Strawberry Banana Smoothie Bowl

It's officially summer here in Australia and I'm ready for all the smoothies!  Whilst I love drinking a smoothie during the day as a bit of a pick-me-up, there's something about "drinking" a smoothie for breakfast that leaves me rather unsatisfied.

I think it's because my brain wants "food" and doesn't classify a drink as a satisfying meal.

There's two ways to counteract this - drink my smoothie and eat a little something extra (hard boiled eggs or a piece of toast), or turn my smoothie into a smoothie bowl.  More often than not, the smoothie bowl wins!

This Strawberry Banana Smoothie Bowl is my go-to.  I always have the ingredients on hand.  It takes less than 5 minutes to prepare, and it lends itself well to most toppings - nuts, nut butters, granola, muesli, coconut, chia seeds and sliced fruit.

SO... WHAT IS A SMOOTHIE BOWL?

Smoothie bowls are essentially just a way to "eat" a smoothie rather than drink it.  Just think of it as a thicker smoothie that you serve in a bowl with toppings for added crunch.

HOW TO MAKE THE PERFECT SMOOTHIE BOWL

1. Throw your ingredients into a blender and blend on high until well combined and you achieve a consistency similar to that of soft serve ice-cream.

I've heard many a case for layering smoothie ingredients and blending in different batches (e.g. fruit first, then milk), but after making 1, 000, 000** smoothie bowls I can confirm that there's barely a noticeable difference when you do this.  So go forth and throw your ingredients in a blender at the same time.  Easy always does it.

I also use the cup attachment for my blender when making one smoothie.  It's easier for me to clean (winning) and tends to blend more easily.  But if you only have a jug attachment it still works just fine.

** may be a slight exaggeration.  

INGREDIENTS

• Frozen Strawberries
• Frozen Banana Slices - Learn How to Freeze Bananas.
• Milk

Choose a milk you actually like.  Seriously.  There's no point in using almond milk if every bite makes you cringe.  I've made this smoothie bowl with almond milk, soy milk and cows milk and all have worked perfectly for us.

All this is to say the smoothie bowl works with any milk.  But you won't *enjoy* it unless you choose a milk that tastes good to you.

Top your smoothie bowl with fresh fruit slices, chia seeds, shredded coconut, granola, crushed nuts or nut butter and you've got yourself a perfect light breakfast.  Or try it for dessert on a hot summer's night when you've got the hankering for something sweet but the cupboard is bare.

TIP:  Buy your favourite fruits when they are on sale and freeze them to use in smoothies.  It generally works out cheaper than buying frozen fruit slices.  Freeze fruit in slices to make blending easier, and pop in a freezer bag or freezer-friendly containers.

HOW DO I MAKE MY SMOOTHIE BOWL THICKER?

There's two ways you can make your smoothie thicker in order to turn it into a smoothie bowl - 1) Use less liquid than you normally would for a smoothie and 2) Use frozen fruit.

If you find that you've used these tips and your smoothie bowl is still a little runny, try adding some chia seeds, flax seeds OR nut butter and blend again.

MORE SMOOTHIE RECIPES:

• How to make a Perfect Smoothie (+30 delicious smoothie recipes)
• Banana Chia Smoothie
• Mixed Fruit Smoothie
• The BEST Green Smoothie
• Kale Pineapple Smoothie
• Banana Oat Smoothie
• OR see all Smoothie Recipes

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