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Food & Drinks Vocabulary: How to Make Your Smoothie Bowl

Updated: Jul 22


1. Why learn Vocabulary related to Food & Drinks?


For instance, the subject of this blog post is creating a smoothie bowl.


So you'll find many food and drink-related words & phrases, including:

- Names of Fruits & Veggies - Word / Meaning List

- Names of Toppings Ingredient - Word / Meaning List

- Smoothie Making Vocabulary List - With Meaning Explained

- Imperative verbs for giving instructions, directions, advice, tips & suggestions

- Make Your Own Smoothie Bowl


TIP!

Expand your Food Vocabulary Word bank by reading or trying out Food / Drink Recipes if you love eating or cooking food.


Learning a language is best if you really immerse yourself in it. Watch cooking shows. Surround yourself with the English Language as it's used in the real world as much as you can.


A smoothie  drink vs smoothie bowl.
Topic Vocabulary - Make a smoothie bowl.

2. Food Vocabulary - Smoothie drink vs smoothie bowl - Is there a difference?


- A smoothie is a cold drink typically made from fruit or vegetables and mixed together till smooth.


- A smoothie bowl, also known as an acai bowl, provides all the healthiest smoothie ingredients you are used to. But in a thicker smoothie with delicious toppings.











See how much thicker it looks...and more filling.

Thicker version of a smoothie.
Food Vocabulary - Smoothie bowl Ingredients.


It really changes how you can take smoothies.


Try it!


Why not have it for breakfast instead of your usual cereal or oatmeal? It's so delicious. And just as nutritious. Or have it as a dessert. Yum!


3. Fruits & Veggies Vocabulary - Word / Meaning List

i. cantaloupe = a type of melon with thick skin and sweet orange flesh

ii. acai = small, round, dark purple fruit (like a berry)

iii. pomegranates = round thick-skinned fruit with juicy, edible red seeds

iv. spinach = vegetable with dark green leaves; eaten raw or cooked

v. kale = a type of cabbage with green or purple tightly curled leaves


4. Names of Toppings Ingredient Vocabulary - Word / Meaning List

i. cereal = food made from grain usually eaten for breakfast

ii. cacao nibs = crushed cacao beans; with natural bitter & earthy taste (chocolate & cocoa are made from cacao beans)

iii. oatmeal = crushed oats

iv. muesli = a mixture of uncooked grains, nuts, dried fruit usually eaten with milk for breakfast

v. granola = mixture of baked grains, dried fruit & nuts usually eaten for breakfast

vi. shredded coconut= coconut cut into small thin pieces



5. How to Build a Smoothie : Vocabulary List - With Meaning Explained

- Word / Parts of Speech / Meaning

i. greens (n.) =leaves of green vegetables eaten as food

ii. nutrition (n.) = process of food that you take into the body to keep it healthy

iii. sprinkle (v.) = to drop few pieces over something

iv. texture (n.) = you can touch or feel it's hard or rough etc. v. textured (adj.) = not a smooth surface

vi. calorie (noun) = a measurement for amount of energy a food has

vii. multiple (adj.) = many

viii. typically (adv.) =usually

ix. liquid (n.)= a substance like water, not solid and you can pour



Vocabulary Learning TIP!

One way to increase your vocabulary is to take note of the different forms a word might have. Let's look at the word thick. You know it as an adjective.


Now look at thick in the following example sentences as a:

- verb

- noun

- adjective

Word​ / Example Sentence

i. thick (adjective)

e.g. This sauce is not thick enough.

ii. to thicken (verb) = to make something thicker

e.g. Let's add some cornflour to thicken it.


iii. thickening (noun)

e.g. Cornflour can be used as a thickening.


Learning TIP!

When you look up a new word in a dictionary, note the different forms it might have e.g. an adjective, a verb or a noun etc.


6. How to build the the perfect smoothie bowl - 4 easy steps


Step #1 - Start With Your Fruit or Veggies


Choose kale or spinach.
Vocabulary - Names of Fruits or Veggies

Like all smoothies, you want to start by choosing your fruits and veggies.


You don't need to include vegetables in every smoothie you make.


But, adding some kale or spinach is a good idea when you want a greens smoothie.


Or for when you simply want one with added nutrition.



TIP!

Choose frozen fruit if you have it.


This helps to thicken up the smoothie - keeps it from turning to a thin liquid too quickly.


You want your smoothie bowl to be nice and thick. So that it's easy to eat with a spoon.



TIP!

You can use almost any kind of fruit.


Some popular options.
Vocabulary - Fruit

Here are some popular options:


Bananas

Strawberries

Blueberries or raspberries

Mango

Honeydew melon

Watermelon

Papaya

Cantaloupe

Cherries

Apples

Oranges or lemons

Pomegranates

Mangoes



Step # 2 - Add in a Thickening Ingredient


Many people choose to make this their main source of protein in the smoothie base, such as yogurt, protein powder, or even...tofu, if you like it.


Or try this. Nut butter such as peanut or almond butter is also an excellent choice.


You can also make this a traditional acai bowl by adding an acai packet to the base.


These either come in a freeze-dried powder or frozen smoothie pack, which help add nutrition, flavour, colour, and thickening to the smoothie.


You can usually find them at health food stores, though your regular grocery store might have them, too.



Step #3 - Choose Your Liquids


All smoothies need at least a little liquid since it helps the blender to break up the fruit and other ingredients.


Just be sure to add less liquid than you normally would for a smoothie.



TIP!

If you are watching the sugar and calorie content of the smoothie base, using water works just fine.



You can also use:

- coconut water or coconut milk,

- soy milk,

- almond milk, or

- any type of dairy liquid.



Some fruit juice can be used for added flavor, but be careful not to add too much.



TIP!

If you end up adding a little too much liquid, just add in more fruit and thickening ingredient.



Step #4 - Top it Off!


The last step of the smoothie bowl formula is the topping!


You can use one or multiple toppings, depending on how you want to present the bowl.

Names of different types of toppings.
Vocabulary - Food Toppings

Many bowls use a sprinkle of chia seeds for the interest in color and texture, along with cacao nibs, muesli, granola, or shredded coconut.


Any type of nuts or seeds work really well for the top of smoothie bowls, as well as berries and other sliced fruit.



So, there you go. 4 easy steps. And so many options.


Have it for breakfast, lunch or as a snack.




7. Test Your English Knowledge!


Why not test out the new smoothie-related food vocabulary you've just learnt?


This is an excellent way to find out how much you know.


Do one or all of the following:

1. Make a shopping list for the ingredients.

2. Write out the steps to build the smoothie bowl,

3. Make the smoothie bowl,

4. Name your smoothie bowl,

5. Write the recipe in your journal/planner.




Thanks so much for reading & Happy Learning!


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