This beautiful layered vegan smoothie bowl is inspired by my time in Bali, specifically at Cassava in Canggu! They make a delicious smoothie bowl there, and I tried to replicate it. Disclaimer – I am NOT a food blogger LOL, so this is totally amateur cooking hour with Vanessa. Luckily, this recipe is so easy, it would be pretty hard to mess up!

Even though this bowl is easy to put together, it takes about 30 min time to prep everything, and then you have to wait for it all to turn into sorbet in the freezer (approx 3+ hours). So make sure to prep the night before you want to enjoy this bowl.

Here’s what you need:
Ingredients:
1 red Pittaya/Dragonfruit (or more!)
3 Ataulfu Mangos (or more!)
1 can of coconut milk (I use Aroy-D brand)
3/4 cup of whole white Chia Seeds (black would work too!)
1 Lemon or Lime
1 Love Good Fats protein bar (mine are plant based)
– optional strawberries
– optional sugar substitute (I didn’t use any in my recipe, but you can add a teaspoon to the Pittaya mix)

That’s it!! How easy, right?!
Now if you’re on a ketogenic diet, here are some facts you should know:
MANGO CONTAINS 16 GRAMS OF NET CARBS PER 3.5 OUNCES (100 GRAMS) – so it fits into a low-carb keto diet
DRAGON FRUIT CONTAINS 7 GRAMS OF NET CARBS PER 3.5 OUNCES (100 GRAMS) – so it’s a relatively low fat fruit to eat on a regular keto diet

First you need to dice up the mango. I haven’t learned an easier way to do this, so I just cut off both sides along the pit. Create lines in each half to easily scoop out the cubes from the skin into a bowl with a spoon – similar to cutting an avocado. Slice off as much off the pit, and then enjoy whatever is left over. YUM! I think you can use frozen diced mango, but I’m sure fresh ripe mangos taste best.

After dicing, place into the blender with a teeny bit of water to get it going. Here is when you add a squeeze of lime or lemon to taste, the acidity really helps cut the sweetness of the Ataulfu Mango.

After the mango is pureed in the blender, pour it through a fine mesh strainer into an airtight freezer safe glass container, pressing the puree through to make sure the mango is super smooth – since it is such a fibrous fruit. This step is not totally mandatory, but just do it! 😉 Pop it into the freezer after, giving it a scrape and stir every 2 hours or so.

Now for the Dragonfruit. The red Pittaya is a little harder to find, but I mean the colour alone is worth scouting for. Otherwise you can definitely use a white Pittaya (but it wont be as Instagram pretty HAHA #priorities). The process is fairly similar to the mango sorbet process, except faster.

Cut the PIttaya in half, same slicing process to create cubes, and then use a spoon to scrape it out of the skin. Much easier than mango, BUT the red pittaya will stain clothes, make sure not to get it everywhere and clean up your station immediately after. Dump the bowl of Pittaya into the blender and turn it into a puree. Pittaya is more of a watermelony/cucumber taste so you can add a spoon of sugar substitute to this one to sweeten it up. I didn’t add any to mine, but I added a tiny squeeze of lemon to it. I think the mango layer is sweet enough that the dragonfruit layer doesn’t need to be as sweet, just for contrast. No need to pour the dragonfruit through the strainer, just straight into a glass freezer safe container with air tight lid. You want to check your sorbets and give them a mix every now and then, just so they don’t ice over on the sides.

After the sorbets are in the freezer, move on to creating the chia seed pudding. Super easy – just 3/4 cups of whole chia and 3/4 cup of coconut milk in an air tight container. I also add about 1 cup of water so it’s not all coconut milk and its a smoother consistency. Start with half a cup of water and place the chia in the fridge. In about 30 minutes, take it out and give it a stir. You will notice the chia already expanded a lot. If it is SUPER thick and stuck looking, then add more water until it’s more of a pudding consistency. I always eyeball this process lol. You can also add things like a spoon of spirulina powder to the chia if you want that extra superfood kick.

Now pour the left over coconut milk into an air-tight glass container. The brand I chose (Aroy-D) separates fat from water really well in the fridge, sometimes other brands don’t do that. I need the water to separate from the coconut fat because I will use the thick top layer to create a “coconut whip”. You can always buy coconut whipped cream if you like, since making it this way won’t be as fluffy. But it’s good enough and tasty 🙂 You basically take the top layer that has separated only, and whip it with a whisk until it fluffs slightly.

I did all of this the night before so it was ready for breakfast the next morning. I take it out of the freezer and let it thaw slightly for 30 minutes, mixing it around. I use a tall round cup to put it together. Height is good when it comes to layers.

Add one layer of chia seed pudding to the bottom of your cup or bowl. About 1 inch thick.
Slice a strawberry really thin (this is optional) – Place thinly sliced strawberry around the inner side, because it’s yummy and so pretty.
Add your layer of mango sorbet, about 1 inch.
Add the layer of Dragonfruit, about 1 inch.
Top with coconut whipped cream.
Dice up your protein bar and sprinkle on top! Mine is from Love Good Fats – I used the plant based Choco Chip cookie dough bar – because it’s a tasty addition and I love the added boost of nutrients.

ENJOY!!!!

Let me know if you try this smoothie bowl recipe out. You can also modify the recipe to your needs and the amount you need.
This should make 2 large bowls.