"Nature's cereal" and a brief hello
I'm happy you're here.
Dear friend,
Welcome to my first Substack newsletter. I hope this newsletter can give you something to chew on — pun so intentionally intended— throughout the week.
Before I dive into today’s headliner, the TikTok-famous fruit-in-a-cup, I wanted to briefly introduce myself and lay out the terms and conditions of this newsletter.
A BRIEF HELLO
I’m a journalist of one-and-a-half years, I love food, I know a lot about the internet and I’m the world’s biggest Dua Lipa fan. Everything else about me doesn’t matter. Unlike my articles in different outlets where I’m more or less removed from the narratives I write about, you will hear a lot from me, my experiences and my thoughts through this weekly or bi-weekly or bi-monthly (we shall see) newsletter, “Simmering Sentiments.”
I’m excited to begin these weekly or bi-weekly or bi-monthly (we shall see) love letters to whomever would like to receive one. I’ll try with all my might to make these letters as polished and journalistically sound as they can be, but if there’s a few typos or missing commas, we’ll call it “artisan” and move on with our lives.
My goal for this newsletter is to talk about food trends I’ve tried, restaurants I’ve visited, recipes I’ve re/created and the delight that comes with cooking and eating from a younger person’s perspective. There may be pop culture discussions, lamentations about my week, or music recommendations. Most topics will tie back to food. Some will not. I hope that’s okay.
I’m happy you’re here.
NATURE’S CEREAL
Dalgona coffee, sourdough bread, tomato feta pasta, “nature’s cereal.” What do all of these have in common?
Someone decided to post a recipe of a dish, and then thousands of people decided to try the recipe for themselves, resulting in grocery stores running out of anything from blocks of feta to flour and an unparalleled amount of food discourse. The past year, the internet has influenced our eating habits, and when it comes to TikTok, no platform is more influential.
The most recent viral food craze gracing the platform is “nature’s cereal,” a bowl of berries or other fruits doused in coconut water and sprinkled with ice.
The trend began when Sherwayne Mears, also known as @natures_food on TikTok, shared a simple recipe for something he liked to call “nature’s cereal.” The recipe included handfuls of pomegranate seeds, blueberries and blackberries with coconut water poured on top. Vegan pop star Lizzo got ahold of the TikTok recipe and tried it for herself. After raving about the recipe, it took off on the app.
For those who have yet to try it, let me be your surrogate taster today. Let’s set the scene:
I woke up Wednesday morning and wrote “nature’s cereal” on my to-do list. It was yet another task, along with finishing readings, interviews with sources and responding to discussion questions, that was imperative to cross off my list.
After a trip to my local Jewel-Osco to pick up some coconut water, I was well-equipped with the means to make this dish (Besides the pomegranate, which was unavailable at the grocery store, and I didn’t want to buy a plastic box of pom seeds. I’m morally against that, for some inexplicable reason.).
I quickly prepared my bowl and tasted. Here’s what you need to know:
Coconut water is bland on its own —weirdly sweet and leaves an odd aftertaste— but pairs so well with acidic berries like raspberries and tart blueberries. Cubes of dragon fruit were also an amazing addition. For something so simple, I was surprised by how well everything worked together. The sweetness of the water, the tart berries, the crunchy and cold ice that tied everything together. I can only imagine how good it would taste with pomegranate seeds.
I ended up not using too much coconut water, so I decided to eat this again with the remaining water for a healthy dessert. It was even better the second time around. I can see myself eating this for breakfast; it’s simple to prepare and the dish is healthier than my regular parmesan soft-scrambled eggs on bulky, crusty toast.
Try this out and tell me your thoughts, the good, the bad and the bland.
That’s all for me this week! Read below for pieces of writing I’m currently loving, music I’m bopping to, or anything else on my mind.
Thanks for stopping by,
Nina
Extra’s
Good Reads:
The New Yorker: A Kansas Bookshop’s Fight with Amazon is About More Than the Price of Books
Music: