Try making a breakfast or lunch smoothie bowl as a new bowl option, especially if you need a change from your normal breakfast or lunch routine. A smoothie bowl is a fun way to combine flavors and textures, and it’s nicer than a yogurt parfait too.
You’ve heard of a rice bowl, and a burrito bowl, now we’ll have a look at a smoothie bowl. There are a ton of smoothie bowl recipes out there, and you can find ones to fit nearly any craving, from peanut butter and chocolate, to avocado and kale, there’s something for every health trend too. Fruit based is a good baseline, since you can combine blueberries, mango, pineapple, peaches, and tweak the bowl for either the fruit you have on hand, or the flavor craving you most desire.
Depending on how you construct your smoothie bowl it can be a multi-level nutritional powerhouse to start your day. The base is fruit, usually frozen, to give it a soft-serve like consistency full of the nutritional benefits of whatever fruits you choose. Some minor additions to the fruit blend can include active, probiotic rich yogurt to make it a gut-health boosting option. Toppings and add-ons often include nuts or seeds, which are amazing for their nutrition, and also contain gut-healthy fiber, and prebiotic fiber too. Prebiotic fiber is the soluble fiber that helps the probiotic bacteria thrive in your gut.
Due to the fruit content, most smoothie bowl recipes end up being fairly sweet, but you can still make a more savory smoothie bowl if that is what you want, or need. You can even make a keto-friendly smoothie bowl if you want.
One of the keys is to use a strong blender, like a vitamix, for making your smoothie bowls. This helps prevent damage to the blender from blending extra frozen ingredients, and a powerful blender can make a very thick smoothie. When it comes to smoothie bowls, the thicker it is the better for eating with a spoon. Omit ice from your smoothie and use frozen fruit to avoid watering down your ingredients. Remember, a smoothie bowl smoothie doesn’t need to go through a straw!
Make Your Smoothie:
A good smoothie base is about 2 cups frozen ingredients, usually fruit, and 2-4 tablespoons liquid like coconut water, coconut milk, or non-dairy milk. I prefer using yogurt myself, for the probiotics, and usually use up to 6 tablespoons for a good smoothie.
A basic berry smoothie bowl:
- 2 cups mixed berries, frozen (Most mixes include blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries, sometimes strawberries do not blend in well).
- 4 tablespoons yogurt, or liquid of choice (almond milk is sometimes recommended)
Add in’s of choice:
- 2 tablespoons nut or seed add ins (hemp hearts, granola, chia seeds, almonds, sunflower seeds, cacao nibs, ground flax seed, sesame seeds, or similar)
- 1/4 cup fresh fruit
- A sprig of fresh herbs (mint is a complementary one)
Assembling Your Smoothie Bowl:
Depending on your mixer, you may be able to pre-blend your frozen fruit to a nubby, slightly chunky texture, before adding your liquid or yogurt and blending until smooth. With most blenders the liquid will be needed to help kick start the blending.
Once blended and a smooth texture, pour your smoothie base into a medium soup bowl or large cereal bowl. A semi-shallow bowl is best, as it gives more space to arrange add-ins on the top of the smoothie, and makes it easier to evenly mix in, or evenly consume the smoothie, with your chosen additions.
Add your additions on top. You can layer or spread out the ingredients to make a pretty presentation.
Consume your bowl while it’s cold and fresh for best flavor and highest enjoyment.
Make a snack size smoothie bowl by cutting the smoothie proportions in half, and halving the add-ins. This can also be a fun way to make a kid’s lunch or breakfast, that they can still somewhat customize to their own tastes.
Savory Smoothie Bowl:
Start with a similar base of frozen fruit, pineapple, mango, tart apples, and banana work good for a less-sweet and more savory tasting bowl. Make sure that whatever fruits you chose are frozen solid.
Add unflavored Greek yogurt, about 1/4 cup. And a healthy handful or several of frozen spinach or other frozen greens. A pinch of cayenne pepper or cinnamon can warm up the flavor and improve digestion too.
Top off with savory toasted nuts, fresh sprouts, and fresh herbs to fill out the meal. Or even a fried or boiled egg, or cute quail eggs.
This makes a nice, faintly sweet, green smoothie bowl.
Flavor Variations:
You can add in a large number of different fruit combinations, as well as innumerable nut and seed combinations to make a bowl that is perfect for your tastes. I find a touch of vanilla helps with the flavor, and if you like a bit of extra sweetness, honey or maple syrup can help.
The darker fruit you use in the bowl, the higher the antioxidants. I love using dark purple and red fruits, though I try not to use too many cherries. Cherries are a bit sweeter than I like, though they blend well with raspberries and blackberries. You can even make your own smoothie fruit mix by freezing your own fruits from the farmer’s market, or your own plants.
One really easy way to vary the bowl, and bump up the protein, is to add protein powder or collagen to your smoothie when blending it. A simple protein powder can add a chocolate hit to a strawberry smoothie, and make it quite easy to level up your smoothie bowls. You can also use your favorite smoothie recipes as a basis for your breakfast bowls. This can level up the deliciousness without adding too many pieces to the assembly line.
Nut butters are also a potential addition, for added proteins and fats, if you prefer not using crunchy nuts in the bowl. Other crunchy additions can be hemp seeds, or slivered and toasted almonds, pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, or flax seeds. Chia seeds are another option that is recommended. Almond butter is a fairly safe bet, or a mixed seed butter or sunflower butter.
If your dietary needs dictate a vegan smoothie, you can omit all yogurt and simply use your favorite non-dairy milk as part of the blending. And go heavier on the nuts and seeds to keep up the protein in your fruit smoothie bowls.
Level Up Your Bowls:
A big flavor and nutritional boost can be added to any smoothie bowl with micro-herbs or microgreens. These powerhouse miniature plants are full of nutrients and flavor, that can bring your healthy bowls to the next level, and beyond. Best of all, you don’t have to pay a ton for these delicious greens, you can grow them yourself and just harvest what you need for that day’s meals! You can even use these same techniques to grow your own salad greens, all year round! Instead of paying six bucks for a head of lettuce, it sure seems like lettuce is getting more expensive every time I go to the store…
New to growing food and vegetables?
Check out the Fill Your Salad Bowl workshop and learn how to use 3 different growing methods, at home, so you can fill your salad bowl with super food, nutrient dense, greens every single day. These are greens you can use in your salad bowl, rice bowl, smoothie bowl, and more. These are even greens you can add to soups, stews, and pasta dishes, and even a stir fry.
In this mini workshop you will learn how to fill a salad bowl every day with food you grow yourself.
- Even if you don’t have any land.
- Even if there is 3 feet of snow covering your garden
- Even if you’ve killed house plants in the past.
- Even if you think you have a black thumb.
Have a look at what’s covered in this workshop and see if its a good fit for you, by clicking/tapping the blue button below.
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