Alright, my friends, I think it’s safe to say that it’s officially summertime! That means lots of outdoors time, beachy moments, family time, adventures, and…smoothie bowls. Duh.
Smoothie bowls are seriously the perfect sweet treat for everyone. They’re one of those things that you can make super healthy, with no added sweeteners or any of that stuff, and yet still be so delicious. For you, and for the kiddos.
Plus, smoothie bowls are super easy to make with whatever fruits that are available for you, and they’re fun to individualize when you add toppings. Whether you’re a fresh fruit topping kinda person, or you want some extra sweetness with coconut flakes or chocolate chips- there’s truly an option for everyone. Get a smoothie bowl bar set up in your own kitchen as a fan favorite for guests and family, alike.
Summer Smoothie Bowl
So, one of my favorite things about this particular smoothie bowl is that it’s a great blend of a berry smoothie, with added protein that can be found in nuts (hello, peanut butter), and seeds (like chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, and hemp seeds).
If you want an extra added protein kick in your smoothie bowl, then you can always add a scoop or protein powder in before you blend. Also, something like almond milk will have more protein than oat milk. Whereas subbing the milk in the recipe for something like orange juice won’t give you the added protein you’re looking for. If protein is your focus this summer, get those extra additives where you can.
Remember, most smoothie bowl recipes can be catered and tweaked to your liking quite easily. That means if you prefer to have the nut butter as topping, rather than blended in- then do that. Or, if you don’t really like peanuts, then you can always do almond butter instead. While most smoothie bowl recipes are plant based, you can even change that by using 1 cup of cow’s milk or honey. The point is, you do you.
In my opinion, the most delicious smoothie bowls are the ones that aren’t too sweet, but also aren’t bland. They’re juuuuuust right. Of course that just rightness will vary for everyone, but I also just wanted to remind you that fruit is sweet all on its own! Frozen bananas? Sheesh, they’re literally like ice cream. So, try to give it a try with just fruit first. If you want to add sweetener, then slowly drizzle it on top so you don’t oversweeten it, and get over it altogether.
Have fun with it. Get creative, and get to blending. We’ve got a smoothie bowl summer ahead!
For more summer recipes check out the Liver Lover Smoothie Bowl or my favorite summer salad.
Summer Smoothie Bowl Ingredients
This is enough for 1 – 2 servings
1 frozen banana (ripe & spotty)
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1 C milk of choice (for my favorite recipe, click here)
Nut butter of your choice (click here for my favorite recipe)
At least ¼ cup of seeds for topping
Pumpkin seeds
Hemp seeds
Additional toppings of your choice:
Cacao nibs
Fresh raspberries
Summer Smoothie Bowl Instructions
1. If you’re making your own milk or nut butter, best to do that first (or even the night before). Click here for my recipes. You’ll need a quality blender like a Vitamix (link to the one in my storefront) to make sure the motor doesn’t burn out when you’re blending something hard like nuts.
2. Add 1 frozen, spotty banana, 1/2 cup frozen blueberries, 1/2 cup frozen strawberries & 1 cup nut milk to the food processor. Blend until creamy and smooth. If you need to add more liquid, feel free to include more milk (this helps to soften the frozen fruit).
3. Add smoothie to bowl, and top with pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds & cacao nibs to your liking. Or use any toppings that your heart desires! Don’t forget to include a tablespoon (or more!) of nut butter.
4. Top with fresh raspberries for that decadent ending moment.
ENJOY!
How To Make Smoothie Bowls Thick
Before you go, I want to make sure you know how to make those yummy ice cream thick kinda smoothie bowls. Because, let’s be real, those are definitely the best kinds.
First things first, you’re going to have a thicker smoothie bowl with the more frozen fruit you use. That means, if you use all frozen fruit, then you’re likely to have that ice cream consistency. However, it’s important to remember that a lot of the thickness comes from the texture and water content of the fruit itself. So, as you can imagine, bananas are going to give it that creamy texture, whereas berries will water it down more.
When you’re freezing bananas, make sure to peel the skin off first! Otherwise it’s hopeless. And also, don’t forget that the spottier the bananas are, the sweeter they’ll be (these also make great bananas for banana bread, by the way). So, try to wait for them to get nice and brown before you freeze them.
If you want the thick smoothie bowl consistency is giving you a freaking brain freeze, then just so with frozen bananas, and use fruit that’s at room temp or fridge temp. That way you’ll still get the thick, creaminess, without it being too intense.
I hope you enjoy your smoothie bowl summer, my friends.
xx,
K