Easy Acai Smoothie Bowl

 

Ready in under 10 minutes, this easy acai smoothie bowl is filled with superfruit Acai berry puree, frozen fruit, fresh fruit, and all your favorite toppings. Easy to make from home and customize how you love.  These smoothie bowls are full of fiber, antioxidants, and heart-healthy fats. 

This is one thing that my family and I seem to have on repeat.  Not only for a healthy breakfast but for lunch, dinner, or snack. There are few things more refreshing and satisfying than an Acai bowl.

FAQ's about acai:

• Where does acai come from? Acai berries come from the acai palm tree, which grows in Central and South America. Acai palm trees can grow as high as 60 feet in the Brazilian rainforest and can be found fresh in the area.  The berries can spoil easy so it is rare to find fresh acai berries here in the U.S. It is far more common to find acai in frozen puree, powder form, or freeze-dried. 
• What does acai taste like? Raw acai berries taste like a exotic tropical twist of assorted berries especially blackberries, but with a slight bitterness that is similar to dark chocolate. 
• What is the nutritional information for acai?  According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), one teaspoon of acai berry powder contains 20 calories, 0g protein, 1.5g total fat, 1g carbohydrate, 1g fiber, and 6 mg calcium
• What are the benefits of acai bowls? Acai is labeled a “superfruit” because it is nutrient dense, packed with antioxidants, vitamins, minerals fiber, and 19 amino acids.  There are studies that show that acai fruit pulp is even richer in antioxidants than cranberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, or blueberries.  Acai berries also have a pretty unique nutritional profile for a fruit.  They are low in sugar and higher in healthy fats, which is why an acai bowl keeps you feeling full for much longer.
• Is an acai smoothie bowl good for weight loss and a healthy diet? In large amounts, not necessarily.  They are still high in sugar, albeit natural sugars because of all the fruit. Fruit is important for a healthy diet

How do you make an acai bowl?

Making your own Acai bowls really are as simple as blending a couple ingredients together, pouring the mixture into a bowl, and adding your favorite toppings. Easy peasy! But here are a few tips:

• Frozen Fruit:  All fruit for the smoothie base needs to be frozen.  Store bought frozen fruit works perfect!  Planning to use fresh fruit? No problem.  Plan ahead, cut the fruit up into bite sized pieces, and freeze beforehand.
• Prepare toppings first: Cut up fresh fruit and prepare desired toppings before whipping up the Acai smoothie base.  This makes for easy and quick assembly.  Then the Acai smoothie wont soften and melt.
• Acai smoothie consistency:  Consistency of the Acai bowl is key, you want a thick creamy consistency.  To achieve this, make sure all ingredients for the Acai smoothie base are frozen. The colder your ingredients are when put into the blender, the thicker your bowl will be.
• Blending:  Make sure that the frozen fruit is broken up into manageable chunks and cut the Frozen Acai berry puree into fourths.  This will make it easier for ingredients to blend together. If your blender struggling add a touch more pineapple juice.
• Extra Protein:  For additional protein, add about ½ a scoop vanilla whey protein powder in blender to combine with acai smoothie base.  Don't add too much as it could effect the texture of the smoothie.  Adding almond butter, peanut butter, and chia seeds as toppings will also boost the amount of protein.

How do you make an acai bowl thick?

As I mentioned, acai bowls are very simple to make. Simply toss everything into your blender and blend until smooth. However, I have heard people find it tricky to achieve that thick smoothie consistency.  

One tip for achieving a thick acai bowl is to use frozen banana. This recipe calls for ¾ cup frozen banana so it is important not to replace that with a different fruit. Blended frozen banana gives you thickness that you just cant get with another frozen fruit or ice.  If you only have fresh banana that will still work nicely along with the other frozen fruit and acai berry packet.

Another tip is to try and a high speed blender for this recipe. There is a reason why all the smoothie shops have them and use them.  This is not crucial, just an added bonus.  I have and use a standard kitchen blender and it works great.  You will just need to incorporate a little more liquid so that the ingredients can blend easier.  

Where can you buy acai puree?

Homemade acai bowls have become so popular that it is fairly easy to find acai berry puree packets in the freezer section of quite a few local grocery stores.  They will be located in the frozen section either with the frozen fruit or the frozen juice.

To really make these amazing you want good quality acai. My favorite acai packets are the Trader Joe variety Unsweetened Organic Acai Packets sold at Trader Joes. The Samazon Original Frozen Acai packets you can buy at Costco and Target are definitely good acai packs as well.

I have seen versions of açaí powderr form at local grocery stores.  While that would be great in a different capacity that is not what you want for an acai smoothie bowl. açaí powder will not give you the same creamy smoothie and especially not the same delicious taste as the puree.  Stick with the puree for this  homemade acai bowl recipe.

 

 

Acai Bowl Toppings

The great thing about acai bowls is that they are totally customizable. Toppings elevate each bowl in different ways.  You can top your acai bowls with lots of different topping variations, whatever sounds delicious. Add as much or as little as you like. Pile on fresh fruit you love. Add honey, chocolate chips, chia seeds, coconut. Really what sounds best to you!

Fresh Fruit

• Strawberries
• Raspberries
• Blueberries
• Bananas
• Kiwi
• Pineapple
• Mango
• Blackberries
• Peaches
• Nectarines

Other Toppings

Don't underestimate the added value from these other toppings.  They add an extra dimension of flavor,  different textures, crunch, and sometimes a little extra health benefit.

• Almond butter
• Peanut butter
• Honey
• Agave
• Granola
• Chia seeds
• Hemp seeds
• Mini chocolate chips or Cacao nibs
• Coconut flakes
• Chopped almonds