Smoothie bowls are all the rage these days, and what better way to enjoy one than with fresh tropical fruits from Maui, Hawai’i. Luckily, Hawai’i has an abundance of exotic fruits, especially here in the bountiful jungle of Hāna.
(Scroll down to view the recipe)
THE INSPIRATION
Since our friends over at Vitamix generously gifted us a Vitamix XL for our farm kitchen, we’ve been having a blast experimenting with it. We’ve made sauces, dressings, slaws, nut milks, nut butters, tea blends, and much more!
Our latest project using the Vitamix was something sweet and citrus—a tropical smoothie bowl using fresh fruit from our farm. With the help of one of our talented chefs, Ryan, we put together a smoothie bowl recipe to satisfy those tropical taste buds.
FIRST, WE HARVEST!
From our organic farm, Ryan gathered one starfruit, one fig, four Apple bananas, and one orange to use as the base of the smoothie. After freezing the fruit overnight, he then removed it from the freezer and let it sit for 30 minutes. This was so the fruit was not too difficult to blend when added to the Vitamix. Therefore, no liquid was needed in the recipe, making for a wonderful texture and thickness!
Blended in the Vitamix until smooth and thick, the light pink smoothie was then scooped into a colorful bowl. As he did this, he flattened out the surface to make room for toppings—the best part!
TIME FOR TOPPINGS
For this recipe, we used more fresh, Hāna-grown fruit for toppings, including a sliced Apple banana, guava, and starfruit.
To add some hearty richness, we topped it off with a dollop of raw almond butter and raw cacao nibs. The cacao nibs came directly from our neighbor down the road, Hana Gold—one of the first-ever cacao farms in East Maui.
TROPICAL MAGIC
All that was left to do was enjoy and eat the smoothie bowl—in which case, our farmies didn’t hesitate. Needless to say, we delighted in the creation and the outcome of this delicious, tropical treat. Thank you, Vitamix!
Need some cooking inspiration of your own? Check out Vitamix’s website to see the various blenders and kitchen equipment they offer. Then stop by our stand on the road to Hāna for freshly harvested, locally-grown fruit to make your own tropical smoothie bowl at home!
THE TROPICAL SMOOTHIE BOWL RECIPE
The blend—
1 frozen star fruit
1 frozen fig
4 frozen bananas
1 frozen orange, peeled
*Let fruit freeze overnight, and then let thaw for 15-30 minutes before blending.
The toppings—
1 sliced banana
1 sliced guava
3 sliced pieces of starfruit
1 tbs cacao nibs
1 tbs almond butter