Summer's Kiss Smoothie Bowl

I don’t know about you, but after all of the snow, the cold, and the gray clouds, I know that what I’m missing is the sun, warmth, and overall beauty of summer. Since summer is unfortunately still a few months away, I thought that I could try bringing it to me with this healthy, colorful, yummy Summer’s Kiss Smoothie Bowl bursting with mangoes, pineapples, papayas and so many other delicious and nutritious ingredients that will make you forget about how far away those relaxing beach days truly are. This week, I didn’t feel like breaking out the mixing blows, the rolling pins, or the baking sheets. I didn’t want to boil, bake, fry, flambé, sauté, or do anything that required copious amounts of time in front of the stove. And after recently discovering that one of my favorite summer dresses couldn’t zip all the way up anymore due to the fact that since starting this blog I’ve been introduced to a whole new carb-filled world full of the most delicious breads and pastries that are good for the soul, but not for the waistline (and even worse taught me how to make them in my own home!), I wanted to keep this recipe light and healthy, and thus the smoothie bowl idea was born! I’m not one for trends, but smoothie bowls are great ways to incorporate nutrient-rich ingredients into your diet in a fast and fun way. The April 2015 Food Network Magazine issue also writes about this growing phenomenon, also known as breakfast or açaí bowls, and with almost 68,000 #smoothiebowl photos on Instagram, I’d say this trend is here to stay. What I loved about this recipe was just how easy it all came together. You can essentially use whatever frozen fruit you have on hand and you’re ready to go. I’m a sucker for mangoes, so of course they made an appearance in this bowl, and the freezer at home was already stocked with papaya and pineapple, which, to me, are also synonymous with summer. To help kick this smoothie bowl into even more healthy territory, I incorporated maca root powder, chia seeds, and coconut water which all added an amazing boost of nutrients. Maca is a root vegetable grown in the Peruvian Andes that is said to help boost energy as well as supply vitamins B, C, and E, calcium, zinc, iron, magnesium, phosphorous and amino acids. Chia seeds, which, although while growing up were mostly used to cover ceramic Homer Simpson heads or cute little kitties to make them grow chia “hair”, are now being consumed in large amounts due to the fact that they contain large amounts of antioxidants, are high in quality protein and fiber, and have nutrients great for bone health such as calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium. And coconut water is wonderful for the body being that it contains a great amount of electrolytes including potassium and sodium.

So whip one of these up any time of day to battle those hunger cravings and you’ll be enjoying the summer sun in no time!

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And of course I’ll be bringing these yummy summer bowls over to Fiesta Friday #61 now hosted on a beautiful new site, FiestaFriday.net, that I’m super excited to check out and co-hosted this week by Selma at Selma’s Table and Margy at La Petite Casserole. See you there!