A Soothing Smoothie Bowl #1: Cashew and Berry

 🎓 1st Year PhD • 📘 History • 😌 Calm

During my first year of the PhD—when I was still gloriously naive about the journey ahead and cognitive function was still on my side—I was enthusiastic about my research but, truthfully, had no idea how or where to find what I needed. It would take several wrong turns before I could properly identify a decent source base and, with that, a viable line of enquiry. Still, my hopefulness (and relief at having actually been accepted onto the programme) counterbalanced my general ignorance about how to actually do the damn thing.

In those early days, I started a routine that would eventually become a lifeline: breakfast. A slow, quiet, considered, and mindful breakfast.

To be fair, I’ve always been an avid breakfast person—largely because I despise mornings and food is the only thing that lures me out of bed. The promise of 45 minutes of stillness before facing the day helped keep me afloat.

Around that time, my mum had bought me Anni Kravi’s book Porridge* (mentioned in the previous post), which included a variety of breakfasts—smoothie bowls among them. Inspired, I started making my own riffs on porridge (which I’ll get to at some point), as well as smoothies. Admittedly, mine rarely resembled Kravi’s—I still don’t know what bilberries are, let alone where to find them—but I adopted her approach to mindful preparation. Spending 10 minutes every morning making a breakfast that was not only relatively nutritious and seasonally adaptable, but also calming to assemble and look at. The daily prospect of me getting anywhere in my research may have felt low, but hey, I'd made something pretty.

Since then, I’ve made a point of preserving this morning ritual, changing it up with all sorts of sweet and savoury ‘recipes’ (though most hardly qualify as such). This ritual has helped me get up, grounded me during difficult stretches, and guaranteed me a small window of peace before diving into the chaos of research and self-doubt.

A few notes on the recipe:

Don’t stress about exact measurements or ingredients—this is more suggestion than prescription. That said, I wouldn’t skip the banana: it adds texture and natural sweetness. You can use any berries you like, and adjust the quantities to suit your taste. If your banana is especially large, you can throw it all in, or save a few slices for the topping.

Frozen fruit works brilliantly here, too. If you ever have berries or bananas on the verge of turning, peel the banana, break into chunks, and freeze in a bag. For berries, lay them out on a tray first to freeze separately before storing, otherwise they’ll clump into one icy blob. (This particular smoothie bowl used a mix of frozen and fresh fruit.)

When it comes to sweeteners, be gentle—the banana often does enough on its own, depending on ripeness. For milk, use whatever you have or prefer. I used my homemade cashew milk (see: Soak, Blend, Breathe (or: Cashew Milk for When Everything's a Lot)), which is rich and creamy. If you’ve made that milk and have leftover cashew pulp, feel free to bung it in too.

You’ll also see cashews in the smoothie itself. They add a touch of richness and body (perhaps overkill, but honestly, why not?). You can forgo it of course or add oats in its place.

Toppings, like the smoothie, are yours to play with. Use any kind of berries, sliced banana, nuts or seeds—preferably toasted, for crunch and warmth. And don’t feel you have to stop there. I’ve even added a scoop of ice cream (a halfway successful homemade miso one—another procrastinating project—if you must ask).

Ultimately, it’s just a smoothie—don’t overthink it. (Save that for the thesis.)

*Kravi, Anni, Porridge: Oats + Seeds + Grains + Rice (London: Quadrille Publishing Ltd, 2017).

Servings: 1            🥖 GF    🥛 LF    🥕 V    🌱 VE

Time:

👐 Hands-on: 10 minutes

Ingredients

For the Smoothie

• 1 medium-sized banana 
• A handful of blueberries
• A handful of raspberries 
• Sweetener of choice, to taste: 1–2 tsp honey, maple syrup or agave, or 1–2 dates/prunes
• A small handful of cashews
• 200–250ml milk of choice

Optional Toppings

• A selection of seeds and pan-toasted nuts
• Fresh or dried berries
• Desiccated or flaked coconut

Instructions

1. Add the banana, berries, your chosen sweetener, and 200ml of the milk to a blender (avoid using a stick blender for best results). Blend until smooth.
2. While the smoothie is blending, lightly toast any nuts or seeds you plan to use as toppings in a dry pan. Keep a close eye on them so they don’t burn.
3. Add the cashews to the smoothie and blend again until completely smooth. Taste and adjust—add more sweetener if desired, or a little extra of the milk if you prefer a thinner consistency.
4. Pour into a bowl (or into a cup if you’d prefer a traditional smoothie—just keep it a bit thinner for easy drinking).
5. Add your favourite toppings. I used sliced strawberry, desiccated coconut, freeze-dried raspberries, chia seeds, and a mix of pan-toasted pumpkin seeds and cashews. Feel free to experiment with other toppings—see the intro for more ideas!

Storage

This should be consumed immediately.