Strawberry Banana Nut Granola Green Smoothie Bowl

The following is a sponsored post on behalf of Van’s Simply Delicious®. All opinions and text are my own.

As we have already established, I love having smoothies. I like them as a great way to add a lot of fruits, vegetables, and protein into my day, especially on busy days when I don’t even really necessarily want to sit down to have some lunch. Sometimes, however, I want to have a smoothie but I also would love to have something to actually need to chew and with some texture.

This makes a smoothie bowl the perfect option! This Strawberry Banana Granola Green Smoothie Bowl is perfect for those smoothie days when I want a little something more than just a regular smoothie.

In order to add in my favorite part of this Strawberry Banana Nut Granola Green Smoothie Bowl, I had to head to Meijer to pick up some Van’s Simply Delicious® Banana Nut Granola. Well, let’s be honest, I actually picked up Van’s Simply Delicious® Cranberry Granola Clusters and Van’s Simply Delicious® Blueberry Granola Clusters at the same time.

For real – this is my favorite granola. Not only is it delicious and nutrient-dense, but I love the soft, chewy texture. That chewy texture and wholesome taste is extra great in a smoothie bowl! (Honestly, I love to eat the Van’s Simply Delicious® Banana Nut Granola plain or with almond coconut milk too. It’s pretty darn delicious, and I love that it’s made with clean, simple ingredients.)

Since I knew that I was most excited about having the Van’s Simply Delicious® Banana Nut Granola in the smoothie bowl, I knew that I also wanted to include bananas in the smoothie mixture, as well as the nutty flavor of ground flax seed.

If you are making this Strawberry Banana Nut Granola Green Smoothie Bowl, the number of people that this particular recipe will serve can vary. If you are not putting as many add ins into it, it will not go as far. However, if you plan to put in a lot of granola, cut fruit, and chia seeds, it can feed at least a couple of people (or more).

If you have people in your life that are gluten free, then this is a great breakfast or snack option, because Van’s Simply Delicious® Banana Nut Granola (and tons of other Van’s products!) are gluten free. Score! That was one of the handy things about picking these up at Meijer, since they have a specific section full of gluten free items.

We have a lot of very special people in our lives who have either Celiac Disease or who are gluten intolerant. If you do as well, I wanted to share that this campaign is running in conjunction with Celiac Awareness Month, and is focusing on an in-store demo running in 100 select Meijer stores in support of this campaign on May 29th. You can also use Meijer’s mperks for a special coupon offer!

During this month, foundations like the Celiac Disease Foundation work to raise awareness of celiac disease and gluten intolerance, and they offer many helpful suggestions to lead a healthy, gluten-free life.

Okay, now back to this yummy smoothie bowl.

Ingredients for the Strawberry Banana Nut Granola Green Smoothie Bowl

For the Smoothie Portion of the Bowl:

• 3/4 cup of your favorite milk (I used unsweetened almond-coconut milk)
• 2 tablespoons of ground flax seed
• 1 scoop of protein powder (optional)
• 1 banana
• 1 – 2 large handfuls of raw spinach (or your other favorite green)
• 1 cup of frozen sliced strawberries

If you prefer for the smoothie portion of your smoothie bowl to be more of a pink color, you can skip putting in greens, which can make your smoothie portion of the bowl turn some shade of green or green-brown.

Possible Toppings or Mix-ins for Your Smoothie Bowl:

• Van’s Simply Delicious® Banana Nut Granola (or one of their other flavors!)
• Fresh fruit (in bite-sized pieces)
• Chia Seeds
• Nuts

If you have another favorite thing that you want to try to add as a topping for your smoothie bowl, then you can change that up.

Directions for Strawberry Banana Nut Granola Green Smoothie Bowl

1. Blend smoothie ingredients in your blender in the order that is preferred by your blender. I start with the coconut almond milk, ground flax seed, protein powder, and banana and blend those all up first.

Then I add in the spinach.

Finally, I add in the frozen strawberries.

2. Once your smoothie is made, pour the desired amount into separate bowls and top with your toppings/mix ins.

Although I am showing the toppings as actual toppings, my preference is to mix them in before I start eating. You can leave yours as toppings, or you can mix them in to the smoothie. I actually like to mix them in and then add some more of everything, which makes it very hearty.

Have you tried smoothie bowls? What are some of your favorite things to add to them?

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Van’s Simply Delicious®. The opinions and text are all mine.