What's better and more filling than a protein packed smoothie? A protein packed smoothie, in a bowl, with delicious and nutritious raw toppings! I still have a smoothie almost every morning as a grab and go meal to take to work, but on the weekends or on a day off when you can actually sit down to "eat" your smoothie instead of drink it, what could beat a wonderful bowl of goodness? There's a ton of flexibility and creativity to make your own smoothie bowl, which makes it easy to just grab whatever you have on hand for smoothie ingredients and toppings. I've gotten comments on my smoothie bowls such as "wow that sure looks like a lot of chewing!" I promise- it's not really so horrible. What's better than raw protein in it's natural form? Just make sure you floss before you head out anywhere that may involve interacting with other human beings. Enjoy this yummy and easy breakfast idea!
Ingredients:
For your smoothie:
-Your main ingredient here is going to be FROZEN FRUIT.
Always keep frozen fruit stocked in your freezer for smoothies, whether you bought it in the frozen section, or you get fresh fruit and freeze it yourself. I love to freeze berries and other fruits that I get in bulk when they go on sale, or things like mangoes when we have a major surplus when our local "mango man" gives us tons of handouts of all the overripe mangoes he can't sell (so we stock up, cut them up and freeze them!). So be resourceful here, especially when you have overripe fruits you may normally throw out (like that spotted or brown banana) because these things are super sweet and actually add wonders of flavor to your smoothie (and will help you feel less wasteful!)
-Also add FROZEN (or fresh) GREENS.
Same with the fruit, we stock up on spinach and kale and freeze what we can't use before it goes bad to be used for smoothies. The crazy thing about these highly nutritious greens is that they don't even have a taste in your smoothie- they just provide iron, protein, magnesium, calcium, vitamins B, A, and C with barely any calories. They also make your smoothie pleasantly green (don't let the color deter you- it just makes me confident in all the nutrients I am getting when I ingest green colored smoothie mixtures!)
-Add some green SUPERFOODS such as fresh wheatgrass and/or spirolina powder.
These can be found at your local healthfood stores, or fresh at a local market. They provide some of the same nutrients as your nutrient rich greens, but wheatgrass is also a good source of potassium, fiber,varies A, C, E, K, some essential amino acids, manganese and selenium, where spirolina also has a good amount of protein and iron. My favorite premade superfood blend is called "Amazing Grass" and is a powder mixture that's already flavored and full of nutrients to get you through the whole day.
-Add a vegan PROTEIN
For raw proteins, try chia seeds, ground up flax seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, oats, any form of nuts (walnuts, cashews, almonds), fresh ground peanut or almond butter, etc. There are raw superfood protein powders such as Maca powder out on the market too that also provide numerous health benefits. You can also use convenient premade protein powders- there are plenty of healthy options on the market these days. There are plenty of veg proteins, (check ingredients to ensure they are vegan, whey comes from milk and is a very popular protein powder ingredient). We usually get hemp protein powder but also try other kinds when they go on sale.
-Add other raw tasty flavors
such as cacao (coco) powder or fresh ground peanut or almond butter.
-you will need some form of LIQUID to make your smoothie well, smooth.
Try fruit juices (orange is my favorite), ice cubes, and non-dairy milks (I always love vanilla coconut, soy, almond, flax or cashew milk in a smoothie).
Toppings:
Most of the above smoothie ingredients can also be used as a topping for your smoothie bowl, pick accordingly as to whether you want an ingredient ground up and smooth, or as a topping for texture. For example, I will add my favorite fresh fruits on top for textures I love (such as sliced bananas, or fresh berries) and would recommend grinding up seeds or nuts that are a hassle for you because they get caught in teeth or flavors/textures that you want evenly dispersed throughout your smoothie mixture (such as peanut butter or protein powder). If your fruit is frozen, blend it in your smoothie, but if it's fresh and perfectly ripe you may want to enjoy it in it's whole form.
Here are some ideas:
-fresh sliced fruits or whole berries
-dried fruits
-hemp seeds
-nuts
-chia seeds
-ground flax powder
How to prepare:
Throw all of your smoothie ingredients into a high powered blender and blend til smooth. I recommend making your smoothie mixture thicker than you normally would want to make it to drink since it's going to be eaten (rather than drank) with a spoon.
To thicken, add more fruits, seeds/nuts, greens, or oats. To liquify add more of your juice or milk.
Once smoothie is well blended, pour into serving bowl(s) and top artistically with your topping choices (if you care) or just throw your toppings on randomly if you're planning on mixing it all together with a spoon anyway. Enjoy!! Extra uneaten smoothie can be stored in freezer and re-blended again in the future.
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