The Ultimate Chocolaty Green Smoothie Bowl

Since it has been SO unusually hot down here in Cali, my go to breakfast lately has been a smoothie bowl. It's the perfect way to get in all of your healthy fats, carbs, and protein, and it is absolutely refreshing, delicious and decadent. My biggest weakness is ice cream, and I have always been ice cream obsessed, but ever since I've been making smoothie bowls on a regular basis, I hardly ever crave ice cream anymore. Depending on how you make them, smoothie bowls can taste like the naughtiest treat; and the best part? They aren't! ;)

I try eating a lot of greens throughout the day and incorporating them into every meal, but it's usually hard to do so with breakfast since I need something sweet in the morning rather than savory. Smoothie bowls are the PERFECT way to curb your sweet tooth AND add in those greens without even tasting them! If your someone who just hates the taste of most greens, this is the perfect way for you to get them into your diet. 

I always try to experiment with my smoothie bowls so I never get bored of them, and this morning I decided to go a little out of my comfort zone. Thanks to McKel Hill of Nutrition Stripped, I decided to add in a zucchini into my smoothie mixture, something which I never would have thought of doing before. I was a little scared of the idea, but I decided to try it out anyways, and guess what? The result was scary, in a good way! My smoothie combo came out so amazing that I decided to name it the "Ultimate Chocolaty Green Smoothie Bowl" because yes, it really is that good! I have probably tried hundreds of different smoothie combos, and this one turned out to be my absolute favorite which is why I decided to share it with all of you :) Hope you love it as much as I do!

The Ultimate Chocolaty Green Smoothie Bowl

Smoothie(makes 2 servings)-

• 3/4 cup coconut milk
• 3/4 large zucchini
• 1/4 avo
• 1 & 1/2 large banana
• 1 tsp spirulina
• 2 tsp cacao powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 packet stevia
• 1/2 cup crushed ice

I topped mine with pomegranate seeds, carob chips, raspberries, fresh coconut meat, and Loni Jane's raw granola, but the combinations are endless!

Let me know what you think about this recipe in the comments

xxx

Rachel

Coconut Fig Jam

So my parents are SLIGHTLY obsessed with jam, and they pretty much own every flavor of jam out there at all times (apricot, strawberry, orange, mixed berry, and even fig). Since they usually eat bagels or toast every morning, they usually have jam almost every morning.

I never eat jam, but I decided to look at the ingredients of these jams they love so much, and let me tell you, I was a bit scared and confused. "Fruit juice concentrates, pure cane sugar, malic acid, citric acid, absorbic acid, and natural flavor" were just a few of the ingredients listed. All of them claim that they don't use "preservatives or artificial flavors", yet there are so many unnecessary ingredients in them. I am always skeptic about any ingredient with the name "natural flavor", because if it really is "all natural", you should be able to spell it out. As well, why use fruit juice "concentrate" when you can just use a whole fresh fruit? Fruits are sweet enough as they are, so why add so much unnecessary sugar? And I understand that these companies need to use preservatives to keep their jams from spoiling, since they aren't kept in the fridge section, but why not take out the preservatives, really use ALL natural ingredients, and keep them in the fridge? 

I could go on and on, but basically, I decided to make my own fresh jam without any cane sugar, preservatives, or "natural flavors"; I really did use ALL natural ingredients. And guess what? It literally took me five minutes to make! I let my mom try it this morning and she said it came out perfect; If I have HER stamp of approval, than I'm sure I'll have yours too!

Fig & Coconut Jam

• 5 huge frozen green figs (I got mine from Trader Joes)
• 1 tbsp agave
• 2 tbsp shredded coconut
• 1/5 tbsp coconut sugar

First, chop up the figs into little pieces and let simmer in a pan on medium heat. Smash them down as they begin to melt, add in the rest of the ingredients, and let simmer. When you reach your desired consistency (I like leaving little chunks in there), pour in a jar and refrigerate until cool. Enjoy!

xxx
Rachel