Blue Mini Smoothie Bowls: Toddler Friendly
Smoothies will never be out of style. The smoothie bowl is certainly trendy right now as these scrumptious delights make for gorgeous pictures on Instagram and Pinterest. Blue smoothie bowls in particular are an excellent way for nutrition and food bloggers to show off some pretty food, but the part many may not know is how ridiculously nutritious there are.
What’s so different about the blue smoothie bowl?
Well to start, it’s blue. I mean you don’t see a heck of a lot of blue foods (aside from blueberries) circulating around, and because it’s so important to eat a wide variety of colors, this is a great one to pull out of your cupboard when you’re craving some baby blue.
Superstar ingredients
Benefits of Eating Spirulina
Spirulina is a microscopic, fresh-water algae that flourishes in warm climates. It is packed with protein making it great for vegetarians and vegans. It contains a host of vitamins including A,C, & E plus B1, iron, magnesium, calcium, and of course, chlorophyll. It’s available as a pill, powder (my choice), or freeze dried and has been called, “The Food of the Future”. Here are some more reasons why I agree.
Kid-Friendly
Spirulina contains and easily digested protein making it a nice addition to your child’s smoothie. For its high iron content, it’s recommended by the WHO (World Health Organization) for helping undernourished children. Tommy goes nuts for this smoothie and says, “mmmmm” after every sip. Cleaning up his blue chin, arms, legs, and table after giving him this is totally worth it, as long as most of it gets in his belly.
Anti-inflammatory & Anti-oxidant Properties
Spirulina is a rare food source of (GLA) Gamma Linolenic Acid, which balances the body’s inflammatory response, along with other fatty acids ie, omega 3,6, & 9.
Heavy Metal Detox
Spirulina has the potential to bind to heavy metals and help the body release them.
Anti-microbial
Spirulina has been know to help fight off fungal infections like Candida which populate the intestines and make us more susceptible to illness.
Immune System Booster
A number of studies show that spirulina increases the production of antibodies that help improve immunity and help ward off illness.
Here is the blue spirulina I use. It’s definitely not cheap, but a little definitely goes a long way. In our house, we use it like blue fairy dust...sprinkling small amounts it here and there. Mostly smoothies;)
And for the best whole food powder in the world, I can't forget about my beloved SP complete. This fills in nutrition gaps not only for Tommy, but myself as well. For more info on my favorite powder to add to smoothies, see here. PS, it now comes in vanilla and chocolate making everything that comes in its path delicious. Note: supplements are for nutrition clients only. For any questions, please visit my contact page and I’m happy to assist.
Check out the video demo here
Recipe
4 scoops vanilla sp complete powder (enter code nutrition) or 1-2 scoops vanilla protein powder)
1 tsp blue spirulina powder
1 cup full fat canned coconut milk
1 frozen banana
½ cup organic blueberries
1-2 tsp MCT oil or liquid coconut oil
2-4 pitted dates (optional)
Pinch sea salt
Blend all ingredients together in high power blender.
Sprinkle w blueberries and unsweetened coconut, and chia seeds or hempseeds for the great addition of some omega 3 fats.
Note: Always talk to your doctor before using any supplementation and purchase only reputable brands. If you’re pregnant or breast- feeding, or suffer from a metabolic condition called phenylketonuria, or any autoimmune disease you should avoid spirulina.
Have you checked out my other smoothie recipes?
References
http://iimsam.org/images/SPIRULINAANDTHEMDGsRevisedDEC2010.pdf
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2011/531053
http://www.cyanotech.com/pdfs/spirulina/Spirulina_Abstracts.pdf
http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/supplement/spirulina
https://health.ucdavis.edu/publish/news/newsroom/2658
PS. Hyperlinks from products go to my amazon affiliate page where I make a tiny percentage of what you purchase to continue my benevolent livelihood;) Thanks for reading my blog. xo