Tropical smoothie bowl with sea buckthorn recipe

The Swiss doctor and nutritionist Maximilian Bircher-Benner was remarkably ahead of his time, as an early advocate of the benefits of eating plenty of raw fruit. Bircher muesli, named after the good doctor, has long been one of our favourite breakfasts – moist, fresh, layered with textures and flavours. Perhaps fancifully, we think of this recipe as being a contemporary version of Bircher muesli rather than being your garden-variety yogurt bowl. Certainly, the basic building blocks are there. For instance, you have the characteristic combination of grated fresh fruit, fruit juice and milk, dried fruit, and a starch – banana rather than the oats that are the main ingredient of Bircher muesli.      In addition, while he might mourn the absence of his beloved locally sourced apples, Bircher would no doubt be a huge enthusiast of the fresh fruits that are now available to us thanks to technology. Certainly, essential potassium, found in bananas, help maintain brain activity, while beetroot is extraordinarily cleansing. In turn, figs contain enzymes that are able to metabolise protein into amino acids.

It's a smoothie, it's a bowl, it's a Bircher

Certainly, it's how you choose to present these ingredients that will determine if the dish – or drink – you end up with actually resembles Bircher muesli. For instance, you could liquidise for a smoothie, put together as a yogurt bowl, or add extra liquid to the mashed banana for that lovely mushy effect that Bircher popularised. Bircher served his invention to patients at his sanatorium in the Swiss mountains. Certainly taking a rest cure in such an environment is still quite appealing. However, it’s now tropical shores that come to mind when I crave deep relaxation. That is to say, if a holiday eludes you, put your longings into a breakfast with the flavours of the tropics!

Why choose sea buckthorn?

Erbology Organic Sea Buckthorn Shots are the stars of this dish for us. Packed with omega-7 fatty acids, vitamin C and E, folic acid, flavonoids and beta-carotene, sea buckthorn berries are quite spectacular. Moreover, these small, orange berries are found only on female sea buckthorn plants, making them tangential but genuine symbols of another one of our passions - feminism. Considered holy fruits in the dizzying heights of the Himalayan mountains, the virtues and sharp, fruity flavour of sea buckthorn are now reaching us down below. Omega-7, or palmitoleic acid, does wonders for our health but is rarely found in the plant world. Research supports the role of this acid in regulation of the mucous membranes in our bodies. Above all, our metabolism is essentially a network of these membranes and there are profound health implications for their maintenance.(1)(2) That is to say, sea buckthorn berry pulp is wonderfully rich in omega-7. The vibrant orange colour of these little berries can be attributed to beta-carotene, a form of vitamin A that is found in plants. Our bodies then convert beta-carotene into retinal and retinoic acid which contribute to healthy vision, cell and bone tissue growth, and immune function.(3)(4)   

Gluing yourself together

Made up of fibroblast cells, collagen is essentially the "glue" that holds us – and our bones, muscle, skin and tendons - together. That is to say, the vitamin C in sea buckthorn is essential for collagen formation. Moreover, as many will already know, collagen also plumps up our facial skin and the cells that form it.(5)(6) That is to say, promoting collagen formation is essential to skin health and ageing as gracefully as possible. In conclusion, we'll be dreaming of turquoise waters and Swiss mountains tomorrow morning.