3 Tips for the Best Smoothie Bowl of Your Life

Smoothie bowls: They’re delicious, they’re good-looking, and they’re a better start to your day than that quarter-cup of cereal you just dumped into a bowl and called “breakfast.” (We both know you were hangry an hour later.) The best ones deliver equal parts protein, color, antioxidants, and texture. Here are three gotta-follow tips for improving your smoothie bowls, plus the recipes you need in your life.

1. Don’t Skimp on the Blender

A high-powered blender is really the only way to go to get a nice, thick, ice cream-like smoothie. (We’re talking Vitamix level, here! In fact, there’s One that’s just the right size for a couple of smoothie bowls.) If you’re eating a smoothie bowl dotted with un-pulverized bits of dates, berries or whatnot, you simply don’t have a strong enough blender. (This is a place where the mini-prep food processor, awesome though it is, is probably not the best choice.)

2. Keep the Base Healthy

You’re putting in a tiny bit of extra effort to have a health-centric breakfast, so be sure your base is on-point. This isn’t the place for sugary flavored yogurt or sugary fruit juices. Instead, consider a new protein powder, adding in chia seeds or flaxseed powder. Put as much yogurt and powders as you think you’ll want into the mix, add your favorite frozen fruits—banana almost always makes it taste better—and add greens and coconut or nut milk to finish. We like spinach for a blitz-and-you-can-barely-taste-it vibe, but kale has a nice kick, too.

3. Get Creative With Toppings

Have fun accessorizing with fruit and granola. Consider fanning sliced fruit, thinking about how the colors and flavors will play together. Pomegranate seeds add a pop of flavor and unexpected crunch. Kiwi slices look beautiful, as does a passionfruit half rich with pulp, nestled on top. Don’t forget about texture: granola, flax seeds, chia seeds, chopped nuts, and pomegranate seeds all add the ultimate final touch.

Here are a few of our favorite smoothie bowl recipes right now.

1. Breakfast Bowl With Fresh Fruit and Granola

Isn’t she lovely? Greek yogurt and frozen fruit accessorized with kiwi, strawberries, raisins, chia seeds and granola is an ideal combo of silkiness and texture. It’s just the thing for the tail end of strawberry season.

2. Green Smoothie Bowl

When the bananas on your counter are starting to get too ripe, peel them, throw them in a plastic bag and pop them into the freezer so that you’ll always have some on hand for this super-creamy smoothie bowl. Another chia seed stunner, it mingles almond and coconut milks to voluptuous effect. We love the contrast of plush plum and popping blueberries on top.

3. Plum-Pomegranate-Blueberry Smoothie Bowl

A really good blender breaks down the texture of green leaves, no sweat, so the spinach or kale becomes nearly invisible on the taste buds. It’s more the idea of green than that salad-y experience you know from lunch. This green smoothie bowl includes crowd-pleasers almond milk and maple syrup. They take the edge off the greens just enough. Toasted coconut flakes and pumpkin seeds are exactly the garnishes you didn’t know you needed.

4. Acai Bowl With Berries and Coconut

When you find your dream bowl, you’ll know it. This ruby-hued acai bowl with berries and coconut is sure to be a contender. Acai (pronounced aa-sah-ee) has a flavor similar to raspberries and pomegranates, but with a distinctly earthy, almost cocoa-nib-esque quality. The puree is often available in the frozen section of your supermarket, and finds a lovely foil in fresh berries and toasted coconut flakes.

Purée all day! Check out our favorite smoothie bowl recipes.