Banana date smoothie bowl & Homemade granola
8/15/2017
Need I say more as to why breakfast is my favourite meal of the day? First of all just a sip of a fresh cup of coffee first thing in the morn is heaven like to me, sipping on a fresh brew whilst eating a delicious breakfast just doubles if not triples that experience. This breakfast bowl has literally made my whole entire day in a matter of half an hour this morning - which is the exact time it took me to create and consume this bowl. I've been exploring quite a bit with my breakfast choices lately considering all the free time I have on my hands. My mornings have become very stress-free which is unusual in comparison to the previous months this year; I'm just seizing the moment and treating myself to a healthy, nutritious and appealing breakfast - beautiful for the eyes and our health. These smoothie bowls contain many nutritional value which provides us with the right energy to start the day and keeps you satiated for longer. The different ingredients gives it a balance from different variations such as chia seeds, banana as the main ingredient and the fruit, seeds, nuts and oats which all have major beneficial factors separately. Just by combining all these together just makes it love in a bowl mainly towards yourself and your body.
I have already shared the banana smoothie recipe which I will link here. This is what I used as the base and I make this smoothie quite often, it is my go-to as it's simple and just the right amount of sweet to my taste buds. Most days I drink this straight as a smoothie, whereas, lately I decorate like the above photo but let's be honest we don't always have time to eat at a table in the a.m let alone decorating our bowls in a pretty manner. These smoothie bowls really take patience to decorate however, if you're not at all interested in presentation and you're all about throwing all the ingredients together to make it a fast breakfast.. let me just point out something, once you come to mix the bowl it will end up that way either way - so just go for it. As long as the taste is there you're as golden as these homemade granola below.
- I have already shared the recipe that I use for this banana date smoothie base (please click on link above) here are the ingredients I used for the smoothie bowl as well as for the toppings which weren't just for show but also complimented the flavours of the bowl nicely.
INGREDIENTS:
-x2 frozen bananas
-x60ml water (or milk of your choice)
-x1 pitted date
-x20g granola
-x1 block of dark chocolate
-x1tbsp chia seeds
-x1tsp sunflower seeds
-x1tsp pumpkin seeds
-x1tsp flaxseeds
x1tsp maca powder (optional)
HOW TO:
1. If it's not clear enough the base just consisted of x2 frozen banana along with the 60ml of water, 1tsp of maca powder which is optional you could also add a scoop of protein powder if you like or no powder at all and one date.
IMP: If you decide to add toppings to your smoothie keep in mind that the consistency has to be rather thick than a regular smoothie where you would liquidise it more to be easier to drink. It's possible depending on your blender speed that you might have to add more liquid than the 60ml I have advised this might be to aid the mixture to blend better as it might not spin otherwise, which is what happened to me. If this happens to you, make sure to go slow and to keep adding your liquid gradually as you go along to monitor the consistency. You can't undo how much you put unless you add more frozen bananas to re balance, but then it's just too much banana's and quite simply a waste - just add your water or milk slowly and gradually!
2. Once that's done for the finishing touches on top of your smoothie add the remaining ingredients on the list and any other which I have not stated and that are your breakfast favourites or what might be in your kitchen cabinets that could work and just get creative to make it one of the best breakfast of all time.
HOMEMADE GRANOLA
I've never been a big fan of granola, for the simple reason that they have always been far too sweet for my liking with no surprise they contain a lot of unnecessary sugars and another reason being that the majority contain coconut flakes. Now here is the weird part, I am somehow allergic to coconut flesh but not coconut water or oil for that matter. Does anyone care to explain to me why that is? The only theory I can come up with is perhaps the flesh is too rich for my body handle. I basically don't digest it properly and I without a fail always break out on my face which makes eating it not appealing to me anymore. This happened often when I used to buy granola with coconut flakes in it and I never made the connection between the two. I always thought granola just never suited me in general. It's only until recently that I realised it's been the coconut all along and for these reasons, I was always more keen on oatmeal for a healthier alternative well that might have all changed once again.
Since this new smoothie bowl trend - adding the granola I find really compliments the bowl nicely and I really do recommend to include a handful just to give it that extra bite and volume. I didn't want to stay buying store bought granola 1. so I don't have to spend a ridiculous amount such as £5 for a packet 2. it probably won't even go down right for this it's too much hassle andjust to make it picture worthy, I am not interested. Instead I made a compromise and made oatmeal-like granola, minus the oil and sugar and just a hint of agave and water to help bind the ingredients together to make them cluster like the real things. I was quite impressed with the outcome considering the minimal ingredients I used, not only does this make it fairly reasonably priced to make your own in a massive batch but you can make these sporadically to last you a while. This allows you to change the ingredients as you go along -you don't always have to wait for the whole packet to be consumed before adding something new to the mix. Fancy dark choc bits or goji berries one morning for a sweet taste? Granola as you go along!
Since this new smoothie bowl trend - adding the granola I find really compliments the bowl nicely and I really do recommend to include a handful just to give it that extra bite and volume. I didn't want to stay buying store bought granola 1. so I don't have to spend a ridiculous amount such as £5 for a packet 2. it probably won't even go down right for this it's too much hassle andjust to make it picture worthy, I am not interested. Instead I made a compromise and made oatmeal-like granola, minus the oil and sugar and just a hint of agave and water to help bind the ingredients together to make them cluster like the real things. I was quite impressed with the outcome considering the minimal ingredients I used, not only does this make it fairly reasonably priced to make your own in a massive batch but you can make these sporadically to last you a while. This allows you to change the ingredients as you go along -you don't always have to wait for the whole packet to be consumed before adding something new to the mix. Fancy dark choc bits or goji berries one morning for a sweet taste? Granola as you go along!
INGREDIENTS:
-x1cup rolled oats
-x1tbsp pumpkin seeds
-x1 tbsp sunflower seeds
-x1tbsp of chia seeds
-x1tbsp agave syrup
-x1tsp of mixed crushed nuts* (optional but recommended)
*I mixed walnuts, hazelnuts and almonds and crush them in tiny chunks. The nuts you choose depends on your preference of choice the above are just my personal favourites but to each his own.
HOW TO:
1. Combine all the ingredients except the agave syrup in a bowl.
2. Add a 1/4 cup of water and mix well. This will allow all the ingredients to slightly stick together this is to take the place of where usually olive oil comes in. It works equally as well.
3. Once the mixture has become more clunky add your agave syrup for sweetness and for it to stick slightly more.
4. Add on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Each oven will vary so make sure to keep an eye that it doesn't burn - you want them to golden and have that crunchy texture!
5. That is all my friends. Add it on your smoothie bowls like I did in the above picture or pour some oat milk over them and enjoy them as cereal with blueberries for a sweeter touch they have both been tried, tested and devoured by yours truly!
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