Healthy dessert style breakfast bowl!
Today, when I was pondering what to post, someone suggested a smoothie bowl. Now, if you’ve never had a smoothie bowl – or think a smoothie is simply something you drink – think again! A smoothie bowl is, of course, smoothie-based, but think of it as a bowl of healthier dessert – or indeed, breakfast. A bit like ice cream, but made mostly of fruit and topped with nutritious extras.
I usually make my bowls with a base of frozen banana – especially in this heat, when bananas only last a couple of days before becoming overripe. A splash of milk, a spoonful of peanut butter, then whatever fruit needs eating (often raspberries), and you have your base. At the minute I’m loving nuts and coconut, so these, along with blueberries and a sprinkle of cocoa or mixed spice, are my go-to toppings.
The Smoothie Bowl Recipe
To make your own smoothie bowl, you’ll need something frozen such as fruit, ice cream or ice cubes. Add a splash of liquid of your choice – I used oat milk, but water or even juice works just as well. Then choose your flavour: fruit, nut butter, or even a bit of chocolate if you fancy it. Blend everything together until it’s smooth but still thick enough to eat with a spoon. Adjust the ratio of liquid if needed.
Pour it into a bowl, then add your toppings. I love a mixture of fruit, nuts, seeds and coconut, but use whatever you have to hand. Chop, slice or scatter, make it look pretty (or not!) and there you go. Ta-dah! A delicious smoothie bowl ready to enjoy.
Flavour Ideas
Tropical: Frozen mango and banana blended together with a splash of milk, topped with fresh mango and a sprinkle of coconut.
Berry Medley: Frozen banana base with a splash of milk, blended with fresh raspberries. Top with strawberries, blueberries, and extra raspberries.
Nutty Banana: Frozen banana with a heaped teaspoon of peanut butter, a splash of oat milk. Top with chopped nuts, a drizzle of peanut butter, and a pinch of cinnamon.
Chocolate Berry: Frozen mixed berries with banana, milk, and cocoa powder. Top with extra berries and a few dark chocolate shavings.
Green Goodness: Frozen banana and avocado with a splash of almond milk. Top with kiwi, pumpkin seeds, and a sprinkle of granola.
What do I need?
Hopefully you already have everything you need for this recipe, but in case you’re new to smoothie bowls, or just want a refresh, here are a few items you might like. You might need a new blender or even a mini version, a chopping board and a sharp knife. For serving, you could get a coconut bowl like mine – they have all sorts of decorated ones, or some mini cutters to make your fruit all sorts of decorative shapes! These links will take you straight to Amazon where you can then search as usual for anything you need. If you follow these links, Amazon might pay us a small commission, which goes towards paying the website hosting fees. We’d be very grateful if you do, thank you!
Serving
Serve your smoothie bowl freshly made, topped with all your favourite toppings. A nice bowl makes all the difference and if you decorate the top it will make you eat slower and savour it more!
Storing
You can store your prepped smoothie in the fridge once made, but the consistency will change – especially if you’re using frozen fruits. If storing, add the toppings just before serving.
Sharing
I hope you will experiment and make all sorts of different smoothie bowls. Let me know what your favourite base is and if you think some toppings work better than others.
As always, I love hearing about any recipes of mine you try, any ideas you adapt or suggestions you have for future recipes. Please share and tag me @LifeDietHealth or using #LifeDietHealth on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook or X.
Leave me a comment below… I love to chat!
I hope to speak with you soon
Laurena x
Hi Laurena, I’ve been off the wagon these past few weeks since looking after my mother in law. She also wanted me to defrost both her freezers, so I may have eaten a choc ice or two for comfort…I never usually eat ice cream! Your frozen concoctions are a lot healthier!
By the way, she seems to prefer my veggie soups over everything I’ve cooked for her☺️
Hello Eva, oh, you’ve been over here and didn’t tell me! Ooo, veggie soups are great – what’s your best one? and… now I’m wondering if I could manage to make a choc ice…
I was in the house for 2.5 weeks, I could only go to the garden to hang out the washing! It was intense. We even had to look after my brother in law’s dog, on top of everything else. My mother in law is a lot worse now. I couldn’t even visit my family.
My favourite soup is just any veg there is to hand with some lentils and rice, flavoured with some tomato puree, bay and warming spices like cinnamon or nutmeg. I found some star anise there, so used that…it seemed to work really well.
Oh goodness Eva – that does sound very intense, I hope your m-i-l is ok though. Rice is an interesting one in soup – I sometimes use the tiny flower shaped pasta and some sort of lentils are almost always thrown in, but unless I’m making rice soup, the rice stays as rice! Likely as I usually make soup in bulk and I have an aversion to rice that is more than 20 minutes old! My bay tree has grown a lot this year and I often forget to add it to soup so thanks for the reminder. Cinnamon and nutmeg I would only add to squash based soups so perhaps I’ll have a play with that too! Now I’m concocting recipes in my head instead of focusing on todays tasks…
Oh no, I just typed a long response and now it’s disappeared🤪
I used that Italian-style tiny flower pasta a lot for my m-i-l! She’s ok, thanks, but definitely needs a lot more care and attention since her fall last year.
She also seems to like tiny vermicelli in soup that mum introduced her to. I was brought up on that (with grated tomato) or rice in soup.
You’re lucky having fresh bay leaves💚
I sometimes buy some dried ones from a cathedral gift shop nearby, lol
Have fun concocting recipes☺️
Oh no – gremlins! She’s fortunate you were able to look after her – presumably whilst others went on holiday. Vermicelli is also great for adding to rice or bulghur! Might be a middle-Eastern thing! Grated tomato? I’m all for grating (it’s my new favourite thing to do with my food at the minute!) but I think my homegrown tomatoes are much too juicy for that! Oops to bay – I’d forgotten already! Such is all the goings on here!!!
Yes, vermicelli (or ‘fide’ for me) and bulghur or rice is definitely an eastern Med/Middle-Eastern thing☺️
ooo – fide? Do you add it every time?
Not every time.
And yes, grated tomato is also very common. Surely the juicier, the better for grating hehe x