***Please Note: You’ll need the following ‘non-food items,’ toothpicks, a plastic gallon bag (or piping bag), a dry erase marker, scissors, and a good food processor.
Well, you all voted and the winner by a slim margin was the unicorn bowl with 58% of the votes!! I’ll keep the galaxy bowl in my back pocket for a later time! But this is a super fun recipe! Not only is it adorable, but it’s super duper kid friendly (and this is a fun one for them to decorate and help make) but it’s really healthy! It really only has 7 ingredients (less if you don’t garnish) and it’s loaded with antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals! It’s also vegan, as well as dairy free, gluten free, dye free, and has no refined or processed foods in it! This also is a ‘crafty’ kind of recipe, so have fun with it and use that artistic gifts you have hiding in your back pocket!
I’ve also used an ingredient most people don’t know about unless you’re vegan/vegetarian. It’s called spirulina and it’s been used as far back as the Aztecs time. Typically found in powdered form, it’s a blue green microalgae which according to the FDA is packed with calcium, niacin, potassium, magnesium, B vitamins and iron. It also contains essential amino acids and a good amount of protein (which is why many vegans/vegetarians use it!). In fact, protein makes up about 60 to 70 percent of Spirulina’s dry weight. It also is a very strong natural dye for a pretty light blue green, so be careful what you set it on, it will dye clothes! Now, you don’t want to use a ton of this, as it has a grassy taste, but the banana does a really nice job of neutralizing the flavor. But really, this is a great natural additive to your morning smoothies and a great alternative to blue food dye! So grab some fruit and let’s whip up this magical unicorn smoothie bowl!
Ingredients:
- 6 frozen bananas (I peel and quarter them before I put them in the freezer)
- 1 non-frozen banana for ‘ears’
- 1.5 cups frozen raspberries, blackberries, or strawberries (we used raspberries and blackberries)
- 4-6 strawberries
- 1 tsp powdered spirulina
- 1/4-1/2 cup of coconut milk
- Optional: Garnishes for ‘unicorn mane,’ I used toasted coconut and cocao nibs, you could use chia seeds, bee pollen, even cut up berries!
- This makes about 4 small unicorn bowls or two very large smoothie bowls
- You’ll also need the following non-food items: toothpicks, a plastic gallon bag (or piping bag), a dry erase marker, scissors, and a good food processor.
Instructions:
First, you’ll have to freeze you bananas and berries the night before, these are best if the bananas are really frozen solid. Get 4 plain bowls, with the dry erase marker, draw eyes and mouth (shown below), this way, once done, the marker will rub right off the bowl! **Tip: For easy clean-up, you can also do this on paper bowls with a sharpie!You’ll want to prep your unicorn ‘ears’ and ‘horn’ before you start blending as you have to make these fast before things start melting! To make ‘ears’ cut bananas pieces at a thin diagonal (shown below), then cut one of the strawberries into this piece vertically and place on bottom of your banana pieces. This makes the ‘ears.’ For the ‘horns’ cut strawberries into quarters long ways, and place the pointed tip on the top of the toothpick and then add more strawberry pieces until you’ve created a horn (shown below). Set aside.
Put all 6 of your cut up frozen bananas in the food processor and blend until smooth. If bananas are too dry/thick, add 1/4-1/2 cup of coconut milk until you get a good consistency. Once you’ve achieved a good creamy texture (should look like frozen yogurt), remove about 2/3rds or your banana mixture from the food processor and place in bowl. In bowl, add your powder spirulina and mix until well combined (you should have a nice light blue mixture). In blender with the remaining bananas add frozen berries and blend until smooth, should look like dark pink custard. Now this is where the fun begins! In that gallon bag, open the top and fold down the top sides. Spoon in pink banana mixture on one side of the bag. Once all of it is in the bag, spoon the blue mixture on top of the pink mixture. Seal the top of the bag and snip off a tiny corner on the bottom of the bag. In a circular motion, pipe the mixture into your decorated unicorn bowls (like you’re swirling soft serve ice cream into a cone). Once you’ve filled your bowls, place two ears on the back of the bowl, the horn in the middle of the ears, and then make your mane out of garnishes! Grab a spoon and enjoy this magical awesomeness!
