You’re all going to think I’ve officially gone mental with this recipe, I can already hear my mom telling me “McKel, no one is going to eat that blue stuff!”- all in good fun. This Blue Morning Smoothie Bowl came to me, well on a beautiful blue summer morning a couple weeks ago, hence the name. It’s been really hot here in Nashville so my smoothie bowls are calling MAH name in the mornings for something simple, delicious, nourishing, and cold. This one hits all of those + it incorporates my beloved protein packed spirulina, omega-3 rich chia seeds, and a fiber rich veggie, which you’ll never guess!
If you’re thinking that me presenting another smoothie bowl to you all isn’t anything “new” nor grounds for calling myself mental, then you may change your mind when I tell you I’m using frozen zucchini in this. Yes, zucchini, that’s been frozen! You all know that my mission is to squeeze as many vegetables into your diet as possible, mainly because so many of us have challenges reaching the minimum servings/day let alone more than 5/day which can be incredibly beneficial for your overall health. So here I am, sneaking in frozen zucchini of all things into a blue smoothie bowl.
Using frozen zucchini in my smoothie bowls has been a new discovery this past year, and it’s changed the way I prepare and suggest recipes to some of my clients, especially those watching their carbohydrate or sugar intake. Zucchini can easily replace bananas to create a lower carbohydrate smoothie, or can replace avocados to make said smoothie lower in fat. Once zucchini is frozen and then blended it has an amazing characteristic of turning everything very thick and creamy just like a banana or avocado would do. It’s not surprise that zucchini can do this, it’s comprised of about 70% water giving it an “ice cube” effect to blended smoothies.
What makes it blue? There are no blueberries or blackberries in this smoothie bowl, although if you fancy, pop them in! What makes this smoothie bowl blue is spirulina. Any chance I get to add spirulina to meals and recipes I do. It’s an amazing food that so many of us never use, which is a shame because it’s loaded with protein and minerals. What I come to find out is that most people (friends and clients included) simply don’t know how to use spirulina, not that they don’t enjoy it. We’ve talked about spirulina so much on Nutrition Stripped, but just as a reminder spirulina is 70% protein by dry weight and contains all the amino acids, essential for everyone but especially wonderful for those practicing strict plant-based lifestyles (i.e. veganism). As I mentioned though, spirulina isn’t just for plant-based eaters, it can easily be incorporated into everyones diets. This recipe is a great “starter” as I don’t use much in it.
Top it | I love adding different components to smoothie bowls to get a full flavor profile but also hit on all the textures- smooth, creamy, crunchy, sweet, chewy, and cold.
- Maple Banana Nut Granola
- Nourishing Muesli
- Pumpkin Spiced Granola
- Tigernut Chocolate Chip Cookies, crumbled (oh, I so went there…)
- Shredded coconut
- Cacao nibs
- Fresh blueberries, grapes, bananas, or figs
- Bee pollen
- Goji berries
- Hemp seeds
- Add your favorite protein powder to boost the protein content
- 1 banana, frozen
- 1 large zucchini, frozen
- 1/2 cup coconut milk, light or full fat
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds
- 2 tablespoons cashew butter (or use almond butter)
- 1 teaspoon organic spirulina, powder (up to 2 tablespoons as desired)
- pinch of sea salt
- dash of cinnamon
- Add all ingredients into a high speed blender and blend until thick and creamy.
- Garnish/top with ingredients listed in the blog before serving.
- Enjoy immediately.
I hope you all enjoy this one and be sure to tag me on instagram when you make your own! #NutritionStripped , #NSsmoothiebowl
I hope you all have a beautiful day!
xx McKel
