There are no two same smoothie bowls. But there are smoothie bowls filled with tons of sugar and then those that I would recommend anyone to freshen up their breakfast routine, afternoon snack or late-night treat.
The reason why I love smoothie bowls besides their amazing appearance, they fill me up and are easy to make.
I don't know how about you, but I feel hungry after having a smoothie. But the smoothie bowl is different.
What is Smoothie BOWL
Smoothie bowl is a combination of frozen fruit and vegetables creating ice-cream like texture topped with various products as granola, oats, nuts, seeds, fresh fruit or spices.
The difference between healthy and unhealthy smoothie bowl is in its content.
So how do you know what's healthy?
When ordering a smoothie bowl in a cafe, always ask about its content, is it purely fruit topped up with more fruit and some sugar-coated granola? Then you might wanna be careful how many of these you will consume. Even tho they seem healthy, they may contain anywhere between 50-150g of sugar per portion and will leave you craving more sweet food for the rest of the day.
How is that possible? Some smoothie bowls contain of 2 or more cups of frozen fruit, dates, honey or any other sweetener topped with another cup of fruit on the top. This is a sugar bomb to your body, so be vigilant about what goes in.
How to make the right smoothie bowl?
The key ingredients to healthy and balanced smoothie bowl is a ration of fruit to vegetables and included protein and fat. This kind of smoothie bowl still tastes amazing and won't spike up your blood sugar level.
What are the benefits of a smoothie bowl?
It's easy and quick to prepare
You may use leftover fruit or veggies that would go off (so you, chop them up and chuck them in the freezer for later use)
You will sneak in a portion of vegetables into a sweet meal
You will be satisfied and feel full for several hours
You will have access to many vital nutrients from the get-go of your day
Your blood sugar level, energy and focus will be stable throughout a day
You will help your body to detox, clean and nourish.
And you can literally make it out of any combination of products.
Assembling your Smoothie bowl
In fact, there are no limits on what to use in your smoothie bowl. what works for me is throwing in what's available and trying new flavours and spices.
But there is a rule you should follow to create the bowl that is nutritionally balanced and serve its purpose of the meal.
Start with veggies
You will need frozen veggies to complete this step.
So if you have no suitable veggies in the freezer just chuck some in now and you will be ready for tomorrow.
You wanna use about 1,5-2 cups of frozen veggies per bowl.
These veggies work the best for me as they are not overpowering.
Frozen Zucchini
Frozen Cauliflower
Frozen Cucumber
Frozen Spinach (I usually go half spinach and half something else)
Add your frozen fruit.
here is where the fun begins.
Whatever you have in a freezer will do. Frozen banana, apple, pineapple, berries, mango, dragonfruit, acai or combination of all of these. It's fun to try them out and see what's your favourite.
Add about 1 cup of frozen fruit into the blender.
Add Spices
I like to add some spices to my bowl as cinnamon, cacao, cardamon or turmeric...
You may try to create carrot cake smoothie bowl, chai smoothie bowl or add some ingredients as dried mushroom powder, spirulina, green powder, wheat-grass, maca powder, matcha powder or none of these...
Add fluids
Unless you are using VITAMIX blender, then you will have to add a bit of fluid into your regular blender, to make it work. It really depends on a character of fruit and veg you put in so anywhere between 1/2 - 3/4 of the cup will be necessary for your blender to do its job.
I like to add a dash of coconut milk or cream and then just add some more water.
Add Extras
These are totally optional but you might wanna see what you like.
from time to time I like to add in a scoop of plant-based protein powder or 1tbsp of nut butter or some ground flax seeds or chia seeds.
You may add some avocado fresh or frozen, dates or anything else you like.
Top it up
The reason smoothie bowls are my favourite when it comes to pureed food is that you can top them up with crunchy things to add the chewing effect to your meal. chewing is important for your body to feel satisfied with the meal and also burns more calories than eating just pureed food.
I like to chop up some fresh fruit (no more than half cup) and add some homemade granola, muesli or just oats and sprinkle of seeds.
What you put on top matters. As fat and protein are alongside fibre the one this that keeps you full, adding some nut butter, seeds, nuts coconut or grains is a wise choice.
I would love to see your smoothie bowl varieties or hear about your favourite combination.
So comment below this post or share them in my Free Facebook Group EATING FOR HAPPINESS...
If you are not a member you can join HERE
My Favourite Smoothie Bowl combinations
Zucchini, Spinach, Blueberries, Maca Powder and topped with granola and kiwifruit
Cauliflower, Banana, pineapple, coconut milk and cardamon topped up with fresh pineapple, coconut flakes and nut butter
Zucchini and Spinach with berries, cacao powder, flax seeds and vanilla protein powder, topped up with banana, granola and coconut
Cauliflower, Pineapple, Mango, salted caramel protein powder, cinnamon, cardamom and chia seeds, topped with dates, walnuts and banana
