This satisfying concoction is what I’ve been having for breakfast almost religiously for the past months. In recent times I’ve started varying my breakfasts occasionally, making the odd chia pudding, homemade granola or trying out healthy pancake recipes (my favorites are the Banana Pancakes from Deliciously Ella – the blog – and the Sweet Potato Pancakes from Deliciously Ella Every Day). On most mornings, however, I automatically go for this smoothie in one variation or the other, as it’s what I crave the most. What I love about this smoothie is that it’s filling – the combination of healthy fats and protein keeps me going for longer than my classic oatmeal used to – yet doesn’t make me feel sluggish as a higher-carb breakfast sometimes would.

My recipe has slightly adapted over time, but here is my go-to version:

Avocado Berry Breakfast Smoothie Bowl

Makes: 1 serving

Ingredients

• 1/2 ripe avocado*
• 1 ripe banana**
• handful of frozen blueberries
• handful of frozen raspberries
• 1 heaped tbsp hemp powder
• 1 tbsp ground flaxseeds
• sprinkling of cinnamon (for extra antioxidants)

*You can wrap the other half in clingfilm and leave it in the fridge for the next morning, use it to make some yummy guacamole or chop it up and toss it into a salad.

** To make this into delicious and highly nutritious ice cream use a frozen banana and add some plant-based milk. Great for hot summer mornings.

Method

Throw all of the ingredients into your food processor (I use a hand-held blender from the Swiss brand Bamix – I find it very powerful and easy to work with) and combine until a mousse-like texture forms. I should probably add that this isn’t the classic smoothie texture, as I’m not a fan of drinking my meals. The texture of this smoothie is something between yogurt and ice cream, or frozen yogurt, and I eat it with a spoon. If you prefer a more liquid smoothie, just add some plant-based milk, such as rice or almond milk.

I’ll be honest: since I make this pretty much every day I just eat it straight out of the container in which I make my smoothie. If you’re less lazy, you can serve this in a nice bowl with whatever topping you like: more berries, sliced banana, crushed nuts or even granola – whatever lights up your morning.

Variation: If you’re out of avocados (so annoying when all the avos at the grocery store are rock-hard) or just feel like changing it up a bit, replace the avocado with a generously heaped tbsp (or two) of peanut butter. Here you might want to add a dash of rice milk if your food processor is struggling, but for me it works fine without. Lately I’ve been making this version more and more and absolutely loving it.

Feel Good Fact: Avocados are full of healthy monounsaturated fats, which contribute to heart health.