Casual Friday Breakfast

Not taking leave during the period between Christmas and New Years isn't the greatest thing, but it does make for slightly more relaxed work than usual. The fact that the last few weeks have been the sunniest for months helps contribute to this feeling.

Normally on work days I only have the time to gulp down whatever cereal I mix into a bowl. While I adore cereal, I miss having the time to enjoy breakfast.

Thus, for no more important reason than that, I decided to introduce a new concept into my life which I call "Casual Friday Breakfast". Based on the corporate psychology shovel from which it takes it's name, casual Friday breakfast is about taking a slightly more relaxed attitude towards breakfast on Fridays with more room to express your personality.

My first casual Friday breakfast was mainly inspired by Jason Chua who recently lost his wisdom teeth. This was an experience I suspect Chow was actually looking forward to as an opportunity to take sick leave and blend as many meals as he could think of with his blender. I also enjoy blending things, and a few weeks ago I realised that adding peanut butter to my banana smoothies wasn't all that far away from making a banana smoothie and throwing in a handful of Reese's Pieces.

Thus, for my first Casual Friday Breakfast I made a Reese's Pieces Banana Smoothie.

The ingredients included milk, vanilla yogurt, a banana, a tray of ice and six Reese's Pieces.

After adding the candy the yogurt began to glow as if lit from within by a holy light.

Action Photo

Ready for reviewing.

Pros:
The peanut butter in the candy mixed in as well as normal peanut butter and the overall taste was enjoyable. The chocolate did not blend in as well as I expected, probably because I didn't blend it long enough. As such it wasn't very chocolately although there were many bursts of tiny chocolate chunks which tasted delicious.
This smoothie was very easy to make.

Cons:
The aforementioned quick blending time meant that there was a lot of wasted chocolate at the bottom of a jug. If I had poured the mix into a cup and used a straw instead of drinking directly from the jug this might not have been a problem.
Reese's Pieces are nice however the peanut butter in them has a chemical after-taste not found in natural peanut butter, it was a tad off putting.

Improvement in Productivity
I added a whole tray of ice to this smoothie, which decreased my productivity because I had to wear a jumper while drinking it, then change back into a T-shirt afterwards. Also I had to pee earlier than usual thanks to the rapid absorption of cold water by the lining of my stomach.
However, the sugar spike of the chocolate made getting started on my work easier and the low GI of the banana kept the energy levels high for most of the morning.

Casual Friday Rating:
One compliment in the elevator on your music taste based on the band on your T-shirt out of five.