A cool summer: Poi smoothie bowl recipe

Here’s a refreshing recipe for those hot summer days, using frozen fruit, poi and the toppings of your choice!

Jul. 6, 2021

Contributed by Hoʻokahua Cultural Vibrancy Group

This article is part of Kūkahekahe – Cultural Conversations – featuring personal experiences and insights from faculty, staff, and friends about compelling cultural happenings within the KS organization, throughout the Hawaiian Islands, and across larger Pacific and global communities. For more great recipes, visit the Kaʻiwakīloumoku website.

We have passed ka māuikiʻikiʻi o ke kauwela, the summer solstice and the longest day of the year. Although our days will slowly become shorter again, this season still promises to be a hot one!

We have the perfect recipe for those sizzling summer days – a refreshing poi smoothie bowl! This nutritious treat has a slightly thick consistency and can be eaten with a spoon. Our recipe is dairy-free and highlights poi and our delicious local fruits for an ʻono loa pick-me-up on a hot day.

You can even freeze your finished creation in a reusable container to take to the beach. When it thaws it will be just as ʻono as when you first made it!

POI SMOOTHIE BOWL
Makes one serving

1 frozen banana

1 cup of frozen fruit of your choice

1/4 cup of poi or paʻi ʻai (undiluted poi)

Toppings of choice: fresh fruit, chia seeds, bee pollen, toasted coconut, nuts, honey, granola, and of course MORE POI!

Add the frozen banana and frozen fruit to a blender and blend on low, until fruit is finely chopped but not yet pulverized. Add 1/4 cup of poi or paʻi ʻai and continue to blend on high until everything is incorporated. The consistency of the smoothie with the poi should be like soft-serve ice cream! Transfer to a bowl and garnish with your choice of toppings.

This recipe can be tweaked to suit your taste in so many ways! Try using two small frozen bananas and a tablespoon of nut butter or chocolate hazelnut spread! You can also turn this recipe into a drinkable smoothie by adding additional 1/4 cup poi or dairy or non-dairy milk.

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ho'okahua,hawaiian culture,kūkahekahe,cultural conversations,recipe