By Emma Whitaker | Broadcast Reporter
I love boba. My friends and I love 1102 Bubble Tea & Coffee, Waco’s staple boba shop. There we share our deepest thoughts and greatest ideas. 1102 has wonderful service, always smiling and welcoming its customers. My friend Alicia and I were, at one point sophomore year, going weekly to get boba.
We’re not the only ones. A drink that was once widely unknown in the United States has, in recent years, become a booming business. In many parts of Austin, boba tea stores are as common as coffee shops. We laugh about it now, but most of our friends get terrible stomach aches after consuming boba. They lay on the floor laughing, but in serious stomach pain. They claim that the boba is weighing down their insides. One of my best friends threw up after boba consumption and has never eaten it since.
Boba is pretty bad for you, as sad as it is for me to admit. They do not hold any nutritional value and one cup can have as much sugar in it as a can of soda (36 grams of sugar). It is also really expensive.
This is why I seriously recommend replacing blueberries for boba. Just buy a package of frozen blueberries, get a tea bag and boil some water. Combine them, and I promise you will be pleasantly surprised. The best part is, there is no guilt in this cup of tea, and you don’t have to spend $5 or more per cup. Chia seeds are also a great addition to tea. They are a great source of fiber, calcium, protein and so much more.
Within the last year, I have learned a lot about holistic eating. I’m not perfect at it, but my recently acquired knowledge has helped in understanding healthiness from a whole new perspective. Holistic health is not about obsession. It’s not about thinking about fitness day and night. It’s about loving your body and who you are. I love who I am. I love my body. I love who God created me to be. I love who He is. Thus, out of this joyful and abundant overflow, I decide to put good things into my body.
I still drink boba from time to time. It’s hard to eat healthy in college, so give yourself a lot of grace. But it is fun to brainstorm new recipes to create and new food groups to taste. Be good to your body. Love your body. This is what I am learning, and it’s been a beautifully messy process. Loving your body is the healthiest thing you can do.
