Nekter of the Gods
by AnnaLiese Burich ‘17
It’s really quite the hidden gem of USC, so you may not even know it exists. But if you do know it exists, it really changes your life. What am I talking about? Why, none other than Nekter Juice Bar!
You may be avoiding it, intentionally or unintentionally, for a few reasons: a) you don’t know it exists, since it’s tucked into the base of Roski without much signage; b) you’re afraid to go near Roski, since you’re afraid to be exposed as a poser, wanna-be art student; c) you don’t want to succumb to the incredibly LA trend of juicing. I get it, I’ve gone through phases of all three reasons for avoidance myself. But once I put my fears aside and broke my Nekter virginity, I’ve never thought twice about going back.
I’m not a juice person. There, I said it. I can see the health benefits of being able to imbibe more fruits or vegetables in one sitting than you would be able to physically eat, but I just don’t like the taste. So sue me. If that’s what’s holding you back too, I’m here to tell you that you have other options. You’ve got your acai bowls, pitaya bowls, coconut bowls, fruit smoothies, green smoothies, and even cacao smoothies. Whatever your taste buds crave, Nekter has something cold and refreshing to satisfy it. And, the good news is, every single option is healthy. Each smoothie and bowl gives you a litany of hard-to-find-otherwise vitamins and minerals that make your bodies run smoothly (and that help assuage your guilt for treating your body so poorly over the weekend).
My pitaya smoothie and me. Studying+health=perfect photo opp
Since it’s closed on the weekends, let me take you through my ideal school week at Nekter, with strategically chosen meals for maximum nutritional flow. (Okay, I’m not a nutritionist, but I do specialize in the art of making up scientific facts. Essentially, here are five can’t-lose things to order at Nekter).
Monday: Tropical Cooler Smoothie
This bad boy has spinach, kale, pineapple, banana, coconut butter, and coconut water, and is approximately 250 calories (if you care about that sort of thing). I usually get this on a Monday to make up for the astounding lack of greens in my diet on the weekend—this packs a dual-green punch. Pineapple is a good anti-inflammatory (bet you didn’t know that, but I had surgery this summer so it’s an actual fact) to help soothe your organs, and coconut has fatty acids that can help you lose weight and help your brain work better. Personally, I can’t think of a better way to start off the school week. Oh, and did I mention it tastes nothing like spinach? The acid of the pineapple magically cancels out any green taste. Do it.
Tuesday: Popeye’s Acai Smoothie
Keep the week going strong and guilt-free with another green smoothie. This one has acai, banana, spinach, raw vanilla bean, cashew nut milk, agave nectar, and ice. In this one, the agave and vanilla are sweet enough to cancel out the green taste, but not sweet enough to give you diabetes. Agave has a low glycemic load, so it doesn’t overload your system with sugar, yet tastes just as sweet! More benefits: it has a heavy load of antioxidants with the acai, and another healthy dose of fatty acid with the cashew nut milk. Yet, it tastes practically like milkshake. Definitely a good Tuesday reward for having survived Monday.
Can’t beat the classic.
Wednesday: Trojan Bowl
Treat yourself on Hump Day with the most popular item on the menu. If you don’t know the basic concept of an acai bowl, it’s essentially a thick, ice-cream like, berry-tasting base with fruit and granola on top. The Trojan Bowl is the traditional bowl, and that’s why it’s one of the best. Why mess with perfection? Scrumptiously purple acai with raw vanilla bean cashew nut milk mixed in, with hempseed granola, bananas, berries, and agave nectar on top. It’s like frozen yogurt but a very healthy, complete meal.
Thursday: PB Bowl
By this point in the week you’ve had a lot of fruit and vegetables, so now it’s time for some protein. I like to go for the PB Bowl for this purpose; it’s almost exactly like the Trojan Bowl, but with peanut butter and dates mixed into the acai. High fiber, high healthy fat, high protein, high taste. It’s like a grown up PB&J – whoever said peanuts and fruits didn’t go together was seriously disturbed.
Friday: Acai Tropical Bowl
Get yourself prepared for the beachy, relaxing weekend vibes with the tropical version of the acai bowl. In its base, this one has banana, pineapple, coconut butter, and vanilla cashew milk; on top, it has hempseed granola, raw coconut flakes, banana, and agave nectar. From a health standpoint, you’re getting some nice fat-busting coconut, inflammation-reducing pineapple, and potassium-packed banana—basically an instant beach bod. And from a mental standpoint, you’re pretty much eating Hawaii. Happy Friday – you’re on island time now.
Teaser for the fall: they will soon roll out their version of the pumpkin spice latte: the Pumpkin Smoothie. Healthy pumpkin pie? I may or may not have had it every day last year.
So there’s my perfect week at Nekter. If you want to change up the order of meals, I won’t judge, and if you want to order something else you definitely can’t go wrong. This is my ideal week, but hey – we’re different people. Find your perfect week by venturing into that little shaded courtyard between the school of architecture and the school of design today.
Handy menu for reference! You’re welcome.
