How to Make a Healthy Smoothie Bowl
Have you discovered smoothie bowls yet? If not, you NEED to! And don’t be intimidated by the impossibly gorgeous pictures of smoothie bowls on Instagram. Your smoothie bowls don’t need to win any prizes, you just need to learn how to make a healthy smoothie bowl.
Or maybe you paid a small fortune for a smoothie bowl at a trendy juice and smoothie bar and want to try a more affordable version at home. Keep reading to learn the basics of how to make a healthy smoothie bowl.
Health Benefits of Smoothie Bowls
Similar to smoothies, smoothie bowls pack a ton of nutrition in a small punch. Nutrient dense foods provide a high nutrient to calorie ratio. That means you can eat to your heart’s content.
Nutrient Overload
By making your own smoothie bowl, you control the quality of ingredients and how much fat, calories and carbs go into your bowl. Smoothie bowls contain a variety of nutrient-dense whole foods including fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and healthy milks. By combining these foods into one delicious bowl, you get a variety of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fiber, and protein.
Sneak in Tons of Healthy Foods You Wouldn’t Normally Eat
This might be the best part about smoothies and smoothie bowls. You can sneak in tons of strange, healthy foods you (or your kids) wouldn’t normally eat. You can easily disguise a giant handful of spinach in your smoothie bowl. Adding frozen broccoli makes your bowls more creamy and leaves no broccoli taste behind. You can add in dried superfood powders like acai, goji berry, wild blueberry, dragon fruit, spirulina, maca, cacao, and the list goes on.
You can top your smoothie bowl with more highly nutritious foods you might not eat on a regular basis like cacao nibs, chia seeds, hemp seeds, goji berries, and chopped dates.
Start Your Morning Off Right
When you eat a healthy, nutrient-packed breakfast, you are setting yourself up to eat healthy for the rest of the day. When you get a taste of something healthy, your body craves more healthy foods. When you feed your body nutrient-dense foods, it stays fuller longer, overall decreasing the amount of food you eat throughout the day. Smoothie bowls satisfy your sweet tooth, making it easier for you to pass on other sweet treats that tempt you throughout the day.
Related posts >>> Apple and Coconut Breakfast Quinoa and Dairy Free Raw Coconut Yogurt <<<
End Your Day With the Perfect Dessert
Smoothie bowls aren’t just for breakfast! They make the best healthy “ice cream”. Skip the sugar filled, processed, fattening desserts and try a smoothie bowl instead. Add some frozen bananas to your smoothie bowls for a rich, creamy texture. Make it a little extra special with a drizzle of homemade chocolate, peanut butter, or raspberry sauce. Add a dollop of whipped cream or coconut whipped cream. Throw a cherry on top, they’re super healthy- just don’t use maraschino cherries. Are those really cherries?
Related post >>> Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookie Skillet Recipe <<<
Download Smoothie Bowl Mayhem for some healthy, delicious, and beautiful smoothie bowl recipes.
How to Build Your Smoothie Bowl
Gather Your Basic Ingredients
You will need a high-speed blender to make your smoothie bowls creamy and delicious. My personal favorite is Vitamix.
Start with a banana and some milk of your choice. If you mostly follow a plant-based diet, try coconut or almond milk. If you eat dairy, use regular milk or unsweetened yogurt. Add some fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables and start blending. For a creamier texture, use frozen fruits and vegetables.
Add Your Greens
Green vegetables are the holy grail of nutrient-dense foods. They provide a ton of nutrition (vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber) and can help prevent diseases. Cruciferous vegetables are well known for their cancer-preventing powers. Choose from fresh or frozen spinach, kale, collard greens or broccoli. You can add green powders for even more nutrition like spirulina, Amazing Grass, or my personal favorite, Terra Greens.
Add Your Fruits
Frozen berries are perfect for smoothie bowls. But you don’t have to stick with berries, pick your favorite fruits and throw them in. Frozen fruits are perfect because there are so many to pick from in the store, they don’t go bad, and they make your smoothie bowl more creamy and delicious.
