Friday April 21, 2017
Brimming with colourful ingredients, bowls full of deliciously creamy thick smoothie, pilled with an assortment of fruits, nuts and seeds have taken breakfast to a whole new level.
The popularity of the smoothie bowl trend was first born when health food bloggers on Instagram flooded their feeds with bowl after bowl of vibrant, photogenic smoothies.
In a new series of blogs for 2017 we’re bringing food operators the latest trends for the on-the-go food market. From Acai bowls and Poke, to Bao burgers and rolled ice-cream – we’ll be taking a close look at the must-have dishes essential for any 2017 take-out menu; and we’ll be exploring why these dishes have risen to popularity so quickly.
The dish is basically a concoction of fruit and vegetable puree topped with an arrangement of colourful, often chopped up, fresh fruit, along with nuts, oats and seeds. A bit like ice cream or frozen yoghurt, smoothie bowls are partly focused on the actual smoothie, and partly on the toppings. Flavours need to work well together and provide a dish that is both delicious and nutritious.
The great thing about smoothie bowls is that they are as much about presentation as they are about being a healthy and filling breakfast option. Not only do flavours need to be complementary, the colours of the ingredients should also look great together.
Adding an assortment of fruits is a great way to help reach your five a day, and nuts, seeds and oats give an instant energy boost in the morning when you need it most. The best smoothie bowls are packed full of anti-oxidants, healthy fats and other energising ingredients.
One of the main considerations when making your smoothie bowl recipe is to watch how many toppings you add. Sometimes a simple three or four additions are best – otherwise you could be overloading the bowl with too much food and creating a high calorie dish without even realising.
The smoothie of smoothie bowls is not like a traditional smoothie that is drunk through a straw, the smoothie mixture for bowls needs to be thick and hold its own shape. Thicker smoothies can be created by adding heavier ingredients to the mixture, such as yoghurt, avocado, frozen fruits or ice. With a thicker mixture, this provides an excellent base for your toppings to gracefully perch on top.
Eaten with a spoon, much like soup, smoothie bowls encourage diners to slow down and enjoy each part of the meal rather than glugging a smoothie drink before starting their day. The act of eating slower can often give a fuller feeling longer into the day.
There are many different varieties of smoothie bowls, but two favourites include Acai bowls and Pitaya bowls.
Acai is a superfood from Brazil that is known for its plethora of health benefits. Acai berries are not only healthy, they also taste great and help to keep you full. Acai bowls are a traditional dish that is eaten on the beaches in Brazil.
To add acai to your smoothie bowls just mix acai puree (powder is also available) with other fruit such as bananas and strawberries and a little milk (almond milk is suggested – keeping it dairy free) to make your smoothie mix.
Pitaya is the fruit of a cactus plant grown across Central and South America. One of the varieties of pitaya, also known as dragon fruit, can have pink, red or yellow skin and contains white or pink fleshed fruit full of small black seeds. The taste of pitaya is quite subtle, similar to melon, and by using the pink fleshed fruit, your smoothies will have a vibrant, almost neon, pink colour.
In the UK, smoothie bowls and acai bowls are served at many different establishments, from corner cafes to workplace caterers and street food vendors.
In London, acai bowls can be found on the menu of most healthy cafes and most of the bowls are gluten free, dairy free and vegan. There’s even a dedicated acai smoothie bar called Viva Acai that serves only delicious authentic traditional acai bowls to go.
Do you think acai bowls or smoothie bowls are right for your catering operation? Once you’ve decided on your recipe, it’s important to also think of how you will present it and which packaging items are the best for keeping your topping intact. Customers taking their acai bowls to go will need packaging with a lid that can be easily transported – and don’t forget disposable spoons and napkins.
Deli pots from our Sustain range are made of renewable plant-based PLA and are EN13432 accredited for composability. The deli pots come in 4 sizes: 8oz, 12oz, 16oz or 32oz and corresponding lids are also available. Sustain deli pots are clear, providing great visibility of your tasty smoothie toppings.
Smoothie bowls also work well in Eatwell paper food containers. The Eatwell range is available in plain white, popular colourful ‘Enjoy’ range or can be bespoke printed with your branding. Eatwell containers come as combi-packs (containers and lids in one case) in 7 varieties – sizes 7oz to 24oz.
Speak to us today to discuss the most suitable containers for your smoothie bowls, and our range of cutlery, napkins, bottles for juice and much more.
