Smoothie Bowl.........

As I have mentioned many times before breakfast is my absolute favourite meal of the day. Nothing makes me happier than a nourishing, hearty breakfast to set you up for the day. So I was very excited when I discovered the smoothie bowl. First and foremost, what is a smoothie bowl? The simple answer is that it’s a way to enjoy smoothies with a spoon instead of drinking them with a straw. But there’s more to it than just a change in utensil. It gives the opportunity to add treats that boost our nutritional intake and just like a Buddha Bowl it is fab for using up any leftover bits that might else get binned.  

Frozen fruits used in smoothie bowls are great for not only thickening the smoothie, but also for adding natural sweetness and creaminess. Frozen bananas in particular are a perfect foundation for a smoothie bowl, as they add sweetness, thickness and are one of your 5 a day. Winner! However if you’ve no frozen fruit using fresh works equally well. As I feel the cold a lot I only add ice on hot days and on extra cold days I add oats and gentle heat the smoothie mixture

The great thing about smoothie bowls is that although anyone and everyone are making them you are still the master of your own destiny! The combinations you create are limited only by your imagination (well, that and whatever happens to be in your fridge and pantry) so be as unique as you like.

The ingredients you add will affect the consistency of your smoothie, so you may need to experiment with different combinations and ratios in order to end up with your ideal smoothie bowl. I like my smoothie bowls very thick, so I’ll add vegan protein powders (which work wonderfully to thicken and add creaminess) and loads of ice in a quality high-speed blender. Healthy fats such as avocado and nut butters are also great ways to increase the creaminess of a smoothie bowl. Great topping ideas could be granola, nuts, seeds, sweet freedom sauces, more fruit, crumbled oat cakes, cacao nib and nut butters. I could go on but you get my drift!

Lastly although any bowl will do for a smoothie bowl I like to use a pasta dish as mine is the perfect size portion for me (and can be found at wwww.waitrose.com). Simply pour the smoothie into the bowl and top with whatever you’d like, make pretty patterns, try crazy combo’s but most importantly – enjoy!