May 10, 2016 By Delphine Fortin 49 Comments

Vegan Carob Smoothie Bowl

Name: Vegan Carob Smoothie Bowl
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Cuisine: Healthy
Ingredients: 1 ripe banana, sliced; 3 Tablespoons rolled oats; 1 Tablespoon carob powder; 1 teaspoon cocoa powder, 100% cocoa; 1 Tablespoon nut butter (almond or cashew butter); 1-2 pitted dates (optional); ½ cup (120 ml) cold almond milk (or other vegetal milk); ¼ banana, sliced; 1 teaspoon linseed; 1 teaspoon rolled oats

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This healthy plant-based smoothie bowl is prepared with carob powder, unsweetened cocoa and dates. Vegan and naturally gluten-free, it’s a wholesome breakfast recipe with many health benefits!

I can’t get enough of smoothies and smoothie bowls. They are very easy and quick to prepare, look stunning and are healthy most of the time. Plus I like that you can be so creative with the recipes. You can’t get tired of them!

Actually, my smoothies recipes are among the most popular on the blog. Among them, my favorite ones are my classic and decadent peanut butter smoothie (to die for!), my vegan vanilla cashew smoothie (a huge favorite), my raw chocolate almond smoothie, my blackberry chia seed smoothie and my avocado coconut smoothie bowl (my favorite healthy one). There are many more smoothie recipes on the blog, but these ones come back regularly for breakfast or as a healthy snack for recovering after training.

Today I’d like to suggest a new creation – it’s already become a favorite of mine – a lovely vegan smoothie bowl, made with carob powder! Healthy, filling and extremely tasty.

At this point, you might ask what carob is, where it comes from, and what it tastes like. So let me say a few words about it. Carob is a tropical pod that contains a sweet, edible pulp and inedible seeds. After drying, the pulp is roasted and ground into a powder that is similar to cocoa powder, with a slightly different texture and flavor. Hence, it is often used as a substitute for chocolate.

Now grown all around the world, carob trees plantations were first mentioned by the ancient Greeks. Knowledge of carob’s health benefits go back 4,000 years. It has a number of advantages over cocoa powder and as such is often referred to as “healthy chocolate”. With a slightly different taste from chocolate, carob has only one third of the calories, is virtually fat free (chocolate is 50% fat), is non allergenic, has abundant protein, and has no oxalic acid (which interferes with absorption of calcium).

Apart from health benefits obtained by substituting carob for cocoa, carob also has excellent nutritional value. Along with up to 80% protein, it contains Magnesium, Calcium, Iron, Phosphorus, Potassium Manganese, Copper, Nickel and vitamins A, B, B2, B3, and D. And that’s not all! Carob also naturally contains polyphenols, which help lower blood cholesterol levels, and is a natural antioxidant, protecting your body from damage from free radicals and environmental toxins.

In this smoothie bowl recipe, I mixed carob powder with a little bit of unsweetened cocoa powder (100% cocoa) to make it a little bit sweeter and even more flavorful. Both adults and children will enjoy this delicious treat with many health benefits. Give it a try and do feel free to give me your feedback!