These smoothie bowl recipes are easy, delicious and nutritious options that are perfect for breakfast, lunch, as a midday snack, a post workout meal, or even as a dessert!
What are smoothie bowls?
Just like smoothies with similar ingredients, smoothie bowls are quick and easy to do because you put all the ingredients in a blender and blend. What really distinguishes a smoothie bowl are the toppings. Because of these additions it makes it feel like more of a meal rather than just a drink. It’s definitely a different experience eating a smoothie with a spoon instead of sipping it through a straw! Think of smoothie bowls similar to soft serve.
When it comes to making the perfect smoothie bowl, it consists of a good base, protein, greens (optional), a sweetener, and toppings. It’s important to blend your ingredients on low and to slowly add your liquid; scraping down the sides until you get the right consistency helps as well. The fun part of smoothie bowls is its versatility in making it however you'd like it; the thickness, the flavor profile, and even the toppings.
Are these recipes healthy?
Choosing the right ingredients for your own smoothie bowl contributes a huge role in making your own healthy smoothie bowl recipe.
- When it comes to choosing the base, I like using frozen bananas, frozen avocado, frozen strawberries, or any frozen fruit and then opting for unsweetened almond milk or coconut water for more electrolytes. I start off with just a bit first and gradually add more once I find that the creamy consistency is similar to ice cream. What’s great is that there are plenty of nondairy milk options available at your local grocery store (or if you’re really eager, can make your own to avoid any additional preservatives).
- Adding a complementary protein source, such as peanut butter, Greek yogurt, and protein powder, helps add more depth and satiety to your smoothie bowls.
- As much as I can, I love adding a handful of greens like spinach, kale or lettuce. They’re mild in flavor but add a lot more nutrition and fiber. You can also incorporate other vegetables like riced cauliflower or pumpkin. This is also the perfect way to add more greens to any picky eaters that you may have.
- When it comes to additional sweeteners, I like using vanilla extract, maple syrup or honey. Alternatively, you can add coconut sugar or coconut flakes.
- Now for the fun part: the toppings! You can add more protein and healthy fats by choosing a variety of nuts and seeds like sunflower, pumpkin, chia and hemp hearts; some more fruit like banana slices or dried fruit; or even some crunchy cacao nibs, granola or cereal for some texture.
The misconceptions that some have with smoothie bowls are that they are high in sugar and carbohydrates with very low protein and fiber content. However there are a lot of amazing nutrients that can be jam packed into a smoothie bowl.
There are also ways to combat this by making sure each component that we’ve listed above are met and we are mindful of our portions. Another key step is that we take the time to chew our food. When we chew our food, there are specific enzymes that are released in our body to help with the digestion process. It also allows our bodies more time to send our brain signals of “I’m full” to prevent accidental overeating.
Below are some of my favorite healthy smoothie bowl recipes that I tend to gravitate to the most and never get old. I’ve added superfoods to them that make them both delicious and nutritious. They’re vegan-friendly, gluten-free, and refined sugar free. You can also use these recipes as inspiration and modify them depending on what your body needs for that day.
Once you’ve tried them out, let me know which one of the smoothie bowl recipes are your favorites! Enjoy!
Our Favorite Smoothie Bowl Recipes
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