New Obsession: Açai Bowls

It was not until a friend came to visit from across the pond that I was introduced to Açai Bowls. I know. I know. I am way behind the times here. The only thing I have to say is way better late than never. There are a ton of healthy joints popping up all over town that serve these delicious treats. The açai berry hails from Brazil and is currently one of the more talked about “super foods”.  The açai berry is an inch-long, reddish-purple fruit. It comes from the açai palm tree. Açai fruit pulp is even richer in antioxidants than cranberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, or blueberries. Once I get my sights set on something tasty I naturally have to figure out how to recreate it at home so that I don’t have to run to town every time I have a craving. I immediately went to the web to research the best ways to buy and store açai berries. You can buy it in frozen pouches but I opted to buy an organic açai powder by Feel Good Organics.  Below is my “almost as good as the shop version” Açai Bowl recipe. All I can say is that it’s a healthy frozen treat that is filling but doesn’t weigh you down. It’s sweet but doesn’t give you that quick “surge of energy and crash” that a bowl of ice cream would. My little man JT also loves it which is another bonus. He thinks it’s ice cream, and I know it’s antioxidants and protein in a bowl!

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons almond butter
• 1 frozen banana
• 1 cup frozen spinach or kale
• 3/4 cup almond milk
• 1 cup ice
• 2 tablespoons açai powder
• chia seeds and granola for topping

How to:

1. Combine all ingredients in a bender or Nutribullet.
2. Pour contents into a bowl and top with chia seeds and granola. (My new favorite granola is delivered by Mike’s Organic.)
3. Devour.