From the popular blog, Creative Green Living, comes eighty delectable recipes for smoothies so good that your kids, friends, and veggie-hating spouse will be begging for more!
Imagine curling up on the couch with your favorite bowl piled high with a delicious frozen treat topped with fresh fruit and nuts—and what’s in that bowl is actually good for you! Smoothie bowls make this dream a reality.
If you can operate a blender, then you can make a smoothie bowl. Carissa walks you through everything you need to know to produce Instagram-worthy creations in your own kitchen. Every recipe tastes as good as it looks and fills you up, making smoothie bowls the perfect choice for any meal or midday snack. You'll find recipes for how to turn acai, avocado, banana, beets, blackberries, blueberries, carrots, chia, coconut, flaxseeds, ginger, green tea and matcha, honey, kale, kiwi, and so much more into a fabulous treat!
Focusing on a variety of colorful superfoods, Carissa also discusses the nutritional benefits of these beautiful ingredients. Organized using the colors of the rainbow, flipping through these pages will leave you feel inspired and motivated to create these beautiful, healthy bowls.
Beautiful Smoothie Bowls is a fantastic introduction to smoothie bowls, and as a bonus you’ll learn how to easily incorporate more superfoods into your diet. The first chapter covers the history and basics of smoothie bowls and offers a very simple troubleshooting guide that solves the most common problems. If you’re new to making smoothies bowls, you’ll find the logical answer there. The handy guide gives a possible cause and provides an easy solution. No more having to guess what you did wrong. This is such a small and simple part of the book, but so very useful.
Next up are profiles of 30 different superfoods that are the backbone of most of the recipes in this book. You’ll learn how ingredients such as avocadoes, beets, or spinach can be blended into smoothie bowls and how the various superfoods will add flavor and color. I learned a lot in this chapter; there are great tips on buying, prepping, and storing fruits and veggies. I now know how to crack open a fresh coconut, the difference between coconut water and coconut milk, that fresh pink-fleshed dragon fruit will stain like beets, and how to prepare fresh kale for use in smoothies.
The bulk of the book is, of course, the recipes. They’re arranged in rainbow order, from light to dark, and this design is meant to help you “eat a rainbow”. By choosing a recipe from different section each time, you ensure you’re getting a wide variety of nutrients. There is also a conventional index allowing you to look up recipes by ingredient or name. In addition to the smoothie bowls, there are also 12 recipes for nice cream, which is a very thick smoothie bowl with a consistency like soft serve or ice cream.
There’s a good mix of recipes – some with less common ingredients and others with more standard and readily available ingredients. Tips and hints along the bottom of the page give a nice sense that these recipes are tried and true. I tried the Banana Berry, Something Pink Please, and Northwest Summer smoothie bowls; I didn’t try any nice creams as my blender isn’t powerful enough. As usual, I didn’t always the use the toppings listed, instead swapping out for what I had on hand. All were delicious and had the right consistency. Some recipes come from other contributors, the online sources are noted, and their profiles are featured in a credits section at the end of the book.
The author states that her goal was to encourage readers to branch out and experiment; I would say she has succeeded. There are many flavor options and the pictures make them all look so appetizing. With unique flavors like apple pie, pumpkin, and turmeric, and ingredients such as avocadoes, carrots, and watermelon, she certainly provides many new ideas as well as inspiring creativity in the kitchen.
Of all the smoothie bowl books I’ve read in the past 2 months or so, this one is definitely the best. It’s the most comprehensive guide to preparing smoothie bowls and nice creams and a great addition to your smoothie bowl recipe collection.
*I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*
I’m surprised to find that Beautiful Smoothie Bowls is not just a book with a bunch of smoothie bowl recipes but teaches you the basics of smoothie blending and superfoods.
I’m complete new to smoothie blending. My mum makes all the smoothie in our house. So, the information in the first half of this book is really helpful for me. I especially love the part where 30 superfoods are introduced. I have seen some of those food mentioned on the internet but have never taken the time to know what they’re good for. The introduction part is definitely helpful for beginners.
I didn’t know smoothie bowl originates from an Amazonian dish and I think it is amazing this beverage is so popular today. Out of 80 recipes, there are around 30 I would love to try. I love the nice cream recipes, especially Mermaid Magic Nice Cream and Black and Blue Nice Cream. The colors are absolutely stunning! I hope I am not gonna leave all the blending to my mum. Haha!
If you’re new to making smoothie bowls, Beautiful Smoothie Bowls is a very useful book to have. If you’re already making these, do take a look at the recipes inside and see if there’s something new you want try! ------------------ Also posted on Ravishing Tales.
