You probably know from casually perusing my feed that I'm mildly obsessed with the phenom know as the smoothie. What's not to love? They are epic jars of blended goodness, packed with nutrients and oftentimes more delicious than desserts. They're an efficient way to get all the vitamins and minerals you need without downing handfuls of supplements. But dare I say it, even this gal needs the occasional change up. Enter the smoothie bowl—the smoothie made even better (gasp!!). Anything we can pile healthy toppings onto is fine with us. Here are three super quick, super delicious and super healthy bowls that will have you saying "I pitaya the fool who doesn't have one."
The Dragon Fruit Bowl
If you're a sucker for beautiful, bright colors and super tasty treats, this bowl is for you! Dragon Fruit, also known as pitaya, is rich in vitamins B & C as well as minerals such as iron, calcium and phosphorus. Thanks to it's low cholesterol content, it also has heart health benefits. Plus, this color is just too much to say no to!
Ingredients:
1 packet of pitaya plus
1 frozen banana
1/4-1/2 a cup of almond milk (if you’ve worked out extra-hard, try swapping the almond milk for coconut water for added electrolytes)
1 scoop of vanilla protein powder
A dash of vanilla
Toppings:
1 kiwi sliced and cut into quarters
Goji berries
Directions:
Blend the pitaya, banana, almond milk and protein powder in the blender until smooth. Pour into a bowl. Slice the kiwis and sprinkle them on top along with the goji berries.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Acai Bowl
Every wanna-be healthy joint is serving up some form of the acai bowl these days—but most are loaded with sugar. This version goes hard on the antioxidants and electrolytes to keep you healthy and hydrated making it the perfect post-workout breaky.
Bowl Ingredients:
1 packet of Ama Fruits unsweetened acai
1 overripe frozen banana OR 3/4 cup Thai coconut meat (coconut meat is a low-sugar heart-healthy alternative)
1 tsp. of cacao
1 tablespoon of peanut butter (No peanut butter? No problem. Any nut butter will do!)
1/4 cup of unsweetened coconut milk
1/4 cup of coconut water
1 scoop of chocolate protein powder
Toppings:
1/4 small banana, sliced (if you're watching your sugar, you can skip this)
1/4 cup granola, optional (unsweetened)
1 tbsp. shredded unsweetened coconut
1 tbsp. peanut butter
Directions:
Blend the packet of acai, banana or coconut meat, cacao, peanut butter, almond milk, protein powder and coconut water in the blender until smooth. Add the sliced banana, granola, coconut and peanut butter on top and enjoy!
Green Smoothie Bowl
Leafy greens already have such a great reputation that I hardly need to sing their praises. Stealthily sneaking them into your breakfast is a great way to get a vitamin-boost and also a fabulous color!
Bowl Ingredients:
1 frozen banana
1 cup of kale
1 cup of spinach
1/2 a cup of frozen pineapple chunks
1/2 a cup of unsweetened almond milk
A dash of honey
1 scoop of vanilla protein powder
Toppings:
2 fresh figs
1 tbsp. of goji berries
2 tsp. of coconut shreds
Directions:
Blend the frozen banana, kale, spinach, pineapple, almond milk, protein powder and honey in a blender and blend until smooth. Slice the figs in half and add them to the top of the bowl along with the goji berries and coconut shreds. Drizzle some honey across the top and enjoy!