Welcoming the Warmth
Springtime is upon us! As we slowly crawl out of our caves, nests, and burrows and embrace the sunshine and warmer breezes, many of us are looking for a lighter breakfast option to move past our typical bowl of hot oatmeal that has helped us through these seemingly endless winter months. Well, we have the solution: Smoothie Bowls!
With an increasing amount of popularity over the last few years, smoothie bowls are an ongoing trend and show no sign of slowing down. They are easy, quick, and pretty and give us just the right energy to start the day.
Here are a few tips and tricks to keep in mind during your smoothie bowl adventure:
- Make it thick! Think of the texture of your favorite ice cream. You want to enjoy your smoothie bowl like your ice cream—before it is caught by the sun and drips down your cone and onto your hand. So in order to avoid a soupy result, start with less liquid—you can always add more.
- Frozen fruit is your friend, it will add to the creamy consistency you want.
- Skip the fruit juice. Use whole fruit instead of fruit juice—you will get the same taste and avoid added sugars.
- Don’t be afraid to add greens. Throwing in a handful of kale or spinach to your smoothie can boost your daily dose of essential vitamins and minerals.
- Add your favorite toppings for texture. This helps make you feel like you are eating instead of just drinking a smoothie.
- Experiment with design! This is the fun part. Get creative and use your favorite toppings to make patterns and shapes. But don’t worry if your bowl is not Instagram worthy, at the end of the day it will be just as delicious!
Below are a couple of different recipes to inspire you to hop on the smoothie bowl bandwagon and welcome the warmth of spring. Use these recipes as a template and use any frozen fruit or toppings you already have in your freezer and pantry. The possibilities are endless.
Acai Smoothie Bowl
Acai berries (pronounced ah-sai-ee) are small, dark purple berries that come from the acai palm tree native to Central and South America. They are packed with nutrients and antioxidants so adding them to your morning smoothie bowl is the perfect way to start your day! Blend with your favorite frozen fruit and top with whatever toppings suit your fancy. Acai packets can be found in our freezer section. Recipe by Elena Palermo.
Yield: 1 Active time: 10 minutes Total time: 10 minutes
Ingredients
1 acai packet
½ cup frozen strawberries
½ cup frozen blueberries
½ banana
½ cup non-dairy milk
Toppings:
1 Tbsp shredded coconut
Sliced banana
1 Tbsp granola
¼ cup fresh blackberries
Instructions
In a blender, combine acai packet, strawberries, blueberries, banana and almond milk. Blend until all ingredients are combined, smooth and creamy. Place mixture in bowl and top with shredded coconut, banana, granola, blackberries or any other favorite toppings.
Tropical Smoothie Bowl
This pretty, light pink smoothie bowl contains all of your favorite tropical fruit. Sweet and delicious, the flavor will be sure to put you in a sunny mood. Try adding peanut butter for protein and shredded coconut and/or granola for texture! Recipe by Elena Palermo.
Ingredients
½ banana
½ frozen mango
½ frozen strawberries
½ cup non-dairy milk
Toppings
1 Tbsp smooth peanut butter
Sliced banana
Chia seeds
Granola
Yield: 1 Active time: 10 minutes Total time: 10 minutes
Instructions
In a blender, combine banana, strawberries, mango, and almond milk. Blend until all ingredients are combined, smooth and creamy. Place mixture in bowl and top with peanut butter, banana, chia seeds, granola, and any other favorite toppings.
Peanut Butter Berry Smoothie Bowl
This delicious bowl is as close as you can get to eating ice cream for breakfast, while still feeling virtuous about the protein and nutritious fruits you are spooning up. For the best smoothies, freeze bananas that have gotten a little too ripe; just peel them and pop them in a freezer bag. The frozen ingredients make a thick smoothie, perfect for topping with granola, fruit and seeds. Recipe from StrongerTogether.coop.
Yield: 2 Active time: 15 minutes Total time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
1 cup plain Non-fat Greek yogurt
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 large frozen banana
1 cup frozen strawberries
Toppings:
2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced
1 cup granola
2 Tbsp chopped roasted peanuts
2 Tbsp chia seeds
Instructions
Place the yogurt, peanut butter, banana, and strawberries in a blender, and secure the lid. Puree until smooth. Divide the smoothie between two low, wide bowls and spread mixture evenly. Arrange the sliced strawberries on each bowl, then garnish with the granola, peanuts and chia seeds. Serve immediately.
Three quick and easy smoothie bowls to start your springtime off right. Stayed tuned for smoothie bowl recipe videos coming soon! Also, send us your smoothie bowl pics! If you try out one of the recipes above or create your own smoothie bowl recipe, we would love to see it! Post a picture to Facebook or Instagram and tag @citymarketcoop. Checkout more of City Market’s recipes, here.