I received a free copy from NetGalley in return for this review! Beautiful Smoothie Bowls is one of the most beautiful/Instagrammish books I read this year. The first part of the books was information about different superfoods and how to get a good presentation out of your meals. I generally don't like long-drawn out introductions, but the author explained the nutritional content and possibility of contamination of a range of ingredients (fruits/nuts/yogurt) in a very engaging and informative manner. I liked that Bonham used photographs of other involved in the 'good-food' movement, and it made me want to try some of the recipes. My only qualm is that I live in South Asia and a lot of fruits mentioned in the book are not readily available near me, but the versatility of the recipes leads me to believe that I can still 'cook' up something fun! BSB wasn't just another fluff book with attractive photographs and sub-par recipes. I look forward another of Bonham's books!
While I feel that making "smoothie bowls" makes us sounds like total hipsters, the girls and I have loved it. We haven't actually tried even half of the recipes, but I think there was only 1 which didn't go over well. And the brilliance here is that OF COURSE kids like to decorate their food! So just setting out whatever as toppings gets them interested. This has also made me feel better as the parent of a budding vegetarian because then I know we're winning with at least one food group.
A slew of beautiful smoothie bowls await you! And other than the edible flowers I can see me accomplishing all of these. I can see me making each bowl (only omitting things I dislike such as coconut).
There is even a bunch of recipes for nice cream (vegan ice cream).
I am not sure why I used page tabs on this one. I'm don't think there are any recipes I won't make. So I have a million page tabs sticking out now. Perfect temptations for the evil cats, haha.
Get yourself a high speed blender, if you don't already have one, and this recipe book - and you will be all set!
(I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)
The introduction in the book is very detailed in giving background to the book, about smoothies bowls, how to make them, things to consider, etc. What's also really useful is that it breaks down different fruits and vegetables, explaining their benefits, the best ways to use them, etc. All the ingredients are easy to find and there's always room to modify the recipes to your particular taste!
I had never tried a smoothie bowl before, so I picked the Peach Perfection to to try - it sounded delicious and didn't have too many ingredients (frozen peach & pineapple, coconut water, banana). There were clear instructions for how much to put in and how to make it, it couldn't have been easier!
The plus side of these recipes can be used as smoothies on their own if you wanted, but also are great as bowls. This one was like a soup consistency, I would probably add some yogurt to thicken it (I didn't want to change anything for the sake of an honest review), but it was delicious.
This book is extremely user friendly and has so many delicious and easy recipes, it's hard to pick which one to try first! I'm excited to keep trying them!
I've made Smoothies for after my workouts before, but I've never tried Smoothie Bowls. This book not only gives a nice overview of possible ingredients and their health advantages, but also lists 80 recipes for Smoothie bowls with beautiful pictures of how they can look if somebody who isn't me prepares them.
I've tried three of the recipes so far and was quite impressed how easy they are to recreate (I even took some pictures to show off) and how full I felt. These Smoothie bowls are great for breakfast or for after a workout, but depending on the recipe you should make sure that you have enough time to prepare the smoothie and that your local supermarket has all the ingredients on hand.
This book brings you a lot of interesting, healthy and gluten-free recipes using a variety of natural ingredients. It also gives directions about what tools to use and the usual ingredients for creating healthy smoothie bowls. The 80 recipes are easy to make and illustrated with beautiful, mouth-watering pictures. There is a long list of recipes to fall in love with, but my favorites so far are those combining kombucha and watermelon and tropical dragon nice cream - using one of my favorite fruits, dragon fruit or pitaya. Recommended to anyone interested in living a healthy life! Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review
It contains very helpful advice and explanations about the tools required, nutritional profile of superfoods used in the recipes, labels for vegan, paleo, gluten-free and dairy-free diets, tips and even a troubleshooting table!. This last one is extremely helpful for all of us who find it hard to stick to the original recipe and start experimenting like a mad scientist. About the recipes, i can say that they look good and easy to prepare. The one i tried (Tropical twist nice cream) tasted extremely delicious, i would have a second bowl even if it wasn't healthy. The book itself looks very pretty and works well as a gift.
This book has so many yummy recipes and presentation ideas. Your smoothie bowls will look like a work of art. It also has a lot of information on ingredients and why they are good for you. She explains what the the less well known ingredients taste. Also the benefits of a bowl over a drinkable smoothie. I've tried a few of them and they are so delicious and filling. I can't wait to try them all!
This book breaks down smoothie bowls by layer and ingredients to help us understand them and follow these recipes. The book talks about what makes a good base, good toppings, etc.
There are some beautiful pictures of some beautiful smoothie bowls, but not every smoothie bowl recipe has a picture. There are links to the insta for some of the smoothie creators with their recipes which is an interesting touch. There's a variety of recipes in this book, but they're also all fairly similar. Some require harder to find ingredients like spirulina or are a bit time intensive for what is especially a smoothie.
This is not my typical cookbook. I am not a fan of fruit smoothies. However, I did learn a valuable tip of using kombucha as the liquid in the blending for these items. That interests me. The presentations are also a sight to behold. So, though I will never own this book, I highly recommend for anyone looking for a great cookbook featuring smoothies and bowls with fruit as the main ingredient. The photographs will be helpful for those preparing delicious meals for the eyes as well as the palate. Enjoy this book for nourishing meals. Bon appetite..............................
ARC provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I am a big smoothie fan, but sometimes get sick of not chewing, so really wanted to check this book out. I liked it a lot, but some of the bowls seemed so labor and ingredient intensive, I'm not sure it's not better just to throw it all in my Ninja blender and just let it rip.
But it did give me lots of new ideas of what to make.
I really enjoyed reading this book, and I can't wait to try the recipes by myself, they are very mouth-watering. I understand a little bit about photography, and I wish they had more professional pictures taken for the recipes, but the styling is great for the pictures!
Carissa Bonham gives one a new look at living green and natural with smoothies. She teaches you what tools you will need beforehand then gives you the blueprint for successful smoothie bowls. One may have a smoothie bowl for breakfast, snack, and before or after exercise. It seems her ideas are endless. Add a topping, use your imagination, and go wild with those toppings then you have a winning combination. Get this book and make your picture worthy smoothie bowl then enjoy the simple pleasures of eating something you created.
Where did the idea for smoothie bowl come from? I have read that this trend started last year. I missed it but you can still get a ton of fresh new ideas for smoothies and who doesn’t need a new idea for their next smoothie, in a bowl or a glass!
I, was given this book, by Netgalley.com for review purposes.
Smoothie bowls are those liquidy meals covered in ornate (and edible) decorations that you see all over Pinterest and Instagram but never actually make yourself because you know you'll end up with a bowl of gloop that looks like you dropped the contents of the vacuum cleaner on top of. So a book about them was no doubt going to be full of pretty pictures and recipes that made my mouth water, the challenge would be if I actually felt inspired to try making any. The spoiler for this read is yeah, some of the recipes look worth trying - just remember you still stand a good chance of serving gloop.
Actually this book does try to steer you clear of disasters. Before you even get to the ingredients you find a troubleshooting guide that doesn't just tell you what you messed up, but also has a couple of solutions that may rescue your efforts (no promises, it's a troubleshooting guide not a magician). it's all part of an intro that has some good points. Some of the healthy lifestyle advice was a bit lost on me - it just felt a bit hardcore and I was eager to get to the food.
A handy reference of superfoods means this book could get pulled out for all sorts of things beyond smoothie bowls (yeah, my muffin mix could be getting supercharged after this). See, I'm not a total health heathen.
And then, the recipes! Okay, there are 80 recipes (I'm trusting the title there but it feels right) so don't expect every single one to get you excited. That said, I think only a couple actually got an outright "No" from me. Most were the recipe book staple of "Maybe", and a nice healthy range fell into the "Ooh that sounds good" category.
Something to remember is the recipes are mostly about flavour combinations and presentation styles. The processes are unsurprisingly rather similar. But the brevity of the "how to" section shouldn't discourage, because frankly food is about flavour and presentation. And that's coming from the kind of geek who would be raving about a book teaching how to cook in the style of a 13th century blacksmith or something obscure like that.
Between the recipes supplied and the food guide in the intro this is the kind of book which is useful in making itself redundant. After your first half a dozen tries you'll use it more for inspiration than a rigid guide, and that's when a recipe book becomes a cookbook - you learn the fundamentals and take them away. Yeah, the recipes remain handy when you try a new angle or want to take it easy, but it's the kind of book that makes you want to do more. I've already said I'm going to be pinching flavour combinations for baking, you could just make plain smoothies or you can take the flavour profiles and apply them to a whole host of other desserts.
Grab a copy and go mad. This is a fun cookbook, the recipe names should tell you that even if you don't believe me. It's about bright, colourful food. And a range of tasty treats.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I have followed Ms. Bonham's website Creative Green Living for a few months now and have been impressed with her emphasis on healthy eating. These smoothie bowls are full of the well known superfoods like berries, chia, coconut, ginger, kale, honey, and nuts, just to mention a few. A lot of these recipes remind me of puddings, with delicious toppings on top. They are healthy for you too! Amazing book, and recommended. Great photos.
Between the recipes supplied and the food guide in the intro this is the kind of book which is useful in making itself redundant. After your first half a dozen tries you'll use it more for inspiration than a rigid guide, and that's when a recipe book becomes a cookbook - you learn the fundamentals and take them away. Yeah, the recipes remain handy when you try a new angle or want to take it easy, but it's the kind of book that makes you want to do more. I've already said I'm going to be pinching flavor combinations for baking, you could just make plain smoothies or you can take the flavor profiles and apply them to a whole host of other desserts.