Acai bowls (pronounced ah-SIGH-ee) are relatively new in the United States, but people in Brazil have been eating them forever. Acai is a purple, grape-like, so-called superfruit from a acai palm tree native to the rainforests of South America. Often referred to as the “beauty berry”, it is packed with antioxidants, omega-3s, and amino acids. Acai is also said to promote heart health and also help with weight loss.
In a nutshell, acai bowls are primarily a fruit smoothie bowl with oatmeal some added fruit and/or nuts that you eat with a spoon. To me, they are a power breakfast bowl that helps me mix up my morning dietary routine and they are great easy meal option in the summer. You will find acai bowls at specialty juice and smoothie bars, but more recently, do to their rising popularity, I have seen them appear on restaurant breakfast and brunch menus.
For this recipe, I used organic freeze-dried acai powder as it is readily available at Whole Foods or on Amazon. This is a concentrated powder so the taste is strong, because of this you don’t need much at all. You can also use frozen acai puree, if you can find it. About 1/4 cup of the puree would work well in this recipe. I added some oatmeal and some nutrient-rich pomegranate seeds and dried Goji berries, which are high in amino acids and protein to add an extra punch to this healthy breakfast alternative.
Like my overnight oats recipe, there is lots of room for creativity in making acai bowls by adding your favorite fruits, berries, nuts and seeds as desired. Adding some nut butter also works well in acai bowls creating a thicker texture with more added protein.
Acai Oat Bowl
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup oatmeal
- 1/3 cup hot water
- 1/4 cup fresh blueberries, plus additional for topping
- 1/4 cup fresh raspberries, plus additional for topping
- 1/4 cup fresh blackberries, plus additional for topping
- 1/3 cup frozen strawberries
- 1/2 banana
- 1/2 cup unflavored almond milk
- 2 tablespoons agave syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon acai powder
- 6 cubes of ice
- 2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds, for topping
- 1 tablespoon dried Goji berries, for topping
- 2 dried dates, for topping
Directions
- Step 1 In a small bowl mix the oatmeal and hot water and allow to steep. Set aside.
- Step 2 In a kitchen blender, add the blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, frozen strawberries, banana, almond milk , agave, vanilla extract, acai powder and ice. Blend on high until completely blended, about 1 minute.
- Step 3 Add the fruit puree to the soaked oats and mix well.
- Step 4 Top with remaining berries, dried dates, dried Goji berries and pomegranate seeds.
