZZIXJX4NOqH_Qac7bWIAw&q=playa+bowls&oq=playa+bowls&gs_l=img.3..0i67j0l9.48569.48569..49231...0.0..0.92.92.1......1....1..gws-wiz-img.T-6rQXiC-ts&surl=1&safe=active&ssui=on#imgrc=L1Ks5vpfLZFVeM:
LINK FOR ABBY AND ROBS PICTURE: https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1CAASUN_enUS761US761&biw=1366&bih=666&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=L5ZIXP2lIofL_Qb0tLiQAQ&q=playa+bowls+tshirt&oq=playa+bowls+tshirt&gs_l=img.3...6092.7615..7717...0.0..0.105.691.7j1......1....1..gws-wiz-img.......0j0i8i30j0i24.0qEI4j3asBQ&surl=1&safe=active&ssui=on#imgrc=UxKdeWhecO3X2M:
LINK FOR SMOOTHIE PICTURE: https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1CAASUN_enUS761US761&biw=1366&bih=666&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=OZZIXJX4NOqH_Qac7bWIAw&q=playa+bowls&oq=playa+bowls&gs_l=img.3..0i67j0l9.48569.48569..49231...0.0..0.92.92.1......1....1..gws-wiz-img.T-6rQXiC-ts&surl=1&safe=active&ssui=on#imgrc=i52d4T_r4cLJVM:

LINK FOR NUTELLA ACAI BOWL: https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1CAASUN_enUS761US761&tbm=isch&q=nutella+bowl+playa+bowl&chips=q:nutella+bowl+playa+bowl,g_1:acai+bowl&usg=AI4_-kSMpb6uwnonxY0k7a4T_A9xarYX_A&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjNgeuDq4TgAhVSU98KHRHmAHYQ4lYIJygB&biw=1366&bih=666&dpr=1&surl=1&safe=active&ssui=on#imgdii=KBie-H9uvDt0tM:&imgrc=0ZOk6AbJxfe3RM
LINK FOR ELECTRIC MERMAID BOWL: https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1CAASUN_enUS761US761&biw=1366&bih=666&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=-JdIXIbUJeGqgge954fABw&q=electric+mermaid+bowl&oq=electric+mermaid+bowl&gs_l=img.3..0i8i30.300933.304063..304345...0.0..0.186.2396.6j15......1....1..gws-wiz-img.....0..0j0i67j0i5i30j0i24j0i30.ZON7xzH17q0&surl=1&safe=active&ssui=on#imgrc=ncw8OfNlJU923M:
LINK FOR PINAPPLE LOGO PICTURE: https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1CAASUN_enUS761US761&biw=1366&bih=666&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=zpdIXIWFCorL_Qbs8L2wCg&q=playa+bowl+pinapple&oq=playa+bowl+pinapple&gs_l=img.3...76.6464..6555...4.0..2.202.5602.16j33j1......0....1..gws-wiz-img.....0..0i67j0j0i30j0i5i30j0i8i30j0i24.968U69SHi2Y&surl=1&safe=active&ssui=on#imgrc=8U_Ou-7PSXGZSM: