One of the reasons I like smoothies is for their garnish potential! Garnish also helps turn a smoothie from a snack into a complete meal. And I always keep extra smoothie garnishes handy so that I can garnish as I go. Come on, you know your kitchen table has totally been missing a garnish station.
My favorite smoothie garnishes are as follows – what would you add to the list?
- Pumpkin Seeds – Let’s face it, pumpkin seeds are a great garnish for everything.
- Coconut Flakes – What’s not to love? They are crispy tasty fantastic. For some reason most grocery stores don’t seem to stock this (don’t try to substitute with desiccated coconut) but Amazon
has quite a few options and it’s not very expensive.
- Sea Salt – Salt actually brings out the flavour and sweetness of the ingredients used in the smoothie. You could even get fancy and rim your smoothie glass with salt!
- Jumbo Oats – Classic, also good blended INTO the smoothie itself.
- Swiss Muesli – A little fancier than straight up oats and usually brings with it other tasty garnishes like seeds and dried fruit. Don’t spend lots of money buying this stuff; make your own custom Homemade Muesli Blend.
- Goji Berries – The most overhyped dried fruit in the universe, but they’re pretty and look so nice on green smoothies! Hefty tip: soak the goji berries ahead of time; they can be discouragingly chewy. Goji berries are sold all over the place now, alas, for a hefty price tag; if it’s only the color your after, dried cranberries make a nice substitute.
- Bee Pollen – Little crunchy morsels of honey sweetness. I’ve been a little obsessed with this stuff since I discovered it in France last year. I try to stock up whenever I go back, but for those of you who aren’t France-bounce, you CAN buy bee pollen elsewhere (after all it’s not like bees are a strictly French thing!) – there are lots of options on Amazon
.
- Acai Powder – Allegedly increases energy and “vitality”; I just like it for its bitter berry tastiness. I use Naturya Organic Acai Powder
.
- Maca Powder – Malty sweet goodness originating from a tuberous root grown in the highlands of Peru. I’ve been using Naturya Organic Maca
however I’ve recently cut back my usage when the company (very responsibly) informed me of unethical business practices and biopiracy which have made maca a bit taboo and difficult (i.e. expensive) to source. Use your best judgement here!
- Spirulina – Most people blend this happy protein into their smoothie but I have actually developed quite a taste for the stuff and prefer it as a garnish so that I really know it’s there! I use this stuff a LOT and have been getting my Organic Spirulina in bulk from myprotein.com.
- Cacao Nibs – I like these in banana-based smoothies, or in a mint chocolate chip blend. I use Naturya Organic Cocoa Nibs
.
- Grated beetroot – I use a Kuhn Rikon Grater & Julienne Mandoline
to make cool little beetroot matchsticks (see the picture below, made with golden beetroot).
- Puffed Grains – Rice, millet, amaranth, quinoa… I’ve been enjoying Biona Organic Amaranth Pops
lately.
- Freeze-Dried Raspberries – I discovered these little morsels of crispy tart goodness at Waitrose; they’re kind of expensive, but they look so pretty! You can also buy them on Amazon
.
- Granola – Try Mardi’s Maple Walnut Granola or go crazy with savory granola.
- Fresh fruit – Especially raspberries and blueberries.
Monica I LOVE this so much 🙂 SO many great ideas!
I love making thick smoothies and always have to garnish them. Like you said, they look incomplete without! My favourite toppings are pumpkin seeds, milled flaxseed, goji berries and cacao nibs 😀 x
Milled flaxseed! I must add that to the list!
I love your realistic take on the ‘superfood’ items like goji berries etc. People’s slavish devotion to the latest fad annoys me so much – I’m sure you get more vitamin C from a fresh orange than some dried camu camu! The pics are so gorgeous – really inspired to set up my own garnish station now 🙂
If you do setup a garnish station, do take a picture so I can see it!
One thing I miss at breakfast time when I have a smoothie is the sensation of eating something rather than just having a drink. I like your idea of presenting the smoothie in a bowl with a garnish on top, it looks more like a proper breakfast then.
Eating it with a spoon also helps with that “proper breakfast” feeling!
Fantastic ideas – thanks for sharing!
Since we eat with our eyes, I think your garnishes make these smoothies so much more tempting and also give additional texture, something to chew or crunch.
“Eat with our eyes” – too too true, Kavey. And true to the texture, too. It’s nice having something to “chew”. 🙂
I don’t think I’ve ever garnished a smoothie in my life but it’s such a great idea!! Like a sweet soup 🙂
Or like a green porridge given that I’ve been blending oats into my smoothies. 🙂
How have I not been garnishing my smoothies?! I love adding bee pollen to my porridge but now I’ll add to my smoothies and also might add a few frozen raspberries and also like a few flaked almonds. This is a great idea for a post 🙂
Good call on the flaked almonds! I haven’t tried that yet but I’m totally on it.
Ah, this is great. And just in the nick of time as I was getting a teensy bit bored of plain smoothies. I am off to set up a garnish station 😀
I predict that garnish stations will be a new facet of Ikea kitchens in the coming years!
I am typically less adventurous with my smoothie toppings, settling for a sprinkling of chia seeds and berries most often, or bee pollen if I’m feeling fancy. These are some great ideas to beautifully elevate even the most humble smoothie. Pinned etc
I love your garnish ideas Monica. The smoothie bowls you have in the photos look so tempting. I am eager to try some of your suggestions as I have been much less adventurous with my breakfast up to now.