Vegan Black Forest Protein Smoothie Bowl Recipe

The onset of summer always fills me with a strong desire to go fruit picking, those glossy red berries seemingly symbolising everything wonderful about the summer, and reminding us of eating raw berries with stained fingers when we were children.

Unfortunately, the shelf life of soft berries is as transitory as the season itself and unless you know people who will gratefully accept jars and jars of jams, you may find yourself throwing out berries that have grown grey fur coats out to the birds (they're not as picky as us humans).

Fortunately, it is really easy to freeze fruits, you just need to lay them out flat on a baking sheet in the freezer for a day or so, before bagging up. By freezing in this way, you're left with whole fruits that haven't been crushed by other freezer hogging fruits that are demanding their own space in the bag.

I love to use my favourite brand of vegan smoothie powder, Herbalife's Nutrition Vegan Protein Mix. Of course, you can use your own favourite powder, but this one is particularly good, packed full of vitamins, and will keep you full throughout the morning. I also add cacao or cocoa powder (depending on which I have in the cupboard), banana, some cherries (or any red berry of your choice) and a little maple syrup to sweeten.

Simple! You just blend up your smoothie ingredients, pour them into the bowl of your choice, and then add toppings:

• sliced fruit
• cacao nibs
• coconut
• nuts or seeds
• drizzle of maple syrup
• yogurt

And of course, you can just drink as a regular smoothie if you'd prefer!

• Use any berries you want. I used cherries in this one, because, Black Forest, but a combination of frozen blueberries and strawberries (which particularly benefit from the baking sheet method of freezing) but raspberries, loganberries, blackberries or currants would be just as good.
• Feel free to omit the chocolate if you just want to enjoy that fruity flavour instead. It gives you a feeling of having grasped onto a fleeting moment of the summer when, in reality, in the midst of winter, you've extracted a bag of frosty berries from the freezer.

I have been experimenting with freezing various fruits and then blending them to see what is achieved and the most successful thing was this chilly drink. The banana isn't obligatory and if you enjoy the tartness that some early season berries carry, then you'll love this. If, like me, you have a sweet tooth that constantly needles your pancreas, then the banana adds a natural sweetness as well as a definite creaminess and makes this drink more like a milk-shake than a healthy drink. Always a winner in my book if the health aspect is downplayed.

• My easy one setup Chia Pudding
• Raw Cashew Coconut Protein Balls
• My overnight Oats, for the easiest breakfast ever!

Click here for my Black Forest Smoothie Web Story!