Dole Whip inspired smoothie bowls

I’ve only been to Hawaii once but I have to admit my experience did not live up to all of the hype I had been promised… horrible right?

Don’t get me wrong, I feel very blessed and grateful that I even had the opportunity to go to Hawaii, but Waikiki in the middle of summer is just not my cup of tea.  It was steaming hot, balls deep crowded and beyond expensive.  Pay money to hike to a waterfall?  No thank you.

Also, more than one person asked me if I had ever seen the ocean before, assuming of course that being from Canada I live in a frozen dry wasteland.  (Quick fact, Canada has the longest natural coastline of any country in world.)

Ok, so the warm crystals waters and white sand beaches weren’t exactly terrible…. There’s no way I will write off the Islands entirely until I at least give Maui a shake, but I’m in no rush to head back to Honolulu anytime soon.

My highlight of the entre trip was driving to the (slightly less crowded) North shore to snorkel.  We stopped on the way at the Dole plantation to look at adorable little pineapple plants and to taste the world famous Dole whip.

We didn’t end up doing the full tour, because that, like everything else in Oahu, cost way too much money, but the Dole whip? That shiz fully lived up to all the hype and exceeded my wildest expectations.

I still can’t get over the fact that it is dairy free.  It’s sweet, creamy, and bursting with  pineapple flavour.   A perfect way to cool down mid July in the tropics.

My recent Vitamix purchase has made banana ice cream a regular thing in my house, but in memory of those frosty whips I thought I’d spice up our usual blended bananas and try my hand at recreating something similar right here in freezing cold Canada.

My home made version turned out amazing, a very respectable nod to the real Dole deal, but less sweet and more natural tasting.  I highly recommend it, especially on a hot day.

I topped mine with home made grain free granola, kiwis and pomegranate seeds but you can just go ham with anything you have around.  #usewhatyouhave

That is the beauty about fruits and veggies, endless flavour combinations that all just seem to work.

Dole whip smoothie bowls

Ingredients:

1 cup frozen bananas

2 cups frozen pineapple

1/4 cup coconut milk (creamy part)

1/2 lime juice

Directions

In a high speed blender mix all the ingredients together

Use the tamper to push it down and scrape the sides as needed

Add a bit of liquid from the canned coconut if desired to help blend

Separate into bowls and top as you like