Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Smoothie Bowls

The three day juice cleanse I did two weeks ago has motivated me to eat healthier, so I have been making a lot of smoothies and smoothie bowls.  


I have been hearing about smoothie bowls for a while, but wasn't completely sure what constitutes a smoothie bowl.  If your smoothie is so thick that you can't really drink it, and you're better off putting it in a bowl and eating it with a spoon, you have the beginnings of a smoothie bowl.  Next, add some toppings, which make eating a smoothie a lot more fun.  


One of my favorite things about smoothie bowls is that they are a little sweet, but not overly sweet, and I feel like I am eating ice cream or frozen yogurt for breakfast.  


Topped with my homemade granola, smoothie bowls are my new favorite way to start my day.  


This morning, I used a combination of frozen peaches, mango, blueberries and banana in my smoothie bowl.  The other pictures show smoothie bowls made with mango, peaches and banana.

Smoothie Bowl

Ingredients

1 1/2 C frozen fruit (I like to use no sugar added peaches, mango, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries)
1/2 frozen banana
1/2 C unsweetened almond milk
1/2 C plain kefir or plain yogurt
1 T raw honey
1/2 T golden flaxseed meal
1/2 T chia seeds
3/4 tsp goji berry powder
Toppings - granola, fruit, nuts, chia, flaxseed, hemp seeds, etc.

Directions

Blend all the ingredients together in a high speed blender.

Recipe Notes

I make my smoothie bowls in my NutriBullet, one of my favorite kitchen appliances.  It incorporates the flaxseed and chia seed in a way our regular blender cannot do.

Sometimes I use one cup of  kefir or one cup of almond milk, depending on what I have in the house.  I like a mix of flaxseed and chia, but you could just use 1 tablespoon of one of them.

I have been peeling and freezing bananas, breaking them into four equal parts, and putting them in sandwich bags.

You could also add some greens to your smoothie bowl, like kale or spinach.  Avocado would add healthy fat, and make your smoothie bowl super creamy.

When I buy almond milk, kefir, flaxseed and chia seeds, I make sure that they are labeled gluten free.


Kefir (pronounced kee-fer) is a cultured milk product, like yogurt, that contains probiotics, and is a rich source of a variety of different vitamins and minerals.  You can read more about the health benefits of kefir here.  I purchase it at Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, or Publix.


I use orange blossom raw honey from Winter Park Honey.  We purchase it at The Fresh Market or the Winter Park Farmers' Market, which is held every Saturday.  You can read about the many health benefits of raw honey here, and the possible benefits of local honey for fighting seasonal allergies here.

You can read about the health benefits of chia seeds and flaxseed, two superfoods, here.  I use Spectrum Chia Seeds and Bob's Red Mill whole ground golden flaxseed meal. 


You can view my homemade granola recipe here.

April 21, 2015 Update

My new favorite mix of fruit - 1/2 cup frozen blueberries, 1/2 cup frozen blackberries, 1/2 C frozen mango & peaches mixed, and 1/2 frozen banana. I also love to use 1/2 cup each of frozen blueberries, mango and peaches, with 1/2 frozen banana, and 4 or 5 frozen blackberries.   


August 21, 2015

This week, I have been loving my latest smoothie bowl creation using 1/2 frozen banana, 1/2 C frozen raspberries, 1/2 C frozen blueberries, 1 Sambazon original blend acai berry superfruit pack, about 6 frozen blackberries, 1/2 C plain kefir, 1/2 C unsweetened almond milk, 1 T raw honey, 1/2 T golden flaxseed meal, 1/2 T chia seeds, and 3/4 tsp goji berry powder (purchased from Nuts.com).  I top it with my homemade granola of course, which I add a little bit at a time so it doesn't get soggy. 


What are your favorite smoothie bowl ingredients?  


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