Do you love Vegan Smoothie Bowls?

Vegan smoothie bowls are healthy, beautiful, and trendy!

They're also great for plant-based toddlers and kids and mamas of all ages.  Bursting with many of the nutrients your child needs, fiber, iron, antioxidants, calcium, essential fatty acids, and protein, too, if you use seeds or nut butter.

Even your picky eater will love this healthy treat!

Currently, at my house, we are obsessed with smoothie bowls.

Every morning my 15 year-old daughter and I leave the house before 7am.  First, I drop her off at her performing arts high school, and then I drive to the pediatric clinic where I work. Up until recently, we had been taking smoothies with us for breakfast.  

One morning, I realized I was out of smoothie ingredients. So after I dropped my daughter off at school, I stopped at Jamba Juice to buy myself a smoothie for breakfast.  To my delight, they had Smoothie Bowls…I had never had one before (although I had seen them all over Pinterest.)

So, I bought a Smoothie Bowl and took it to work.

It was a beautiful magenta-colored berry, banana, vegan smoothie bowl with peanut butter.

And ohhh, the toppings... sliced bananas, strawberries, granola, pepitas, and coconut.  It was such a treat to take in to work. I felt spoiled that morning.

And popular   :o)

My nurse friends surrounded me… “OMG! What is that?”  “Where did you get it?” “What’s it made of?”

Of course they were interested, because it was

I’m sure you’ve seen the pics all over Instagram.That weekend I took my daughter, to Jamba and got her a Smoothie Bowl.   

She was like “Mom! We can totally make these at home!”   

She's a smart girl.

So, on the way home we stopped and bought the ingredients for the smoothie bowls and toppings.  

I really wanted to bring a smoothie bowl to work the next day, but smoothie bowls are a little more complicated than just a regular smoothie you drink with a straw. 

And we are usually in a hurry on weekday mornings.  Plus, I figured by the time I did all my morning commuting, the smoothie bowl might be all melty and messy and not so beautiful. I mean, half the joy of eating it is because it’s so darn pretty.

How could I bring a beautiful smoothie bowl to work with me?

...without spending a lot of time making it in the early morning

...without it melting into a mess before I got there

...without paying almost $10 to have it made for me

Then, I had a light bulb moment.   

We could make them ahead of time, and they'd be ready to grab-and-go in the morning.

Here's how we did it:

We washed and saved the clear bowls and lids from Jamba Juice, so we could reuse them and make our own beautiful smoothie bowls exactly like Jamba.

But way cheaper.

Then we found a berry smoothie bowl recipe on Pinterest and made it with the Vitamix.

BTW, Vitamix makes the BEST SMOOTHIES!  It blends the frozen fruit like butter. I've had mine for 10 years and have used it EVERY DAY. It still blends like a dream.

It's a joke (sort of true) at my house that I love my Vitamix more than my kids, haha. It's spendy, and usually I'm a thrifty mama, but if my Vitamix ever wears out, I WILL buy another! I'll sell the dog if I have to. I know my Vitamix keeps us healthy because we eat tons more fruits and veggies because of it. And it's cheaper than a hospital stay.

Then we filled the Jamba containers, snapped on the lids and put them in the freezer.

We got all the toppings ready, and the next morning, as soon as I woke up, I ran downstairs and pulled the frozen smoothie bowls out of the freezer to let them begin to soften. 

Just before getting in the car to leave, I put all the toppings on and snapped the lids on tight. One for me. One for my daughter.

Beautiful! At work, the nurses were 'ooohing' and 'ahhhing' again. (I’m not making this up).  I bragged how I made it myself and explained exactly how they could make their own Make Ahead Vegan Smoothie Bowls.

It’s not rocket science, of course, but they wanted the recipe to make at home because smoothie bowls from restaurants cost between $7-$10 each.

You can buy all the fancy toppings you want and still make them super cheap and just as gorgeous and delicious as the trendy, expensive restaurant versions.

Below are 5 Family Friendly Vegan Smoothie Bowl Recipes than you can make ahead for your family's busy mornings.

BTW, I don't use the recycled Jamba containers any more. I use these Lock & Lock bowls for my Make-Ahead Grab and Go Smoothie Bowls.They freeze well , travel well and they are the perfect size! They’re cute, tool which counts for a lot when your friends are paying attention.

• Remember: Use a thickener like oats, avocado, chia, flax or hemp seeds so your smoothie blend is nice and thick.

• That way you can eat it with a spoon, and your beautiful toppings won't sink and disappear.

• Fill the bowl only about halfway to leave room for all the fun, delicious, and nutritious toppings.

• Take the bowl out of the freezer at least one hour before eating to soften to just the right consistency. But if you forget, you can zap it in the microwave for about 30-60 seconds to soften so it’s ready to eat!

• Enjoy!

The Make Ahead Vegan Smoothie Bowl is also perfect for:

• After-school snacks

• Pack-along toddler snacks/meals

• Meal Replacement for weight loss (leave out the nut butters)

• Kids' Birthday Parties: they can decorate with their own toppings

Try this beautiful, healthy vegan Pomegranate Smoothie Bowl recipe from Stacey at Goodness is Gorgeous. It's almost too pretty to eat!

Neli over at Delicious Meets Healthy will show you how to make this  Healing Green Smoothie Bowl (below).  Good for you and delicious!  You can add greens to just about any smoothie bowl. Greens are a great source of iron, calcium, antioxidants and essential fatty acids.

Steven'sBlueberry Banana Smoothie Bowl  (pictured below) is down to earth with easy-to-find ingredients. It's similar to the smoothie bowl we make at home nearly every morning.  We LOVE it!  You'll find the recipe at The Nut Free Vegan.

Elena at Happy Kitchen Rocks gives perfect step-by-step directions how to make just about any smoothie bowl you can think of based with whatever ingredients you want to use. Pictured below is her Blueberry Coconut Smoothie Bowl.

This vegan Chocolate Strawberry Smoothie Bowl by Kate at The Artful Appetite  tastes like a gourmet dessert. Yet it's made with basic ingredients you probably already have.You really should make it!

Eating plant-based can be absolutely delicious, beautiful and indulgent.

Read why and how it's a plant- based diet is diet of abundance and joy. Have fun.  Be creative.Let the little ones help.Until next time,Be well!Heidi