Smoothie Bowls For All!

When we look at smoothie bowls, we see an art form. It might be assumed that the type of person interested in creating these nutrient rich, yet beautiful bowls are creative and health driven. While that might be true, we want to share the knowledge of how every single person can incorporate these beauties into their life.

We're here to debunk preconceived assumptions that you have to be waking up early each morning to spend an excessive amount of time making your breakfast look pretty. All it takes is a good blender, and a few minutes slicing up your fruit toppings. It's actually fairly easy, and we're here to walk you through it. 

 

Hidden Nutrition

Now is the time to make sure you are getting the right vitamins and nutrition to keep your immune system strong and health. If you lacked when it came to eating greens during the winter season, have no fear, this spring we have a solution! One thing to counteract the lack of greens in your diet is to sneak greens into meals without them being in a salad form. For example, add a ton of shredded kale to your soups or in this case, spinach into a morning smoothie bowl. This is a great way to feel like you're not only running on the easy, starchy foods but also some greens.

The amazing thing about adding kale or spinach to smoothies is that you cannot taste it. As long as you're adding in some sweet bananas, their creamy texture and sweetness mask the flavor of any added greens. This is also a great hack to get your kids to eat green leafy vegetables in an approachable and fun way! 

Another thing to add is a form of powdered greens. For our Tropical Smoothie Bowl we used Spirulina, which is known as a nutrient-dense food as it is packed full of vitamins, including vitamins A, C, E and B vitamins, as well as a whole host of minerals such as calcium, magnesium, zinc and selenium. 

If greens in your smoothie bowl isn't your thing, we recommend the other recipe on this post, the Strawberry Banana Bowl. This bowl is slightly easier to make, and it's ingredient list is a bit more simple and straightforward.

 

Shopping and Prep

Stocked up on frozen fruits and veggies? Smoothie bowls are a great way to incorporate ingredients you have readily available in the fridge. In order to create a breakfast that not only looks good but makes you feel good, you'll need to have some equipment on hand.

Equipment needed:

  • Blender or Food Processor
  • Cutting Board
  • Knife 
  • Measuring cups and measuring spoons
  • Bowls to serve (we recommend the Palm Desert Bowls)

Next stop, the grocery store.

A lot of smoothie bowl recipes you see on the internet ask for specialized ingredients such as algae, bee pollen and edible flowers. We tried to keep the recipes simple and approachable with familiar ingredients that can be easily picked up during your next planned visit to the market. However, if you choose to incorporate the spirulina, dates and freeze dried strawberries into your bowls, we recommend a specialty grocery store such as Whole Foods. (Refer to the end for safe and healthy shopping tips)

The rest of the ingredients can be found at most super markets. As far as plant based milk, alternatives such as oat, soy, and cashew milks are a good substitute and use much less water during production. Although almond and rice milk use relatively large amounts of water to produce, this volume is still less than dairy. This means any swap, almond milk or otherwise, would be beneficial from an environmental standpoint. We recommend a grocery store that sells the fruits and vegetables in bulk for cost effective savings. Don't forget your own fabric produce bags and reusable totes to cut down on your plastic consumption! These small decisions make a big impact for our planet. 

 

 

 

TROPICAL GREEN SMOOTHIE BOWL

  • 2 frozen banana
  •  1/2 cup of frozen mango
  • 1 inch chunk of peeled ginger
  • 1 date
  • 1 cup frozen spinach or raw spinach
  • ¼ cup of plant milk
  • 1 tsp spirulina powder 

For the toppings

  • kiwi
  • chia seeds
  • blueberries
  • coconut flakes


STRAWBERRY BANANA SMOOTHIE BOWL

  •  1½ cups frozen strawberries
  • 1 date
  • 1 banana frozen
  • ½ cup Plant milk

For the toppings

  • Freeze Dried Strawberries
  • Fresh bananas sliced
  • Chia seeds
  • Coconut flakes
  • Blueberries


INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Add in all ingredients (minus toppings) into a blender or food processor and blend until very smooth. 
  2. If the smoothie is too thick and not blending, try adding 1/4 cup of milk at a time until you get the desired consistency. If you smoothie is too watery, try adding a handful of ice cubes or frozen fruit to thicken it up.
  3. Add to a shallow bowl- we love the Palm Desert luncheon plates,  and use the back of a spoon to smooth out the smoothie across the bowl.
  4. Time to add the toppings! You can keep it casual and top it quickly, or if you are after that Instagram moment you can take the time to make it photogenic. If that's you, keep reading. We have outlined our best tips below.

Tips for styling your toppings

  1. Slicing the fruit thin will help it not sink into the smoothie bowl.
  2. With sliced fruit you can create lines (see Strawberry Banana Bowl) or place them along the edge of the bowl (See Tropical Smoothie Bowl) . Experiment with different patterns and shapes within the bowl. 
  3. Think about adding a variety of textures and sizes of toppings. Start with the larger fruit pieces, add in smaller fruits such as blueberries and work your way towards small garnishes like chia seeds, freeze dried strawberries and coconut flakes.
  4. Play with color! For the Tropical Smoothie bowl, we aimed for a monochromatic look in green (thanks to those hidden leafy greens!). Our Strawberry banana bowl reminds us of a Fourth of July flag. Styling the bowls with colors to reflect a Holiday is the perfect way to achieve an instagrammable moment. 
  5. Make it a family affair! Educate your kids on healthy breakfast options while making it fun and artistic. Place the toppings out for everyone to play with and experiment together. 

This piece from the Palm Desert collection is categorized as a luncheon plate, but it's raised edges perform more as a shallow bowl than a traditional plate. This allows you to serve both solid and liquid food without any mess.  We opted for the white bowls with gold details, but the black glazed Palm Desert Bowls serve for a more moodier look. Check out our favorite way to use these versatile pieces below. 

Our Favorite Ways to use the Palm Desert Luncheon Plates

  • Smoothie Bowls (duh!)
  • Fresh Pasta
  • A Bright Summer Salad
  • Hearty Winter soup
  • Ice cream sundaes 
  • Serving bowls for dips


We hope this article gave you some inspiration and encouragement that smoothie bowls are for everybody! They're quite simple to make, and a great way to incorporate healthy, plant based foods for breakfast. When headed to the grocery store, keep environmentally friendly practices in mind by buying plant based milk, getting fruit and vegetables in bulk, and bringing your own bags to reduce plastic waste. Don't forget your hand sanitizer and to keep 6 ft away from other shoppers while shopping safe under such unfortunate circumstances. Click here for more safe shopping tips during COVID-19. Keep it simple, or get creative with the toppings if you're after a photo opp we'd love to see your creations. Until next time, happy blending and stay healthy and safe!