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Bliss Blendz, known for some of the healthiest smoothies in the county, has introduced a new series of menu items designed with health, taste, and happiness in mind. From a series of inspired rice bowls to vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free choices, owner Kristina Hastings has steadily built on her reputation for quality and variety.
“I believe people like what I make because they can taste the freshness,” Hastings said. “My background has always been about preventative medicine, and I want to bring healthy foods to your table.”
Hastings opened Bliss Blendz in late 2022 on a wing and a prayer, drawing inspiration from her hikes along the Pacific Coast Trail during the pandemic. She opened with a modest selection of unique smoothies and has steadily expanded her offering since.
“I first opened,” she said, “I had $32 in my bank account, so I just had to open with what I had. As people came in, they gave me ideas because they knew I was on the healthier side of things. They knew I wasn’t going to put sugar in my smoothies.”
Hastings works hard to source the most responsible forms of the ingredients she uses, even when her teenage customers ask for nutritionally suspect ingredients like boba.
“I don’t want to sell boba,” she said. “It’s full of sugar. And then it got to the point where they kept asking and kept asking. So I said, “OK, let me try. I looked at all the ingredients from several sources and found one with as minimal preservatives as possible.”
Hastings is geared more towards health, with inventive drinks made using all-natural ingredients, like her new Machacado, one in her line of premium gourmet smoothies.
“My gourmet smoothies are non-dairy with all organic fruits,” she said. “The Machacado is made with oat milk, avocado, banana, honey, matcha, some ashwagandha and collagen, so it has all the extra love people want in their smoothies.”
A selection from Bliss Blendz. Photo by Robert Eliason. 
Pork Belly Rice Bowl at Bliss Blendz. Photo by Robert Eliason. 
Birria Rice Bowl at Bliss Blendz. Photo by Robert Eliason. 
Kristina Hastings with her new Bliss Blendz Olive Oil. Photo by Robert Eliason. 
Toasted Minis at Bliss Blendz. Photo by Robert Eliason. 
Pastéis de Nata at Bliss Blendz. Photo by Robert Eliason. 
Matchacado at Bliss Blendz. Photo by Robert Eliason. 
Kristina Hastings with her new Matchacado smoothie. Photo by Robert Eliason.
In response to other customer requests, Hastings has added four versions of gluten-free rice bowls to her menu for those who want something more filling and hearty for lunch than her topped bagels.
Two come with meat: a Birria Bowl with tender stewed beef, pickled red onions, crispy onions, and a smokey, spicy birria sauce, and a version with cubed pork belly, pickled red onions and crispy onions, topped with tangy sriracha and chili Bam Bam sauce.
There is also a vegetarian option, the Tali Bowl, with black beans, cheddar cheese, sour cream, black olives avocado and pico de gallo, topped with a chickpea and yogurt Tali sauce, and a vegan option, the Peruvian Bowl, with organic corn and black beans, tomatoes and avocado with a chili cilantro sauce that gets its heat from jalapeno peppers.
For something a little lighter, Hastings now has grab-and-go Toasted Minis, a miniature quesadilla-themed sandwich made with ham and cheese, turkey and cheese, or tuna and cheese wrapped in a flour tortilla and browned in the oven.
The newest entry in the desserts available at Bliss Blendz is a selection of Portuguese “pastéis de nata” (“custard tarts”) from Gilroy’s Açúcar bakery. These traditional baked goods include tart and creamy lemon and orange custards and both gluten-free and regular coconut cake tarts, which have a distinct macaroon taste.
“The owner, Maria Leal, just started this company,” Hastings said. “She is using her grandmother’s traditional recipes, and what she makes is just amazing.”
As another sweet choice, Bliss Blendz now offers gluten-free mochi waffles with either strawberries, blueberries, bananas, or any combination thereof.
“It’s a crispy waffle on the outside,” Hastings said, “but it’s soft in the inside. You can top it with chocolate, caramel, or Nutella, but I like them with our fruit preserves, like strawberry or blueberry, which are as clean as you can get.”
One new item that Hastings is particularly enthusiastic about is her new Bliss Blendz line of extra virgin olive oil, which she is making in conjunction with an olive orchard in Watsonville.
“I wanted to do olive oil,” she said, “because I want to carry what I believe in, what I like and what I love. And olive oil is probably one of the healthiest fats that you can put in your body besides avocado.”
The oil is a blend of five different olive varieties, all from the same orchard: Frantoio, Leccino, Casaliva Taggiasca and Pendolino. It comes in forms, plain and with lemon added.
“There are three things you want to know about olive oil,” Hastings said. “Where it’s grown, where it’s harvested, harvested, and where it’s milled. And if they’re all in the same location, you have a premium quality olive oil that you can’t get anywhere else.”
Hastings said that the products you see in the stores can be unreliable or of lesser quality because of the uncertainty of the sources.
“You’ve got olives that maybe come from Greece, Spain, or Italy,” she said. “You’ve got all these mixtures that were sent from far away. So the deterioration of the olives can start happening even before they mill it.”.
Hastings said the oil is the best she has ever tasted, which is unsurprising since it won a gold medal at the 2025 Los Angeles International competition.
Hastings said that, overall, it is a struggle to maintain a shop in San Juan, and she hopes more locals will become engaged in the downtown businesses.
“I still get people who live in town asking, ‘When did you open?’” she said. “And I tell them, ‘I’ve been open for over three years.’ I ask them ‘How often do you visit your downtown?’ and they tell me something like, ‘Probably not often enough.’”
Hasting said that, despite San Juan businesses’ slow times and frequent challenges, she is grateful to be open and able to offer her goods to her customers.
“It was a dream of mine for years to open my own store,” she said. “I didn’t know where it was going to be or what it was going to be. But I’m very grateful. I get to talk to people, and I create things for them. The struggle keeps me stronger and moving forward.”
Bliss Blendz Smoothies
300 A Third St, San Juan Bautista
(831) 593-1108
Hours:
Monday -Thursday 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m
Friday – Sunday 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
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Recommendations for future Eat, Drink, Savor articles can be emailed to roberteliason@benitolink.com.
BenitoLink thanks our underwriters, Hollister Super and Windmill Market, for helping to expand the Eat, Drink, Savor series and give our readers the stories that interest them. Hollister Super (two stores in Hollister) and Windmill Market (in San Juan Bautista) support reporting on the inspired and creative people behind the many delicious food and drink products made in San Benito County. All editorial decisions are made by BenitoLink.
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