A guide to making delicious thick and creamy kale banana smoothie bowl sans the extra sugar.
Kind of been on a smoothie bowl kick- with the weather being so hot and humid in New Jersey it has been slowing life down a bit making the cool, creamy smoothie bowl more appealing. If you are new to the concept it is just what the name provokes. A smoothie but in a bowl brilliant, I know. Typically, however smoothie bowls are a tad thick hennce eating them with a spoon, artfully decorated with fruits, nuts and seeds.
Smoothie Bowl Components
01 Vegetables// Leafy greens like kale, spinach, romaine, beet greens and sweet potato, cauliflower, zucchini make for a good nutrient base foundation
02Fruit// use frozen when able it will make a thicker, cool and creamy smoothie bowl like banana, mango, açaí, strawberries, blueberries, melon
03 Protein // nut butter, silken tofu, yogurt or a scoop of plant based protein powder
04 Fluid//coconut water, nut milk, go light on the fluids 2-3 tablespoons is all you really need if you take your time and blend slowly
05 Boosters// shredded coconut, bee pollen, chia seed, flax seed, hemp seeds, cacao nibs, low-sugar granolas, mint can be added to smoothie or on top
Tips for Making Smoothie Bowls
- Go light on fluids. Whether your adding coconut water, nut milk or water start with a small amount and add more in as you need.
- Blend in sections first create the leafy green juice with kale and coconut water taking the blender up to a high speed for a velvety smooth texture. Add in remainingingredients once the greens are all smooth.
- Slowly blend and scrape down the sides moving the smoothie contents with the tamper or spoon avoiding the blade.
Be Mindful of Sugars
Fruit is a delicious and absolutely a part of a balanced plant based diet. What we do have to be mindful of is the amount of fruit we are adding to our smoothie bowl. Fruit contains simple sugars even though the sugars in fruit- fructose & glucose- are natural they are still sugars and having too much can lead to weight gain or could be troublesome for those with Irritable bowel syndrome or diabetes. Replace the fruit instead with vegetables like cauliflower, zucchini, kale which contain lots of nutrients sans the sugar. if you are having finding it a bit too earthly, you can add in more fruit, dates or honey for sweetener overtime you may find you’ll acquire a taste for a less-sweet smoothie bowl.
What’s the Word?
If you are in a time crunch just take your smoothie in a to go cup. Have some extra time to chill? then have a good time making your very own smoothie bowl, decorating beautifully with lots of super food boosters.
Going to make this smoothie bowl recipe? Or one of your own? Share a picture with me 🙂 Also would love to hear any thoughts you have about smoothie bowl making or nutrition. Let’s start a conversation, comment in the section below or message me on instagram @sidebarnutrition.
to good health and happiness,
Jamie
- 1 cup kale
- 1 cup cauliflower, frozen
- 1 banana, frozen
- 1/4 cup mango, frozen
- 1 tablespoon almond butter
- 3-4 tablespoons of coconut water
- 1 Tablespoon chia seeds
- 1 Tablespoon hemp seeds
- 1 Tablespoon coconut
- In a high speed blender- blend kale and coconut water, once combined into smooth green juice add in cauliflower, banana and mango. Blend low and slow scraping down the sides and mixing as needed.
- Pour smoothie into a bowl
- Decorate smoothie as desired or as pictured with coconut, chia seeds, raspberries, cherry and hemp seeds etc. Serve immediately with spoon and enjoy!
- * For colder smoothie bowl add 1/2 cup of ice.
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