For nearly every birthday, lost tooth, aced exam, soccer win, piano recital, and graduation, my family celebrated by going to brunch at our favorite restaurant. Solely located in the Bay Area of Northern California, Hobee’s offers plenty of healthy and creative options, including omelettes, hash browns, huevos rancheros, and the BEST blueberry coffee cake in the entire world. (I guarantee it!)
I’m ashamed to admit that as little kids, my brother and I refused to eat the coffee cake. We hated bits in our food, so we insisted on ordering Mickey Mouse pancakes instead. When I turned 12 and outgrew the kid’s menu, I tried a bite of Mom’s blueberry coffee cake—the cinnamon topping completely slathered in melted butter—and never looked back. Now, that’s all I eat when we go!
My brother, however, took his time transitioning to the blueberry coffee cake. He eased into the adult menu by ordering cinnamon orange swirl french toast (up until the doctor diagnosed him with an orange allergy!) and a strawberry smoothie. They served it in an old-fashioned pretty milkshake glass, and Mom and I always tried to sneak a spoonful of whipped cream from the top before he noticed! We, uhh, basically failed every time…
Within the past few years, my brother finally started requesting the blueberry coffee cake instead of his smoothie. While I’m proud of him—and my waistline is probably better off too—I still miss stealing those bits of whipped cream and sips of his smoothie! I decided to recreate it at home, albeit slightly healthier… And with some sweet vanilla yogurt mixed in, I almost didn’t notice the lack of whipped cream!
This tastes like dessert, but it’s healthy enough for breakfast! You can substitute frozen strawberries for the fresh, but you may want to decrease the amount of ice to prevent the smoothie from becoming too thick.
- Add strawberries, yogurt, and ice to a blender, and blend until smooth. Pour into a glass and serve immediately!
Note: For a vegan version, substitute vanilla soy, coconut, or almond yogurt for the nonfat Greek instead.
If the smoothie isn't sweet enough for your tastes, try adding a little sugar, agave, Truvia, or any other sweetener.
So simple, but so delicious!! The yogurt addition always makes it that much better! I think I need to make some coffee cake now, with blueberries!
Thanks Brittany! Don’t forget the thick layer of cinnamon sugar streusel on top of your coffee cake — it makes it 1000x better! 😉