A few months ago, I became obsessed with smoothie bowls. I was making them a few times a week and they were good, but the texture wasn’t very smooth. However, I am officially hooked on them again now that we have a high-powered blender (I recently received a Blendtec – review coming soon!)
Smoothie bowls are a great way to make sure you are eating those fruits & veggies first thing in the morning. Plus, the natural sugars from the fruits are a great energy boost! As the name suggests, these recipes require a bowl and spoon which will force you take a few minutes to sit down and eat breakfast each morning, rather than running out the door in a hurry.
Another great thing about smoothie bowls is that they are 100% adaptable to your tastes – use as many or as little greens as you want or if you need an energy boost in the morning, add 1 tsp. of Matcha green tea powder. If you aren’t familiar with Matcha – it’s a powder made from green tea leaves that contains caffeine and provides a lot of health benefits. You can buy Matcha powder at most speciality tea shops or from Amazon.com.
The recipes for most smoothie bowls are pretty basic and the real fun and flavor comes from the toppings! This way you can have that smooth, creamy smoothie bowl topped with fresh fruit and granola or nuts for crunch.
– Fresh fruit: strawberries, kiwi, blueberries, raspberries, peaches, etc.
– Dried fruits: goji berries, dried mango, etc.
– Chia Seeds (white and black have the same benefits, just a different color)
– Homemade Dark Chocolate Chai Granola (or store-bought brands: KIND, Barely Naked, and Purely Elizabeth)
– Unsweetened coconut flakes
– Almond or Coconut Butter, melted and drizzled on top
Or if you’re feeling adventurous, top your bowl with maca powder, raw cocoa nibs, hemp seeds, bee pollen, golden berries, or spirulina powder. Honestly, the possibilities are endless!
The recipe for this green smoothie bowl is really simple. One frozen banana, a huge handful of spinach, frozen pineapple chunks, a heaping tablespoon of almond butter, and coconut water (or substitute for almond milk, coconut milk, etc.). That is the basic foundation and once you try it and like it, you can start to experiment.
You can experiment in different ways – by adding new flavors to the smoothie base or by trying different toppings. My most recent experiment is a combination of both. I had been melting and drizzling coconut butter on top of my bowls but found that it wasn’t adding a lot of flavor to my smoothie bowls, so I started searching online for flavored coconut butters.
That’s when I came across the Philosophie Coconut Dream superfood coconut butter. Instead of melting and drizzling this on top, I add a heaping tablespoon of this right into my blender. Philosophie sent me this jar of coconut butter to try and I’m happy to report that it tastes AMAZING! It tastes like coconut and has the texture of cookie dough, and is packed with a lot of healthy greens. I would never be brave enough to put spirulina powder into my smoothie bowl, but I don’t need to because this butter has that in it!
If you love green smoothies, you HAVE to try my Matcha Green Tea Smoothie Bowl. You’ll love it!
For the smoothie bowl:
1/2 c. coconut water (or unsweetened almond milk)
1 tbsp. almond butter
1 tbsp. Philosophie Coconut Dream coconut butter (optional)
1 tsp. Matcha green tea powder*
1 ripe banana, frozen
1/2 c. frozen pineapple
1 c. spinach
Toppings:
3 strawberries, sliced
1 kiwi, sliced
1 tsp. chia seeds
1 tbsp. granola
Add smoothie bowl ingredients to a blender, in the order they are listed. (Liquids in the bottom, then solids, then frozen, and greens on top.) Blend on the "Smoothie" setting or medium-high speed until smooth.
*If you don't have Matcha green tea powder on hand, feel free to use brewed, chilled green tea instead. Omit the Matcha green tea powder and use 1/2 c. chilled green tea instead of coconut water.
Variation #1: Add 5-6 oz. of greek yogurt (one individual yogurt cup) to this recipe. It makes the smoothie bowl very thick & creamy and adds protein. Look for a greek yogurt that is high in protein with no added sugar.
