#FoodFriday: A Purple Smoothie Bowl That Will Blow Your Pants Off (Literally)

Yup, that’s right. This smoothie bowl is packed full of a rainbow’s-worth of healthy goodness and enough fiber to give you the bowel movement of your dreams.

You see here in the Peace Corps, we deal with a lot of panza (belly) issues. Whether it’s a parasite that’s found it’s way into the potable water from last night’s big rain storm or some questionable greasy street food that’s been sitting out too long (I see you empanada and chicharron lovers), we, the proud Peace Corps Volunteers of Costa Rica, have all been there.

And by there I mean on the toilet…for a long time.

Just last week I caught something and it was bad. REAL bad. Every day I woke up ballooned and inflamed, not sure what the day would bring me. Would it be constipation? Diarrhea? Death? A tantalizing mystery indeed!

And if you remember from my Bienvenidos a Mi Casa post, the walls in my host family’s house DO NOT touch the ceiling. So when my host mom asked me if I had diarrhea I was like, “DON’T ACT LIKE YOU CAN’T HEAR EVERYTHING THAT’S GOING ON IN THERE CRISTINA.”

Omgggggggg I’m going to go die in my room now.

On the bright side, all that time spent on the toilet allowed me to invent the GREATEST and most HEALTHIEST smoothie bowl ever that not only cured whatever was lurking inside my gut, but turned out so good that it’s now what I have for breakfast errrrrr single day.

This smoothie bowl isn’t one of those fluffy fruit drinks that’s loaded with sugar. This guy has a PURPOSE and he’s packed with nutrient-rich greens, fruits, and veggies that will make yo fine self glow from the inside out. And help cure all your, well, butt problems.

Fiber-Packed Purple Smoothie Bowl

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup frozen chopped carrots
• 1/2 cup frozen chopped beets
• 1/2 frozen banana
• 1/2 green apple (or whatever, any apple)
• 1 orange
• 1/2 cucumber
• 3-4 leaves of romaine lettuce (spinach/kale or any pretentious green you can find in the US will do)
• 2 stalks of celery (with the leaves on)
• 1 1-inch chunk of ginger (optional)
• Stevia or other sweetener of your choice (I use this pure Stevia extract powder)
• Cinnamon
• 1-2 cups of water and some ice to your liking

TOPPINGS:

• Chia
• Ground flax
• Cinnamon (so much cinnamon)
• Oatmeal
• Coconut

DIRECTIONS:

1. Make sure your beets, carrots, and banana are frozen. It gives the smoothie a creamier texture and makes it less fibrous-y tasting
2. Add all ingredients to the blender
3. Slowly add water until the ingredients start blending together
4. Once everything is mixed and swirling together, add cinnamon, stevia, and ice

This makes a heaping amount and can be made for 2 people but I drink it all myself muahaha.

NUTRITION FACTS:
Including: 1/2 TBS flax, 1/2 TBS chia, 1/2 TBS dried coconut, 1/3 cup oatmeal

• Calories – 418
• Fat – 7g (it’s the good stuff tho)
• Carbs – 85g
• Fiber – 21g (that’s whats up)
• Sugar – 42g
• Protein – 11g

Just to put things into perspective, here are the nutritional facts for a similar sized strawberries wild smoothie from Jamba Juice:

• Calories – 470
• Fat – .5g
• Carbs – 111
• Fiber – 4g
• Sugar – 97g (good lord)
• Protein – 6g

So SKIP that nonsense and make your smoothies at home.