I must admit, I was a little intimidated by smoothie bowls at first. I had no idea what the heck they were when I started seeing them pop up all over the place. I used to think they were just a ‘trend’, and that you could only get them from healthy restaurants, like Kupfert & Kim or Impact Kitchen. In terms of making them at home, I thought that was only for health nuts and nutritionists because I didn’t think the average person would have a stash of chia seeds and all the superfoods necessary to execute one of these on-hand. Turns out, you really don’t need all that many ingredients to put together one heck of a smoothie bowl! In fact, the simpler, the better! And this coconut and chia seed smoothie bowl recipe is very, very simple!
Full disclosure: my first experience and love affair with smoothie bowls was accidental. One day, Alex and I were feeling extremely sick from having a few too many the night before. Literally the only thing we could do that morning was reach for our phone and open up our UberEATS app. There wasn’t much available to order at that time of day. So, I chose a couple of smoothie bowls from K&K. When they came, I was actually so surprised by how they tasted that I got hooked. I mean, they’re so much more filling than regular smoothies. I feel like I’m actually eating a meal for breakfast, rather than having a drink! They’re also a lot prettier, which makes for a good ‘gram!
When I tried to make one at home for myself, I discovered how incredibly simple it is! So, today, I’m sharing my extremely easy coconut and chia seed smoothie bowl with you guys. There are a number of optional ingredients and variations you can make to this recipe (e.g. if you are lactose intolerant), which I’ve listed below.
There are probably about a million different ways you can make a smoothie bowl, but I love this one because it combines some of my favourite flavours, including coconut!
Coconuts: They’re a Hard Nut to Crack
For this recipe, I decided to use pieces of mature brown coconut that I cracked open and cut, myself, as opposed to buying pieces of coconut from the supermarket. This is obviously a lot more difficult, especially if you’ve never tried opening up a coconut before, like me! But, I wanted to use the coconut as a garnish for my food styling, and considered serving the smoothie bowl in the coconut shell. Little did I know that opening a coconut is not as easy as some people would have you believe on YouTube! If you follow me on Instagram, you would have seen my Instagram story yesterday where I tried to (unsuccessfully) open this coconut in my kitchen sink, before resorting to smashing it on a curb outside. With the help of my building superintendent and his assistant, I was able to capture this slightly embarrassing video of me doing it. If you’ve ever wondered how NOT to open up a coconut, take a look!
So, let this be a lesson to you! Unless you’re a seasoned coconut opener, I recommend buying coconut pieces or shredded coconut from the store.
Here’s the recipe.
Coconut and Chia Seed Smoothie Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 cup Greek yogurt You can substitute for lactose-free yogurt
- 3/4 cup coconut milk You can substitute for almond milk or regular milk
- 2 tbsp chia seeds You'll need additional handfuls for garnish
- 2 tbsp shredded coconut or chunks of fresh coconut meat Don't open the coconut up by banging on a curb, like me!
- 1 serving vanilla protein powder Optional
- 1-2 tbsp frozen blueberries You can blend with the rest of the ingredients, or put on top for garnish
- 1 frozen banana Sliced
- 1 tsp vanilla extract You can use 1/2 tsp of fresh vanilla bean instead
- 3-4 cubes ice
Instructions
- Add yogurt, coconut milk, shredded coconut or coconut pieces, chia seeds, frozen banana, frozen blueberries (optional), vanilla extract, protein (optional) and ice to a blender. If you don't have a conventional blender, then you can add to a large mixing bowl or pot and use an immersion/hand blender.
- Blend on high until the mixture is completely smooth (about 30 seconds). If the consistency is not thick enough, you can add more yogurt to thicken. The key to getting a great consistency is using frozen bananas and blueberries, but you could also use fresh fruit.
- Divide into 2 bowls. Garnish with additional shredded coconut, frozen blueberries, and chia seed (I added two vanilla pods for garnish as well).
- Serve and enjoy!
Happy, healthy eating
