Fat burning foods

Are you craving sunshine and warm days like I am? Let’s divert our eyes from the cloudy weather and focus on these vibrant, refreshing açaí bowls instead. They’re like a tropical vacation in a bowl, minus the jet lag and sand in your pants. You can enjoy them in the morning before work!

I’ve been curious about açaí bowls for a while now, after seeing them pop up on my friends’ vacation feeds from trips to Southern California and Hawaii. Like always, I researched acai bowls to the end of the internet and played with my own acai bowl recipe until it was just right.

Since acai grows in the Amazon, it seemed natural to blend acai with tropical fruits. These smoothie bowls are simply and naturally sweetened with frozen banana, mango and pineapple. If you’ve been looking for a fun way to eat more fruit, this is it.

These vegan acai smoothie bowls are cold, creamy and almost sorbet-like in texture. In fact, the smoothie portion is so delightful that you could serve it as a light after-dinner treat. Or, load it up with crunchy granola, nuts or seeds, and fresh fruit, and you’ll have a nutritious and satisfying breakfast.

Bonus? Unlike most smoothies, this one keeps well in the refrigerator for several days.

What the heck is acai?

First of all, here’s how to pronounce acai. Secondly, acai fruit grows on acai palm trees, mostly in Brazil, along the Amazon river. The fruit looks like deeply purple (nearly black) blueberries, about the size of grapes. You can see them here.

Acai “berries,” as they are called, are actually stone fruit like mangoes. Most of the inside is taken up by the hard seed, with a thin layer of edible fruit around it. The berries don’t travel well, so the fruit is mashed and frozen.

Acai consumption was mostly limited to the Amazon region until the 1970s, when it spread to northern Brazilian cities. It became popular as an energy food in the jujitsu and volleyball circles, and by the 1990s, acai bowls (açaí na tigela) and acai bars were all over Brazil. Learn more here.

What does acai taste like?

Acai is one of few fruits that are naturally sugar free, which means that it doesn’t taste like a regular fruit. In fact, I don’t think you’d want to eat it on its own.

Acai tastes very earthy and sort of tannic to me, almost like a blackberry that’s not very sweet. Sambazon describes the taste as, “a little like exotic mixed berry meets a hint of cacao.”

To balance the acai flavor, I blended acai packets with frozen banana, pineapple and mango. Those frozen fruits make this smoothie delightfully creamy and sweet (although not overtly sweet). No additional sweetener or dairy products required!

Why would I want to eat acai?

Acai berries contain lots of antioxidants, as well as other nutrients, fiber and healthy monounsaturated fats (including omega-3, omega-6 and omega-9). The Mayo Clinic says that acai berries may have more antioxidants than cranberries, blueberries and strawberries.

I tend to be skeptical of “superfoods” that come from far-away places, since many inexpensive grocery store items are rockstars already—such as cabbage, broccoli, wild blueberries and beans. So please don’t feel like you “need” to eat acai to be healthy. These smoothie bowls are just a fun way to explore an exotic fruit.

Where can I buy acai?

You can buy acai pulp in single-serving packets in the frozen fruit section at health food stores and Trader Joe’s. Make sure to buy the unsweetened kind. Sambazon is one of the biggest brands and they have sustainable harvesting in place—especially important since we’re dealing with a product of the Amazon.

If you can’t find acai or don’t care to buy it, I have lots of other smoothie recipes for you. This green mango smoothie would be great in bowl form!

Print