“How much is this?”
Sweetgreen just introduced a new dessert and it was $6. It sounded interesting: peaches with almond butter, a splash of maple syrup, and Greek yogurt. However, I didn’t want to pay 6 bucks for it. It came in a tiny cup.
“Do you want it?” my husband asked.
“Nah. It just sounded interesting.” I said.
Plus, I had a better idea.
“I betcha we can make it on our own.”
A few months prior, we started making our own Greek yogurt in Instant Pot, so this dessert was totally doable. We had all the ingredients at home so it was only a matter of reproducing what Sweetgreen had.
(BTW, I love the food from Sweetgreen and I have also managed to reproduce a lot of their bowls and salads at home. They have cool creative combos but the food they make is not rocket science. I eat in Sweetgreen sometimes for joy and inspiration. But more often, I eat my own replicas of their food- it’s easy, healthy, and way cheaper than eating in SG all the time.
So here is the recipe:
- chop up one peach put it in a bowl or a cup
- pour one tablespoon of maple syrup over it
- top peaches with 2 tablespoons of almond butter and 1/4 cup of Greek yogurt
Voila! That’s your dessert/ healthy snack based on SG’s idea.
This recipe is simple, healthy, it doesn’t include artificial sweeteners, and it’s highly adaptable. We made it with and without maple syrup (depending on how sweet the fruit is), with peanut or cashew butter instead of almond butter. When we’re out of yogurt we just don’t include it. It can be made with other fruits too such as apples, pears, or mangoes. Maple syrup can be substituted with honey. You got the idea.
This desert became what we call The Desert- our favorite summer treat.
We made it so many times did I almost forgot that the original idea and the recipe (if we can call 3 bullet points above “the recipe”), came from SG. I actually never tried their version and made ours at least 30 times in the past two years. It became a simple routine, just like brewing the coffee or making oatmeal.
So one time my husband and I were getting ready for cooking and get-together with friends. I love to cook and try new things so I’m always looking for the things to make that my friends are gonna enjoy. We decided on the entrees and we’re debating on desserts when my husband said:
“Hey, why don’t we make The Desert?”
“That?! Really?”
“Yes, why not? it’s awesome it’s simple, we eat it all the time.”
I agreed, even though I thought that The Desert was a bit too simple and probably not cool enough to show off our cooking skills.
But we made it.
And you know what?
Our friends loved it they asked me for the recipe, those 3 bullet points I just shared with you above. Not only did they like The Desert, but they were also delighted by the fact that it was so simple and made from everyday ingredients.
This was a useful reminder for me.
Things that you consider simple and not so special may be useful and appealing to others. Not only mind-blowing masterpieces and achievements are worth sharing. People appreciate small hacks, useful ideas, simple recipes, or just new ways of putting common things together.
Things that come easily to you in that you can see there is no big deal maybe a big deal to someone else. For them, your small tip, idea, or help may come at the exact perfect time.
I wasn’t thinking much of my hobby of reproducing SG salads and recipes but not everybody does that. Not everybody thought of doing that. And maybe you are reading this and wondering what you should have for lunch and this post came in the exact perfect moment.
I didn’t think that our dessert that takes 90 seconds to make it worth sharing at the dinner party, but apparently people thought otherwise.
What comes easily to you and you don’t consider as a big deal may inspire someone, spark a new idea, or just bring joy.
I totally agree that we need a cure for cancer, solutions for climate change, and many major breakthroughs. But we also need small acts of kindness and simple, everyday ideas that make life easier or more joyful. We need to learn from each other.
And you’d be surprised by all the things that people find interesting and useful.
- Amy Potterfield recently shared about the financial success of the lady who made the course about making caramel apples at home from the ingredients you can find in every supermarket.
- I love the hack that I learned from Laura Belgray about how to pack your shoes when you’re traveling. Use the shower caps to wrap up every single shoe- shoes will take less space and won’t get damaged.
- Gretchen Rubin regularly shares tips on how to make the use of your dishwasher easier and more efficient- these small things make us happier.
- David Bach wrote a whole book based on a simple idea: what if instead of buying a latte every day you invest that money? It’s called The Latte Factor.
Small ideas are worth sharing. They are simple, implementable, and useful. I bet you probably know some too.
What’s more, I bet you have done something for yourself that others are trying to reproduce without success.
- Maybe you are a computer maven that has the best Excel spreadsheets in your organization.
- Maybe you managed to lose weight quit sugar or alcohol.
- Maybe you built your own porch.
- Maybe you were able to save money for the house down payment.
- Maybe you know how to make a latte that’s better than the one in Starbucks and costs three times less.
- Maybe you dress up like a queen and you only shop in thrift stores.
Whatever it may be, I’m sure you have something useful to share with others.
In our society, we’re used to paying attention to major breakthroughs, massive wealth, and success, so the achievement of small goals and implementation of tiny ideas routinely get dismissed.
We were told that we need to get better, faster, stronger, always strive for more, so we forget to celebrate our small victories and share micro-lessons we learned along the way with those who can benefit from them the most. We are obsessing over the mindsets of millionaires so much that we dismiss small financial habits that take 5 minutes to implement and can set us on the right track. We obsess over Anthony Bourdain’s cooking skills and life philosophy that we forget to check her own fridge and pantry and prepare something simple from scratch.
It’s time to change that
Stop dismissing your skills.
Stop undermining things that come easily to you.
Stop brushing over simple ideas you have.
Stop looking for the authority out there and elaborate on their ideas.
You have your own wealth of wisdom.
Share it with us.
We need it.
Your turn! What comes easily to you that others are struggling with? Do you know some small hacks or ideas that you’d like to share? Post them in the comments and let’s keep the conversation going.
Before you go…
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