Smoothie bowls - what, why, how?

What?
A smoothie bowl is simply a smoothie that you eat from a bowl with a spoon instead of drinking it. Haha I know it is kinda obvious, but I get a lot of questions about smoothie bowls on instagram and tumblr, so I thought I might as well do a quick post on them.

Why?
Smoothies are so easy to make, jam-packed with nutrients and I absolutely love having my smoothies as smoothie bowls because that means I can add crazy amounts of toppings, which does not only make the smoothie that much tastier, but also add extra nutrients and helps me feel full longer. 

How?
To make a smoothie bowl simply make a smoothie like you usually would, but add less liquid to make it thicker so it is easier to eat with a spoon. My personal favourite is blended frozen berries, banana, skyr/greek yoghurt and vanilla powder topped with chia seeds (see my post on chia seeds here), muesli, fruit and berries.

Acai breakfast smoothie bowl

Ingredients:
1.5 cup frozen berries (I used blueberries and strawberries)
2 bananas 
2 tablespoons acai powder
2 tablespoons skyr/quark/greek youghurt 
water to blend
Stevia or other sweetener to taste - optional 

Simply place everything in a blender, blend until smooth and add your favorite toppings - I topped it with kiwi, blueberries, raw coconut chips, mulberries, pomegranate, pineapple, goji berries and chia seeds. Enjoy! :)

Cashew'berry smoothie bowl

One of my absolute favorite things to eat are smoothie bowls - people always ask me if don't get tired of eating them, but I honestly don't because the possibilities for smoothie combos and toppings are pretty much endless. Another big plus is that they are so fast and easy to make, but still super nutritious and tasty.



Recipe:
1 cup frozen strawberries
1/2 cup frozen raspberries
1 banana
1/3 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup water
If needed - a little sweetener, stevia, honey, agave etc.

Just blend it until smooth, pour it into a bowl and add your toppings of choice. I used raw coconut chips, freeze dried blackberry, goji berries, chia seeds and mulberries - and I added a lot more after the picture was taken + some muesli ;)

Feed your eyes

Fruit art smoothie bowl: blend blueberries, banana, water, oats and pure vanilla powder. Topped with banana, passion fruit, 

muesli, blueberries, pomegranate, kiwi and strawberries. 

Super antioxidant smoothie

Hi lovelies! I wanted to share the recipe for the berry smoothie bowl I made for breakfast this morning with you - not only does it taste amazing (haha I feel stupid writing that since I’m the one who made it), but it is also loaded with antioxidants and other goodies. Antioxidants have so many health benefits, they are anti-inflammatory, boosts the immune system and are even believed to lower the risk of cancer as they block the activity of free radicals, which have the potential to cause damage to cells, including such damage that may lead to cancer.

Another benefit of antioxidants are their anti-aging effects, and I do not just talk about anti-aging as in wrinkles and such related to appearance, studies have shown that the consumption of antioxidants may help prevent or even reverse memory loss.

Antioxidants furthermore works as a natural protection for your skin as antioxidants can help to protect your skin from the damaging effects of the sun. Antioxidants can help protect your skin from the inside out by guarding your cells from damage, but this doesn’t mean that they can replace sunscreen though ;)

Ingredients:

2 bananas

¼ cup goji berries

½ cup blueberries

¼ cup pomegranate

5 strawberries

1 tbsp. acai powder

½ cup water

Pure vanilla powder & stevia to taste - optional

Directions:

Just blend it all together and enjoy! You can either drink it like a regular smoothie or make a smoothie bowl like the one pictured, I topped it with raw shredded coconut, strawberries, pomegranate, goji berries, blueberries and chia seed.

Acai bowl

I feel like it would only be fitting to start this blog off with my go-to acai bowl recipe. Acai bowls are one of my favourite things to eat as it is not only extremely easy to make, but also super healthy (a post on the benefits of acai is coming soon!) and it doesn’t get boring because of the endless possibilities when it comes to topping.

Ingredients:

• 2 very ripe bananas
• 1 cup berries
• 2 tbsps. acai powder (available at most health stores)
• Water to blend

I like to use either frozen berries or frozen bananas as I prefer the acai bowl cold when eating.

Directions:

1. Blend all of the ingredients, add some water to ease the blending, but not too much or it will end up too thin.
2. Add whatever toppings you’d like and have available. Personally I love to add lots of fresh fruit, berries, my homemade muesli (recipe coming soon) and superfoods like chia seeds, cacao nibs and goji berries.
3. Enjoy!

Examples of some of the different acai bowls I have made, find more on my IG @amillionmiless