Smoothie bowls – Acai bowls, what ever you call it it’s packed with outrageous flavors and color. The holiday decorations are packed away for another year. The house seems so much emptier. With all the white outside I’m feeling the need to bring bright colors into our day.
Paul, Mark and Mary are back to school. Joe is home for only a few more days, I don’t want the holiday break to end. Usually I’m impatiently waiting for spring at this time. The holiday is over, the cold weather can be over too. But, this year I’m trying to be present and intentional, in the moment instead of rushing the days to change. The days already move too quickly, why rush them.
It’s been a wonderful Christmas and New Year filled with family and friends, snowy days, warm fires, games, puzzles, good food, libations, more libations. It has been F U N but it’s time to indulge a little less. However, let’s not get crazy, theres no need to give up flavor.
Summer or winter these treats are equally delicious in any season. Acai berries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, are all packed with antioxidants and good natural sugars. We’re always concerned with the calorie count. These are not low calorie, full disclosure! BUT, the quality of those calories and natural ingredients make those calories count for good. 
Are you Team Green or Team Purple? They’re both delicious! Some of my readers say, if it’s green my kids will never eat it. I don’t understand how this happened in our culture. Some of our best tasting foods are green. One bite and they’ll think again about green! And it’s so pretty! When the ingredients are blended smoothly it is the consistency of soft serve ice-cream. It takes a powerful blender. I use (and L O V E ) my Vitamix Professional Series 200 Blender, Black
Fresh Start Smoothie Bowls
Ingredients:
Smoothie:
- 1/2 apple
- 2 pitted medjool dates
- 1 medium ripe banana can be fresh or previously sliced and frozen
- 1 cup fresh or frozen mixed berries use strawberries/raspberries for a greener smoothie, darker berries for a purple smoothie
- 2 large handfuls spinach
- A large handful kale, large stems removed
- 1 1/2 – 2 cups unsweetened non-dairy milk such as almond milk (will depend on if your berries are frozen)
- one Tbsp flax seed meal
- Optional: 2 Tbsp salted creamy almond or peanut butter
Toppings:
- Granola
- Raw or roasted nuts (almonds, pecans, walnuts, etc.)
- Shredded unsweetened coconut
- Fresh berries
- Sliced fresh banana
- Chi seeds
- Roasted unsalted sunflower seeds
- Almond or peanut butter
The options are endless!
Method:
- Simply add ingredients into a powerful blender. Layer the fresh and frozen items so that frozen items are not clumped together. Add liquid as needed to get to desired consistency. You’ll need to stop the blender and stir a few times as ingredients blend. You want a thick soft serve consistency so toppings will sit on top.
- Pour each serving into a bowl.
- Add toppings as desired.
Are you a stirrer like my daughter Mary or do you like each spoonful as it comes. I like to keep my toppings on top as I eat. Mary stirs it up. The great debate continues here. However you like it…ENJOY!
xo
