Superfood Acai Bowl
Chances are, you didn’t even know what an acai bowl was until you started seeing photos of purple-filled coconut bowls on Instagram a few years ago.
Acai berries have a distinct, deep purple color due to them being extremely high in antioxidants. The reason why you won’t find them next to the blueberries at your grocery store is because they are native to Central and South America, and they easily go bad during exportation. (1)
Therefore a majority of us can only enjoy its superfood benefits in a frozen or freeze-dried form, blended up into a beautiful bowl.
Acai bowls that you purchase while eating out are not only overpriced (with only 1 or 2 free toppings), but they are often overloaded with sugar. Making them at home will save you some cash, plus you can control how much sugar goes into the recipe.
In this recipe, I give you a variety of options for toppings to make your ideal customized acai bowl. You’ll notice I don’t include any added sugar into the base, as frozen bananas act as a great natural sweetener. (I personally never fret about sugar from fruits). The superfood power comes from adding generous spoonfuls of hemp and chia seeds to the base for extra texture and nutrition – if you read my Vegan Pantry Essentials post, then you know it’s important to stock up on these seeds.
Even without added sugar, acai bowls are a sweet treat in the morning or any time you’re in the mood for something cold and refreshing. While it can be fun to assemble your bowls into an Instagrammable moment, I’m sure most of us just want to eat our acai without taking the time to make it photo-worthy.
Superfood Acai Bowl
Ingredients
Base
- 1 frozen acai pack OR 1 tbsp of freeze-dried acai
- 1 frozen banana
- ¾ cup blueberries or 1 cup if using freeze-dried acai
- ¼-½ cup coconut water or nondairy milk
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- 1 tbsp hemp seeds
Fruit topping options
- Sliced banana
- Blueberries
- Strawberries
- Mangos
- Kiwi
Protein and Extra Toppings
- Peanut or almond butter
- Granola
- Extra chia and hemp seeds
- Sliced almonds
- Coconut flakes
Instructions
- Get all your toppings ready on hand and slice the fruit. Do this prior to making the base so it doesn’t melt while assembling the rest of the bowl.
- Combine the base ingredients in a food processor or blender. If using a food processor, less liquid (¼ cup) is required. If you want a thinner, smoothie-like base, add more liquid. Blend until totally smooth.
- Pour the base in a bowl and add your favorite toppings!
