This vegan, gluten-free, beet, pray, love smoothie bowl is the perfect combo of bright red beets and berries. Loaded with antioxidants and superfoods, a healthy loving way to begin any day 🙂
I couldn't help myself with this post! I just couldn't. I returned from Bali about 10 days ago and luckily the bliss hasn't quite worn off yet. I hope it never does.
What a magical and odd place Bali is. Yes, odd. I've been trying to get my thoughts together about my experience, I want to share photos and stories, but everything is still gelling. Still settling. Bali, in short, is a land of immense healing, wonderful healthy nourishing food, the best yoga I have ever done in my life, so much kindness and hospitality, but also extreme poverty, noise, and pollution. A dichotomous place indeed. In spite of that and some of Bali's shortcomings (which by the way I actually enjoy, there was life, real life there, not just a resort version of a vacation, Ya know?) what I felt while I was there was pure love. Love, love, love. I found myself smiling at odd times. Soaking in the bliss, always.
That's the vibe I want to share. In honor of my recent little healing adventure, I want to share some love, in the form of a smoothie bowl 🙂
One of my favorite afternoon treats, while I was in Bali was a homemade kefir drink which was called “beet, pray, love”. It was loaded with beet juice, lemongrass, and natural probiotics from the fermentation process. Bali was hot. Very, very hot. My little beet afternoon elixir (over ice preferably) was just what the doctor ordered! And yes, I totally stole the name, how could I not!?!
Beets are amazing in drinks of all kinds, but especially in smoothies, I love their flavor and of course the gorgeous color. When I buy beets I steam them, dice them, and freeze them (as I do in my smoothie starters) so they are ready to be tossed into a smoothie at a moments notice. Adding beets to your smoothie is a very “smooth” nutrition move, as beets are powerhouses of nutrition. Excellent for liver health and digestive health. They aid in increasing bile, so if, by chance, you have had your gallbladder removed you should be eating one steamed beet every day!
I combined the beets with sweet strawberries (out of season, but I still have many from my smoothie starter kit) and seasonal cranberries. Tart cranberries and earthy sweet beets, yum!
When making a smoothie bowl you basically make a super super super thick smoothie, then top it with whatever strikes your fancy. I love heartier toppings in the colder months, healthy fat (hemp seeds) and a ton of granola. I used my homemade coconut-almond macaroon granola, but you can use any granola you like. I also added dragon fruit as another tribute to my recent visit to the land of love, which (full disclosure) cost me $7 in NYC, for ONE dragon fruit (hanging my head in shame.) I honestly bought dragon fruit for about 20 cents in Bali. But you guys, I really really wanted dragon fruit on top of this smoothie bowl!
I also topped it with a ton of fresh pomegranate seeds and more fresh cranberries. Beet, pray, love smoothie bowl has got it all!
Stay tuned for the full Bali post and perhaps a short additional post on how I flew roundtrip to Bali for $200!! Any interest in that one? It's in the cue with a few of my other travel themed posts (lot's to come in 2017!!). Let me know in the comments if you are pro-travel post or anti-travel post 🙂
In the meantime, I'm just going to sit back and eat this beet, pray, love smoothie bowl every day and smile thinking about my latest adventure.
Thanks for reading Abra's Kitchen! To see what goodness I'm whipping up be sure to follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. If you make this recipe tag #abraskitchen on Instagram so I can see your creation 🙂
**Nutritional Information below is without protein powder but includes 1/4 cup of granola, 1/4 cup pomegrante seeds, 1/4 cup dragonfruit, 1 tbsp cranberreis, and 1 tbsp hemp seeds**
Beet, Pray, Love Smoothie Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 cup steamed beets or raw is fine
- 1 cup strawberries
- 1/2 cup cranberries
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
- 4 ice cubes
- 6 ounces water
Toppings (all optional)
- 1/4 cup granola
- 1/4 cup dragon fruit
- 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
- 1 tbsp cranberries
- 1 tbsp hemp seeds
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a high-speed blender and blend until thick and smooth.
- Spoon into a bowl and sprinkle with desired toppings.
- Eat with love 🙂
