Passion Pitaya Parfait
Passion Pitaya Parfait
After recently visiting a place we’ve had on our bucket list for ages (Blue Bowl in southern Cali), I became obsessed with the idea of recreating a colorful, fun, layered smoothie bowl at home. I’ve been making smoothie bowls for decades, but I usually just make up a frozen base and top it with things like granola, berries, and nuts. Which is great. BUT! Once you’ve upleveled to a layered-style bowl, you’ll want to make them part of your regular rotation.
Not only are layered bowls super gorgeous and fun to look at, they’re also a delight to eat, especially when there’s a flavor explosion of complimentary tastes like this tropical bowl has! Plus, you can keep most of the elements on hand in the fridge so that it’s suuuuper easy to put together a bowl or parfait. For example, I like to keep the chia pudding and mango passion pudding on hand, as they keep well for up to a week or more. Here they are, as we speak, chillaxin’ in the fridge:
Fun fact: When I first gave my husband a taste of the passionfruit pudding, his eyes widened and he said, “From now on we need to keep this on hand at all times.” Another fun fact: It’s only three ingredients, made solely of fruit, and very easy to make!
Here’s what I recommend you do to make this layered parfait/smoothie bowl at home. First, make the chia pudding and mango passion pudding the night before. Then, have all of your toppings on hand, as well as the dishes or cups you want to use. That way, you can have everything ready to layer up as soon as your frozen element is made (that’s the one you’ll want to make last, of course, so that it stays frozen while you eat it). Have fun experimenting with different toppings, and please let me know what you think once you try it! Below is a very unprofessional, but real, photo of my counter just before I made up the layered parfaits. Everything was ready to go before I whipped up the dragon smoothie in the blender.
Blue Vanilla Chia Pudding
This pretty pudding has a mild, yet yummy flavor. The Blue Majik gives it a fun color, but it can be omitted if you desire.
¼ cup raw cashews
3 pitted dates
2 cups water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon Blue Majik (blue spirulena, optional for color and added nutrition)
1/3 cup chia seeds
If you have a high speed blender, place the cashews, dates, and some of the water in your blender and process until very smooth. Add the remaining water, vanilla, and Blue Majik and blend well. Remove to a container and whisk in the chia seeds. Allow to chill for several hours, or overnight. It will thicken quite a bit in the fridge, and it’s a good idea to whisk it a few more times to make sure the chia seeds don’t clump up.
If you have a regular blender (not Vitamix or BlendTec), soak the cashews and dates in one cup of the water for several hours, then proceed with step one as directed.
This will last for about a week in an airtight container, refrigerated
Serves 4/GF/Blue/Raw
Mango Passion Pudding
Be sure to use the chewy, sticky dried mango for this recipe, not freeze dried (crisp) mango.
4 1/2 oz dried mango (about one cup, very firmly packed into the measuring cup), cut into smaller pieces so it’s easier to blend
3 large pitted dates
1 cup water
2 cups passionfruit (I use Pitaya Foods frozen passionfruit cubes)
Place the mango, dates, and water in a bowl and let soak for about half an hour.
Add the mango-date-water mixture to a blender along with the passionfruit. Blend until velvety smooth. This may take a few minutes, but don’t give up!
Store this in an airtight container for up to a week, refrigerated.
Serves about 4/Green/GF/Raw
Tropical Dragon Smoothie
And now for the final element - the frozen smoothie base! You’ll want to have your other puddings on hand, as well as your toppings, before you make this part, as it doesn’t stay frozen for too long. If you want it to taste super coconutty, double the amount of coconut butter. If you don’t like coconut flavors, you can omit the coconut butter and use almond or cashew butter instead.
2 cups frozen pitaya (dragonfruit), I use Pitaya Foods pitaya chunks
2 cups frozen pineapple
1 1/4 cups coconut water
1 tablespoon coconut butter
Blend all ingredients well and serve immediately. Put into the bottom of your smoothie bowls or glasses and then layer with fresh fruits, granola, nuts, or anything else you fancy! :)
Serves 2-4/Green/GF/Raw
And here’s how you put the whole thing together!
Make the two puddings (blue vanilla chia and mango passion) in advance. Allow several hours, or ideally overnight, for them to thicken in the fridge.
Prepare your toppings. I like to use fresh sliced strawberries and bananas, other berries, sprouted almonds, and granola. You could also use flaked coconut, buckwheat, or fresh dragonfruit. Basically, you’re calling the shots here.
Get your bowls or cups ready to layer up!
Make the dragonfruit smoothie and place it in the bottom of your cups or bowls. For us, this made three servings, but it would have also stretched to make four. Or, for bigger bowls, it would have been enough for two.
Place some toppings on the frozen smoothie portion, and then add a layer of chia pudding.
Top with more fruit (and/or other toppings) and then add your final layer, the mango passion pudding. Add final toppings of your choice and serve immediately. Enjoy!!!