I am not a breakfast person. I know, I know, as a dietitian I am supposed to say otherwise.

My normal routine goes like this: coffee with cane sugar, some sort of seasonal fruit and whole grain toast with some sort of cheese- which is still a balanced meal but boring and redundant. I could eat cheese at every meal. It is my favorite food in the whole world. But, I swore that if my significant other at the time bought me a fancy blender, I would vow to make us vitamin-packed green smoothies every morning.

And, he did! This crazy powerful liquefying machine arrived in a big box with flashy, lime green wrapping, here to challenge my promise to banish boring breakfast.

I discovered this miraculous appliance from literally a not-so-pleasant wake-up call one morning on a much needed vacation. It was 6 a.m. on a weekday, and I was sound asleep in the guestroom of my cousin’s home on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. A loud roar of an engine similar to that of a weed-whacker awoke me from my slumber. I walked out in to the kitchen to see my cousin’s husband wearing earplugs, blending up a mysterious dark green concoction. Liquidized salad for breakfast for the next two weeks. Great.

Ingredients included a variety of different fruits and vegetables, with lettuce as the primary staple. To be honest, the thing was pretty tasty. You can barely taste the bitterness of the greens if you sweeten up the mix with some mango or coconut.

And, it felt good to wake up on a tropical island and begin the day with extra confidence that I will meet my fruit/vegetable quota, especially when pretty much the only other fruit consumed daily was a maraschino-cherry-and-pineapple umbrella drink decoration.

Apparently, their teenage son did not feel the same love for his father’s daily offering. He was busted when the remains of green smoothie were found scattered over the bushes by the school bus stop. His father was so angry, probably because of the total discard of the time, energy and care that went into making that well-crafted beverage.

Currently, my cousin’s husband is taking the green smoothie to the next level with a hydroponic lettuce garden.

My conclusion is that any breakfast can be boring after a while. That is why it is always good to have a backup plan.

Bloody Mary, anyone?