Gelato for breakfast? Yes, please!

One of my all-time favorite desserts is gelato. It's rich in taste, yet never makes you feel too heavy. Similar to ice cream, it differs in that it is made mainly with milk, not cream. While ice cream legally has a minimum of 10 percent fat, gelato typically contains four to eight percent fat. Plus, if it's fruit-flavored, you can totally count it as part of your daily fruits and vegetable requirements, right?

Hence, gelato for breakfast.

Recently, I discovered that gelato as the first meal of the day was a wonderful idea, except I decided to skip the spoon and carton bowl and go for the bar instead. Whole Foods Market just started carrying a new gelato bar featuring flavors from farms in our area and beyond for $1.99 each in the bakery section.

I invited Oliver, our graphic design intern and Phillip from Fresno Flavor to start their days eating dessert first with me by trying out the new Bar Gelato, courtesy of Gelateria Naia (pronounced NIGH-ah). Although Gelateria Naia is based out of the Bay area, their flavors come from throughout California and around the world.

Representing half of the Fresno Flavor team, Phillip tried the Triple Delight Blueberry Yogurt bar made from handpicked blueberries from the Sorensen family farm in Fresno.

Can you tell he liked it?

I inhaled the Masumoto Farm Peach Sorbetto (which is almost all sold out along with the blueberry flavor, due to the season change). It was less icey and more creamy than most fruit bars I've had. Side note: Mas Masumoto and his farm, located just south of Fresno, are so cool.

Oliver had the kiwi, insisting that he was eating an actual kiwi, but in bar form. After we took our first bites, we instinctively inspected the labels, noting the real ingredients used: fresh fruit, no corn syrup, plus ours were non-dairy and vegan. And, for a dessert, the fat and calorie content were relatively low (less than 100 calories and fat free for the sorbettos).

Our office neighbors quickly caught on to our "gelato for breakfast" morning and were surprisingly pleased with how much the Blue Bottle Coffee bar actually tasted like gourmet coffee, how nutty the pistachio flavor was (in a good way), and how smooth and chocolatey the Guittard tasted. They were welcomed guests at our little breakfast party.

Though the weather is getting cooler here (below 100! Yippee!), there's still plenty of outdoor-eating time to treat your guests to this sort of gourmet popsicle.

Nevertheless—I know Phillip and Oliver would agree with me—gelato for breakfast is a great way to start your day!