As if I thought I couldn’t be more hooked on smoothie and açai bowls, this little popular superfood came into my life called Spirulina. If you haven’t heard of spirulina before, it is a natural algae powder that is 65% protein and amino acids, has high B-12 content and is extremely high in chlorophyll. The chlorophyll explains its bright grassy green hue. Spirulina has quite a strong taste and a recommended serving ranges from 1-2 teaspoons. It is barely noticeable when popped into a smoothie if used with the right fruits and natural sweeteners. Otherwise, your drink will taste like a mix between lake water and dirt. Sounds delightful, right?
To tell you the truth, I bought some spirulina in the bulk section at Whole Foods just to add a bit of color to my smoothie bowl. I am one who strongly supports adding superfoods to dishes to increase the nutritional value but smoothie bowls usually pack a good amount of nutrition to begin with. Therefore, the color was what motivated me this time.
I know just by looking at the picture you’re wanting this to hit your mouth instantaneously. I don’t blame you. Rather than just throwing frozen bananas into my blender, I knew I had to add something different to give this bright green bowl of goodness a tropical flavor. By checking out my options in my freezer, I saw almost-empty bags of frozen peaches and pineapple that I used up. I dropped them in my Vitamix along with 1 banana and the rest is magic. This took about 5 minutes to make in the morning, was not too filling and gave me a great boost of energy to power me through my Friday workout.
I’m known to over-do my smoothie bowl toppings which results in my being stuffed silly. With just a few cashew pieces, a sprinkle of Purely Elizabeth’s ancient grain oatmeal and 1/4 of a sliced banana did the trick this time around. Sometimes less is more and although I want all of the toppings in the world at once, sometimes I need to understand its alright to not include almond butter, granola, 10 different fruits and 5 different nuts all on one smoothie or açai bowl. Constantly reminding myself I’m not a raw vegan who needs to eat 10 bananas for breakfast to survive is a bit hard at times. Trust me though, this bowl will satisfy you and not give you that banana bloat feeling!
- ¾ frozen banana
- ½ cup frozen spinach
- ¼-1/2 cup cashew milk
- ¼ cup frozen peaches
- ¼ cup frozen pineapple
- 1-2 medjool dates
- ¼ banana
- Nuts and granola or oats for topping (I used Purely Elizabeth and cashews)
- Combine all ingredients up to the ¼ of a banana together in a high-power blender or food processor. Add a small amount of milk and increase until it blends.
- Pour into a large bowl and top with bananas, cashews and Purely Elizabeth!
- Enjoy all that green 🙂
Smooth and piled high, this earthy bowl is guaranteed to bring good vibes to your day and maybe even release your inner hippie. Despite the price of cashews, this smoothie bowl will not have the same effect if you use a different type of nut but if you must, I’d opt for almonds. Feel free to swap out the spinach for romaine or kale. Remove it altogether and you’ll still get that intense green color and flavor!
The cashew + date + tropical fruit combination will make your senses trick you into thinking you’re eating breakfast for ice cream. Who doesn’t love that?
-Addie
