You can hear the detractors arc up as soon as a pretty photo crosses the screens of their phones, “smoothie bowls are so over-done, so trendy, only good for pretty Instagram pictures!”. They it yell loudly and repeatedly (because they quite obviously have nothing better to do, or perhaps have been pushed over the edge by one too many failed avocado rose attempts), and fixate on to the next so-called trend.
However I, brandishing a spoon like a sword, am here to stand up and say, “who cares, be nice and get over yourself, it’s only food — if you need me I’ll be eating a smoothie bowl, because I love them and won’t be moving on any time soon”.
Why, pray tell, do I so love the mechanic of a drinkable-drink eaten from a bowl? Well for starters we’ve been doing that with soup for oh, I don’t know, centuries — so lets put the pretend trendyness of the concept behind us and move on to more important functional factors.
For starters, if a smoothie isn’t isn’t quite smooth (usually the fault of kale, poor kale) I find it’s far more enjoyable to eat it with a spoon than to drink it — I do however I have a distinct textural issue with lumpy drinks. Those Asian Bubble Teas with their floating bits and bobs and abnormally wide straws better suited to syphoning petrol from a car than consuming food freak me out, however if a spoon is available to replace said straw I’m good to go, bubbles, bits and all.
Secondly, and very practically in my opinion, I consume food from in a bowl far more slowly than I do from a glass. A smoothie, especially one with a straw (the normal kind, not the giant kind) will disappear before my eyes, but serve it up in a bowl with lots of bits on top and I pace myself far better with a spoon.
Needless to say they’re also terribly pretty and great for Instagram — ha! If you want more ideas right away it’s best you follow me on IG (or on Facebook) as daily bowls are most often shared there with a list of ingredients and never make it any further.
However, if the plan in my head plays out, you’ll be seeing more here from time to time too. As such, if you have something you want me to get into a smoothie bowl recipe because you can’t ever get it to work out quite right leave me a note below!
Beetroot & Berry Smoothie Bowl
I’m a fan of smoothies with substance and while I do love a big bowl of nicecream I simply can’t start the day with something so sweet. Needless to say I tend more to veggies and only slightly sweetened smoothie bowls, however the lack of fruit in the blend means I can use more of it to decorate the top — everybody wins.
Serves 1, multiply as required
INGREDIENTS
- 2 small raw beetroot (beets), finely grated
- 1 mandarin, peeled and seeds removed
- ½ cup almond milk or coconut water
- 1 cucumber
- ½ avocado
- 1 or 2 handfuls frozen berries
- 1 Tbsp pea protein powder, or a small handful of nuts, both entirely optional
to garnish
- strawberries
- cherries
- raspberries
- pomegranate seeds
- something crunchy if you wish
METHOD
If you have a high-speed blender, throw all the ingredients in and blend until smooth. I however don’t have a high-speed blender so I use an immersion / hand blender for pretty much everything and blend in the following order for maximum smoothie smoothness:
Blend grated beetroot and milk until smooth (if using nuts add at this point). Add the cucumber and blend again. Add avocado, berries and protein powder (if using) and blend once more until silky smooth and thick.
Pour into a glass and go, or tip into a bowl and decorate with various red fruit.
COOK’S NOTES
- Make it yours, really, the ingredient quantities are simply a good starting point.
- Increase or decrease items as you wish, add a banana or dates for more sweetness, add ice and/or leave out the avocado for a frappe-style, use roasted beetroot if you prefer.
vegan // vegetarian // gluten-free // dairy-free // nut-free option // soy-free
Looks beautiful…
Thanks! It was delicious 🙂