The Pretty Pink Smoothie Bowl recipe is a simple guide to make the most nutrient dense and beautiful smoothie bowl.
Obviously, it’s not all about looks, but this Pretty Pink Smoothie Bowl has it all. Substance, nutrition, and it’s beautiful to make. Here’s a quick recipe to celebrate that you can literally make in under 10 minutes with one blender in one dish. Keep reading for how to make the Pretty Pink Smoothie Bowl.
Dragon fruit is my jam. I’ve shared several stories about my love of this beautiful yet exotic fruit (to most of us) during my travels to Thailand a couple of years ago. In Thailand, dragon fruit was abundant and delicious, and the locals utilized this fruit in just about every application from breakfast, dessert, to random street cart food. It was glorious.
So, in my many (frugal) attempts to show off a whole food many of us don’t get year round or get only from the frozen section, I wanted to share this special smoothie bowl that’s incredibly nutrient dense, and it doesn’t hurt that’s it’s beautiful!
Dragon Fruit Nutrition
Dragon fruit is also known as pitaya, is a fruit that grows around the equator so in Central America and Central Asia. It’s a good source of vitamin C, iron, and fiber. Dragon fruit/pitaya contain antioxidants, but compared to other Brazilian fruits, for example, they fair poorly (i.e. compared to fruits like avocado, mango, and tamarind).
If you’ve never tried dragon fruit before (pictured in this post as the white variety), it tastes similar to a kiwi yet slightly less sweet. Honestly, it has quite a neutral flavor despite it looking so beautiful! The other variety of dragon fruit is pink, but in my opinion, both taste relatively the same.
As far as nutrition goes, some studies show the red variety contain more betalains. More studies are needed, but some show that pitaya has positive effects on cardiovascular health, reduces insulin resistance, improves gut microflora, improves liver function, and reduces obesity markers.
Why smoothie bowls?
Also, a quick primer on smoothie bowls and why they’re awesome. The majority of my clients are not on a mission to lose weight, rather it’s more about finding balance with their eating habits, with their lifestyle, and how to squeeze in those fiber and nutrient-rich veggies, a challenge for them.
Smoothie bowls are not only a great way to sneak in fiber and vegetables, but they’re an incredible way to sneak in energy AND nutrient density. For those who come to me to gain weight healthfully, we can really load up these smoothie bowls with calories and energy density from nut butter, coconut milk, frozen fruit, frozen veggies (like kale, spinach, zucchini, and peas even!), and protein powders to boot.
On the other hand, clients who come to me for general health and wellbeing smoothie bowls can serve the exact same purpose! It’s all about listening into your hunger cues and focusing on getting in nutrients that so many of us living the Standard American Diet, lack.
Smoothie bowls are just one of many ways we can make foods from the earth fun, delicious, and something a little unique to try. I don’t style my smoothie bowls 80% of the time, I just pop the ingredients in the blender, pour into a bowl, and take handfuls of the toppings and pop em’ on top! No need to get fancy all the time…but it does make for an enticing food presentation to gobble up (tip to try with kiddos!).
- 1 cup almond milk
- 2 frozen bananas
- 1 packet frozen dragon fruit (i.e. pink pitaya- may also use acai)
- 1 cup frozen strawberries
- 1 cup frozen zucchini, optional
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 scoop vanilla [url href=”https://nutritionstripped.com/guide-plant-based-protein-supplements/”]protein powder[/url]
- Garnish options: bee pollen, sliced banana, dragon fruit, coconut flakes, kiwi, blueberries, raspberries
- Using a high-speed blender, combine all ingredients until smooth. Add additional ice or water to either thicken or thin depending on your desired texture.
- Serve immediately and top with optional garnishes.
Ingredients I used to make this recipe: frozen dragon fruit (you can also use acai). Don’t have access to dragon fruit or acai? No worries you can still load in the nutrients and get a pretty pink color by using frozen raspberries and strawberries!
Resources:
- García-Cruz, L., Valle-Guadarrama, S., Salinas-Moreno, Y. et al. Plant Foods Hum Nutr (2013) 68: 403. doi:10.1007/s11130-013-0391-8
- Elena Gregoris, Giuseppina Pace Pereira Lima, Sabrina Fabris, Mariangela Bertelle, Michela Sicari, and Roberto Stevanato, “Antioxidant Properties of Brazilian Tropical Fruits by Correlation between Different Assays,” BioMed Research International, vol. 2013, Article ID 132759, 8 pages, 2013. doi:10.1155/2013/132759
- Ramli NS, Brown L, Ismail P, Rahmat A. Effects of red pitaya juice supplementation on cardiovascular and hepatic changes in high-carbohydrate, high-fat diet-induced metabolic syndrome rats. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2014;14:189. doi:10.1186/1472-6882-14-189.
- http://www.healwithfood.org/nutrition-facts/dragon-fruit-nutritional-health-benefits.php
- http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/80/4/941.abstract
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26699443
