Homemade Acai Bowls are even better!! Once you perfect your skills that is

I have been OBSESSED with Acai Bowls since my first job had them on the menu (I worked at Booster Juice for my last year of high school- OMG that is a really long time ago) Since then this Amazonian berry treat has progressively gained more and more of a cult following. I see them literally everywhere and with so many fans the price point can be super high. Since I love them so much and tend to have the “I can make this better” mentality I aimed to start making them at home. I wanted to share with you my recipe and tips for a few reasons. 1. It is actually hilarious trying to get the right consistency the first few times you make this……lets just say Acai Soup isn’t that great. 2. You can jack up the toppings to get even more health benefits and 3. You can save big bucks. Acai is the perfect way to start your day with a nutritional breakfast or as a nice snack on the hotter days:)

Some of the benefits of this superfood include:

• Boosts metabolism to help lose weight and keep it off
• Super high antioxidant levels make it incredible for your skin and for every cell in your body for that matter
• High in fiber to keep digestion healthy
• Keeps immune system running strong
• Increases energy
• Balances hormones which can be especially helpful for us women

So for this delicious recipe you will need:

• 2 packs of store bought Acai pulp- I found mine at whole foods. There were two kinds in California when I bought them but only the one kind in Vancouver. Do a little research on which one you prefer as I found one to be more potent and almost bitter (which I liked) and one to be a bit m ore juice-like tasting AKA sweet.
• 1/4-1/3C of some form of milk- I am not lactose intolerant I just prefer almond milk so that is what I use.DO NOT ADD TOO MUCH- This is the tricky bit so follow the recipe for a creamy and thick bowl that you can eat not drink 🙂
• 1/2 of a frozen banana- This makes a huge difference in the texture so chop up some ripe bananas into small pieces and store them in the freezer in a tupperware. I personally have these around all the time because I love bananas in my smoothies too.
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 2-3 icecubes
• Toppings: Get creative with this part it is your bowl!! For me I love love love bees pollen, hemp seeds, shredded unsweetened coconut, granola and fruit- today I used a bit of fuji apple, banana and a couple strawberries but I often substitute pineapple or mango for the apple- OH and nuts and seeds are awesome too! (yay so much goodness in one bowl)

Lets make this thing already……

Step 1: First things first you want to prep your toppings. Chop up the fruit and have your other goodies near by and ready. This is because once you are done and pour the Acai into your bowl the melting rate is so high and it is best enjoyed thick so you don’t want to be wasting precious time cutting and searching.

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Step 2: So now that you have your toppings set aside you are going to take two of the frozen Acai packs and run them under warm water for 5-10 seconds so they will slip out of the plastic easily into your blender of choice. At this point I add the milk and let it sit for a few minutes just to get the pulp a little easier to blend without having to add more milk. Then I put in the banana and ice cubes, throw in a dash of cinnamon and shake it up as good as I can before going ahead with the first blend. So because were looking for thick this part is a bit of a battle……it goes something like blend……nothing moves…..shake it up…..blend……a little progress…….shake…..blend……movement hooray!!…….shake…..blend……repeat until everything decides to cooperate and if you win this battle you are a champ of at home Acai bowls. It is only tricky the first time or two so don’t worry if it ends up soupy or it is impossible to blend etc. Become one with the blender and you will make it happen I promise.

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Step 3: Pour that baby into a bowl, throw on your toppings, throw on that granola and dig in!! It really is super easy and even with the super toppings I can guarantee you are saving a huge amount of cash by making it at home. I think the key is prep your toppings and make sure you have the frozen banana to help keep it thick. Start with just 1/4 C of milk and put in the effort of the shake-blend battle……It is totally worth it for this healthy and tasty treat.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do and I hope you find yourself with the perfect bowl a lot faster than I did. Hopefully my many trial and errors can allow you to escape Acai soup:)

If anyone has more tip and tricks I would love the input…….New and amazing superfoods are my obsession so please let me know if you have that special topping you think I might love.