Padma Lakshmi Put a Boozy Spin on the "Nature's Cereal" Trend—and We Can't Wait to Try It

Hot on the heels of baked feta pasta, jarcuterie, hot chocolate bombs and four-way tortillas, "Nature's Cereal" has become one of the hottest (or should we say coolest?) TikTok food trends to date. The mixture of fresh fruit and coconut water has become so buzzy, in fact, that people have created countless variations on the theme, including the "Nature's Ice Cream" that we reported about in April.

Now, Top Chef and Taste the Nation host, mom and cookbook author Padma Lakshmi is getting in on the fun.

"So I've been hearing online about this Nature's Cereal," Lakshmi says as she introduces the Instagram Reel recipe demo she posted on June 27. (The how-to video, by the way, is appropriately set to the soundtrack of Montell Jordan's 1995 hit song "This Is How We Do It.")

To a bowl that's already partially filled with about a handful of ice cubes, Lakshmi begins to add the ingredients. "I'm using blackberries, blueberries, raspberries and coconut water," she explains, while pouring a splash of Vita Coco (buy it: $7.99 for four 500-milliliter cartons, Target) over the chilled berries.

Lakshmi laughs and shrugs after taking one bite, then echoes our sentiments about the TikTok trend: "I mean it's good, but it's not like cereal!"

Just as the TikTok-ers who promote this trend take liberties by calling it "cereal," Lakshmi then takes some liberties with the recipe. She dumps the remainder of the bowl contents into a glass, adds more coconut water plus the kicker: a shot of Belvedere Red Vodka (buy it: $31.99 for a 750-milliliter bottle, Drizly). We imagine this would also be a treat with rum or tequila, if those are more your style.

"That's *much* better," Lakshmi confirms after taking a sip and showing the final product to the camera. "I think it should be 'Nature's Cocktail.'"

Fans went wild for the concept in the comments, chiming in to say, "👏👏👏👏👏 this is why I love you" and "I'm definitely going to look at my next glass of sangria as a glass of 'Nature's Cereal.'"

Check out how to make Lakshmi's oh-so-summery cocktail here, then discover 27 easy, breezy cocktails you'll want to drink all patio season long. (P.S. Here's how to turn any cocktail into a mocktail!)