Blueberry Banana Crunch Smoothie Bowl has become a new favorite variation on the Stripped Green Smoothie Bowl, which is basically my way of eating “ice cream” for breakfast.
If you’ve been keeping up with me on Instagram and Facebook you know all too well that I adore my smoothie bowls in the morning especially post-workout. They’re creamy, cold, and thick enough to eat with a spoon just like ice cream or chilled yogurt except sans dairy and processed sugars. More importantly this Blueberry Banana Crunch Smoothie Bowl is very nutrient dense with added antioxidant-rich blueberries topped with crunchy homemade granola.
Two of my favorite baked goods growing up were blueberry muffins and banana nut muffins- they were moist, starchy, and sweet (i.e. loaded with refined sugars!). What could be better than combining those two favorite breakfasts of mine into one nutrient dense bowl of goodness? I’m combining these two muffin classics with a healthy twist; and making them into one of my green smoothies bowls loaded with antioxidant-rich blueberries, bananas, healthy fats, protein, and a sweet crunchy topping to satisfy my sweet tooth.
One of the reasons why I love green smoothie bowls is they’re incredibly filling, full of nutrient-dense foods, hydrating, and satisfy the desire we all had while growing up… eating ice cream for breakfast! Check my Stripped Green Smoothie Bowl post to learn about the original recipe and superfoods that I commonly use in the smoothie bowls. This recipe has a special ingredient that my classic smoothie bowl doesn’t have… the almighty blueberry!
What Are The Health Benefits of Blueberries
In just 1 cup of these little blue beauties, there’s a great source of vitamin C, K, and manganese, a good source of fiber and copper, also a host of antioxidants. Blueberries are also considered a lower sugar fruit and have a low GI (glycemic index) which is a measurement of the potential food has on your blood sugar levels- i.e. the lower, the less impact on increasing blood sugar levels (lower GI is better in most cases).
Blueberries antioxidants have been studied for their effects on cardiovascular health, ability to inhibit cancer cell growth, stabilize blood sugars due to the fiber and low GI nature of the fruit, improve skin health, may help combat obesity, and overall antioxidant support in the body. Blueberries aren’t the only ones with all the health benefits, bananas rock too!
Crunchy toppings that I love adding to this smoothie bowl include Maple Banana Nut Granola, Pumpkin Spiced Granola (hey, I still love this no matter what time of year), and Cinnamon Puffed Rice Cereal. If you don’t have any of my homemade granola and cereals on hand, just be mindful of the sugar content in store-bought granolas.
A general rule of thumb when you’re purchasing granola is to go straight to the ingredient list, if the very first ingredient is sugar, put it back. Also, if you can’t pronounce any of the ingredients, put it back. Granola is incredibly simple to make therefore you should be able to identify the ingredients in any “healthy” granola. Check back to my Maple Banana Nut Granola recipe for more details on shopping for granola.
I love this post-workout to fuel my muscles with simple sugars from the fruits, protein, healthy fats, water, electrolytes, and of course nutrients galore! One thing to keep in mind as well is the serving. You can easily change the ingredient serving size to make it into a meal or a “snack/low calorie” meal- check out my recipe notes for instructions.
Like my All Bluebs Smoothie, this is another great one to start with if drinking your greens turns your nose up. Since the blueberries are vibrant in color, it masks any green color that you’d see with my Stripped Green Smoothie or if you’re just using spinach. I hope you give this one a try!
Be sure to share your smoothie bowls by using the hashtag #nutritionstripped or tagging me on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook!
