Beat The Heat Chocolate Smoothie Bowl

It has been impossibly hot in New York lately and since I feel way too guilty leaving my air conditioner on all day, I’ve been keeping cool by starting my days with frosty, cool smoothie bowls! This one is achocolate-lovers’ dream! By combining berries, bananas, chocolate protein and almond milk, it’s a bit of a toss up as to whether this is dessert or breakfast! But either way, it’s completely delicious.

Chocolate Smoothie Bowl Recipe

PREP TIME: 5 minutes
COOK TIME: n/a
TOTAL TIME: 10 minutes
YIELD: 2 servings

INGREDIENTS:
For the base smoothie:
1.5 bananas (I used 1 frozen banana and 1/2 of a fresh banana)
1 cup almond milk (vanilla or chocolate)
1 serving vegan chocolate protein powder (I like vega)
1 cup frozen mixed berries
1 cup spinach

For the toppings:
other half of 1 banana
3-4 strawberries
2 tbsp chia seeds
1.5 tbsp chocolate hazelnut spread (vegan)

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a blender, combine smoothie base ingredients and blend until smooth.
2. Place smoothie base in the fridge/freezer depending on how frozen/thick the mixture is.
3. Chop fresh fruit for the topping. Arrange on chilled smoothie base in a beautiful way. Sprinkle on chia seeds and pipe on nut butter! See tips below for best results.

PICTURE-Perfect Smoothie Bowl Tips

• Once you blend your base, place it in a bowl, then place the bowl in the fridge or even freezer for a few minutes. This will keep the base nice and cold so that when you place your fruit on top, it won’t sink in.
• Creating the base from mostly frozen fruit will help with texture. If you use all fresh fruit, you will need to freeze the smoothie for at least 20 minutes or add ice to the base mixture. 
• Work to create curves and lines with your fruit in any pattern that feels right to you. You can go around the base of your bowl, or in lines directly across it. 
• Be sure to leave some open space for chia seeds, flax seeds, granola, hemp seeds, coconut, etc. 
• If you use a stripe of almond/peanut/hazelnut butter, put it into a ziplock bag and cut a tiny hole in one corner creating a baker’s piping bag. Use this to pipe on even lines of nut-butter.