Try an acai or dragon fruit pack. They are superfoods packed with nutrition and frozen into individual servings. You can find them in most grocery stores.
If you’re short on time, you can get ready-made smoothie packs in the stores too. They come with the perfect fruit and veggie combinations.
Don’t be afraid to use too many fruits for fear of sugar. The sugar in fruits nourishes your body and helps support your liver in detoxification. If you want to learn more about how beneficial fruits are to your liver and overall health, read the life-changing book, Liver Rescue.
Add Your Superfood Mix-ins
Try some superfood dried powders (see above), chia seeds, bee pollen, collagen powder (learn more about the health benefits of collagen powder here), hemp seeds, or flax seeds. Add a drizzle of raw honey for some extra sweetness and healthful enzymes and antioxidants. Try some vanilla or almond extract for an extra flavorful punch. Add some pure essential oils for a powerful health kick and out of this world flavor. Learn more about the internal use of essential oils here.
Blend it all Up
Follow your blenders directions and start blending. You might need to add more liquid to get it going. The trick is to use just the right amount of liquid to blend all the ingredients up without turning it into a smoothie. You want it thick and creamy, like ice cream.
Add it to a Pretty Bowl
Of course, this is optional. But… if you go to the trouble to make a beautiful smoothie bowl, you should serve it in a beautiful bowl. Try these homemade coconut bowls. You just might think you’re on a tropical island 🙂
Add Your Superfood Toppings
Try cut up fruits, hemp seeds, chia seeds, cacao nibs, peanut or almond butter, goji berries, dried coconut, or whatever your heart desires. Let your imagination go and use whatever makes your bowl look beautiful and delicious.
Don’t forget to download Smoothie Bowl Mayhem for some delicious recipes.
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Great ideas! I typically just think of having a smoothie for breakfast, but I like your suggestion of replacing that bowl of ice cream with a yummy smoothie bowl!
Yes! I’m not knocking ice cream, but it’s not exactly a health food. Smoothie bowls can be made “super-foods” and the more you eat, the better ?
Summer time means it’s time for smoothie bowls! I agree that it’s a nice treat like a dessert. Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome! Thanks for stopping by and yes, smoothie bowls make the BEST desserts because they are pretty, delicious and so so good for you ?
Oh my goodness these look soooooo good! I have often wondered what the difference is in those and smoothies and had never had one but it’s abiut to be game on now that I’ve read your article!!
Thanks siooo much for all the detail and step by step! Keep it coming!
Thank you, Susan! Bring on the smoothie bowls ?
I love smoothies and thanks for sharing the facts it’s really informative. This smoothie is a must try
You’re welcome! Enjoy ?
This looks so yummy and easy to make! Adding a few things to the shopping list, can’t wait to experiment with some smoothie bowl goodness!
Enjoy ?
They look so good! Definitely going to make one soon and I love that you listed a lot of ingredients! Really informative! 🙂
Love that you listed all of the possible ingredients!! Really helpful and I’m gonna try making one soon 🙂
The possibilities really are endless. I listed some stuff to get you started, but let your imagination take you away. ?
I used to do something like this right in the container with yogurt and Grape Nuts in college. No, not nearly as good, though. But I could eat it in my early morning lecture hall classes with no trouble. Ha.
You’ve inspired me to try something a little more updated.
I used to eat Grape Nuts too. I also used to eat a lot of yogurt with granola. I try not to eat too much dairy, so these smoothie bowls are a great replacement. They can be made with or without dairy.
Such good ideas. I think these are great tips to sneak in some extra nutrition in my kids diet too. 😉 These can be made to tester like such a sweet treat they won’t even realize how healthy they are for them.
YES! They are a great way to sneak nutrition into your kids. We call it smoothie ice cream in my house ?
Love smoothie bowls! This post made me wants to make one in the AM
I love smoothie bowls. After reading this im motivated to make my own healthy smoothie bowl!
I hope you make something awesome ? The possibilities are endless.
These look delicious!! I just opted-in for your recipe ebook!
I hope you enjoy them! ? Thank you.
I have never in all my life heard of a smoothie bowl but they almost look too pretty to eat!
They are pretty ?