By Eliza • 9 Comments
A smoothie bowl is just what it sounds like. You make a smoothie, but then you place it in a bowl and top it with whole ingredients. The result? A super tasty and really healthy morning meal. One caveat though – you can’t go crazy with ingredients or you could wind up making it less healthy and more junk foody. Here’s what the experts advise when making a smoothie bowl. Mornings have never tasted so good!
This won’t alter the health content of your bowl, but it will make it thicker so it’s easier to eat with a spoon. Choose your fruits, then freeze them the night before. That way, they are ready to go when you get up. Freeze a bunch of options so you can mix and match and have a new smoothie bowl every morning.
Just like greens work really well in fruit smoothies, so too do they work in smoothie bowls. They won’t dramatically change the taste of the concoction, but they will add extra fiber, vitamins and minerals as well as antioxidants. Try baby spinach or kale. The flavor of the fruit should cover up the bitterness of the greens.
Tofu generally takes on the taste of what’s it’s mixed with. While it won’t change the flavor of your smoothie bowl, it will give it a creamy consistency that’s perfect for spooning. Add the tofu to the blender while you whirl the rest of your ingredients. Then pour it into a bowl and marvel at your cooking prowess.
Fruit is plenty good on its own, but if you want to make your smoothie bowl more like a treat without compromising the health content, try a small bit of vanilla, almond or unsweetened cocoa powder. These items add a new twist to the meal, but aren’t super high in fat, calories or sugar. Mix and match to find combinations you love.
Once you have all of your ingredients in the blender, you need some liquid to puree them with. Unlike with a traditional smoothie, you won’t want as much liquid because you want the finished bowl to be thick enough that you can eat with a spoon. Add just a bit of milk, juice or other fluid and add tiny bits more as needed to reach the consistency you want.
If you are having your smoothie bowl as a complete meal, think about adding protein to make it satisfying. One option is to stir in some peanut or other nut butter. You can also opt for milk over juice. Protein is an important part of a healthy diet and you don’t want to skimp on it.
Your final step is to add some toppings to your smoothie bowl to make it more substantial. You have lots of choices here. Fresh diced fruit is one good option, but chopped nuts, seeds, dry cereal, granola, coconut or chocolate chips also work really well.
Are you dying to try a smoothie bowl? What ingredients will you use?