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Easy & Delicious Vegan Summer Smoothie Bowls

Summer is the best season for light and energising breakfast, and with plenty of small fruit coming our way, there is nothing better than a smoothie bowl! Berries of all kinds, cucumber, leafy greens – they all play a huge part in keeping us healthy!

Mornings can be truly hectic, and the last thing you want is to spend a long time in the kitchen! Especially during those hot summer days!

I am a huge fan of intermittent fasting (IF) most of the days (I go without the breakfast 4 days out of 7), however, when I feel like eating breakfast, I prefer the preparation to be fast, simple and the result – delicious!

Breakfast should be light and energising, and ready in 15 minutes. After all, the word breakfast means ‘break’ the ‘fast’, therefore choosing to eat light the first meal of the day is the perfect way to go.

Smoothie vs. Smoothie Bowl

People sometimes ask what’s is the difference between a smoothie and a smoothie bowl. Smoothie bowl is thicker in consistency (we achieve this adding less liquid or using fruit like avocado), and it’s eaten with a spoon. Our digestion starts in the mouth, therefore it’s important to chew your smoothies, and this is much easier done when eaten with the spoon.

The perfect smoothie bowl should contain fruit (fresh or frozen), greens (optional, but highly recommended – you know I love my green smoothies :)), a small amount of plant-based healthy fat (avocado, nut butter, nuts, seeds, and optional protein powder.

What I enjoy the most is the creative process of adding the toppings! This is truly the best part! Your smoothie bowl can be crunchy with the addition of nuts, or soft consistency by adding soft fruits, the sky is the limit! And that’s what I love the most!

A few things to consider before you eat breakfast

Keep your breakfast simple. The last thing you want is to overwhelm your digestion, and feel tired when you have the whole day in front of you!

• Drink a glass of warm lemon water upon waking up. Use organic lemons whenever you can – squeeze a bit of the lemon juice into the glass, and add a few lemon slices (with the rind if the lemon is organic) into the glass to get the essential oils from the lemon skin into the water for full benefits. Add 1/4 teaspoon of a high-quality salt (Himalayan pink salt or Celtic sea salt are some of the great options). If lemon is not available, use 1-2 drops of organic food-grade lemon essential oil.
• Move your body. Whether you do a few stretches, a short 10 minutes yoga moves, brisk walk, 20 push-ups, or 30 squats, any type of movement is better than non.
• Journal or meditate (sit and observe your brain) for 10 minutes. Write down 3 things you are grateful for. Make this a daily habit, and in no time you will feel a difference in your wellbeing.

Essentials to keep in your pantry

I recommend buying certain food items like nuts and seeds in a bulk, and preferably online. Not only it would be less expensive, but you will also avoid the pain of running down to the grocery store too often! Win-win!

• nuts – almonds, walnuts, cashews, brazil nuts, hazelnuts, macadamia… (nuts should be preferably organic)
• seeds – flax seeds, hemp seeds, sesame seeds, sunflowers seeds, pumpkin seeds, poppy seeds… (seeds should be preferably organic)
• nut and seed butter (preferably raw and unroasted)
• protein powders (preferably plant-based)
• cacao powder, cacao nibs
• green superfoods powder – my very favourite at the moment is Organic Greens from Love Life Supplements (UK)
• dates
• superfoods
• frozen or freeze-dried fruits
• spices like cinnamon, turmeric, black pepper (preferably from organic agriculture)

Make your own home-made milk.

Soak nuts or seeds for eight hours (or overnight), drain the water, rinse the nuts or seeds again and place into the blender with a pinch of salt. Cover with fresh water. The general rule of thumb is to use 4 cups of filtered water on 1 cup of soaked nuts. Blend. For a high-speed blended it takes about 30-40 seconds, for other less powerful blenders this might be anywhere between a minute or two. What are we looking for is the nuts or seeds to be broken into tiny pieces. Use a cheesecloth (or organic cotton or hemp strainer) to strain the milk through. Keep squeezing until you extract all the milk. Place the milk into a reusable glass bottle and store in the refrigerator for up to a maximum of 3 days.

RELATED POST: How To Make Your Own Home-made Almond Milk

To thicken the smoothies you can use frozen (peeled) bananas, avocado (fresh or frozen), or steamed and frozen cauliflower florets or zucchini pieces for those who follow the keto lifestyle.

TIP: Ground your seeds and keep them in the fridge. This way the seeds preserve the beneficial oils for longer period of the time, and won’t go rancid as fast as the ground store-bought products (you never know how long the ground nuts and seeds sit on the shelves).

Rainbow Berry Smoothie Bowl

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cup almond milk (home-made or store-bought, go for organic raw almond whenever you can)
• 1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries
• 1 banana (preferably frozen)
• 1 teaspoon beetroot powder (it will give the gorgeous pink colour)
• 1 teaspoon Maca powder (optional – Maca is amazing for the energy and hormonal balance)

Blend everything in a blender, pour into a bowl and top up with toppings of your choice. Pictured: one tablespoon of ground flax and pumpkin seeds, raspberries, and wild blueberries (freeze-dried).

Very Veggie Green Smoothie Bowl

Ingredients:

• a handful of organic greens of your choice (spinach, kale, lettuce…)
• 1/4 cucumber
• 1 celery stalk
• 1/2 frozen banana
• 1/2 avocado (fresh or frozen)
• 1 Tbsp flax seeds (ground)
• 2 pitted dates
• 1.5 cup plant milk
• 1 Tbsp hemp seeds

Blend everything in a blender, pour into a bowl and top up with toppings of your choice. Pictured: chia seeds, coconut flakes, raspberries, pumpkin seeds, samphire and a bit of dairy-free yoghurt.

Forest Berry & Spirulina Immune Booster Smoothie Bowl

Ingredients:

• 1/2 avocado – preferably frozen (if fresh, then is great to add a few ice-cubes, to have the smoothie chilled)
• 1.5 cup plant milk (almond, coconut, hemp…)
• handful kale (preferably organic, stems removed)
• 1 teaspoon spirulina
• 2 pitted dates

Blend until smooth, pour into a bowl and top up with fruit, nuts or seeds of your choice.

Featured on the image above:

• 1/2 sliced banana
• forest berries
• hemp seeds
• a few crushed walnuts or pecans and a few pumpkin seeds
• coconut flakes (optional)

What do you think? Are you going to give to smoothie bowls a try? 

Smoothie bowls are a delicious addition to your day – if you can start with just one smoothie or a smoothie bowl a week, that’s a great start! In no time you will feel the benefits, and your body will keep asking for more!

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Get my FREE 7 Green Smoothie recipes guide and start your day the right way!

Where do I get my ingredients:

I buy most of my superfoods, nuts and seeds here and here.

The best choice for freeze-dried fruits and coconut products is Real Food Source. 

My favourite green powder at the moment is the Organic Greens from Love Life Supplements (UK).

My go-to plant protein powder, especially for my chocolate smoothie (which I love love love!), is this.

Let me know in comments below what’s your biggest challenge with making smoothie bowls, and if you have any questions I can help you with!

I look forward to hearing from you!

To your health lovely people!

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