By Miah Ayaan
The morning bowl of cereal is as synonymous with American culture as Saturday morning cartoons. We have a habit of consuming heavily processed and fortified grains as our first source of nutrition for the day.
Even though grains themselves aren’t totally unhealthy in all circumstances, the cereal industry has reduced grains to a quick fiber and sugar-filled meal that really doesn’t add much nutritional value to our daily diet.
Especially when cheap grains like corn and heavily processed wheat have to be fortified to any type of nutrition to the meal. Fortification is the process of adding in necessary vitamins and minerals to foods that don’t typically contain those vitamins and minerals.
But what if I told you there was an equally quick way to get your daily dose of energy, vitamins, and minerals in a delicious and beautifully assembled and trending açaí bowl?
What is açaí?
Pronounced ah-sigh-ee, açaí is a berry that grows on a palm tree native to Brazil. It grows in large berry clusters of 500 or more grape-like fruits under the shelter of the palm frond.
It has been a staple of the Amazonian diet for all of recorded history and is often eaten with fish or wild game meats in the region. It is only in the early 2000s that açaí became a popular ingredient in smoothies and health inspired products.
What are the Benefits of Açaí?
Gone can be the days of eating a quick bowl of cereal to protect your heart and fuel your day when superfood powerhouse fruits swing in and outperform by filling your morning with twice as many natural vitamins and minerals and are just as easy to create.
Açaí berries are packed with fiber and calcium. However, two additional benefits to the açaí fruit that you aren’t likely to find floating in your cereal bowl are heart-healthy fats and antioxidants, not to mention the 19 amino acids found in açaí.
Açaí is Versatile
Açaí is often described as an earthy flavor that is somewhere between chocolate and blackberries. It can be blended with almost any fruit or berry to create delicious drinks, spreads, or even baked goods.
One of the most popular trends in the health food world as of late is the açaí bowl. This bowl has a thick smoothie base made of açaí and other fruits.
It is blended along with milk or yogurt and presents a gorgeous deep purple hue that is unmatched in the culinary world. It is typically topped with berries, nuts, and granola for the perfect eye-catching addition to your morning routine.
Creating the best açaí bowl has almost become a right of passage for those in the food blogger world, and this healthful trend isn’t going away anytime soon.
What do I need to make açaí bowls at home?
You only need a few key ingredients and a good blender to get started making açaí bowls at home.
Some of these ingredients include:
- Açaí purée – most crucial ingredient. Sourcing açaí purée or powder is going to be your best bet for finding the freshest açaí available as fresh açaí fruit itself spoils too quickly to import to the US.
- Bananas – help smooth out the texture and add a natural sweetness.
- Blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries – great for topping and adding in even more antioxidant powerhouses while keeping sugar levels low.
- Milk – cows milk or almond milk are perfect for thinning out your smoothie bowl to just the right consistency.
- Yogurt – though a completely optional ingredient, yogurt adds in a lot of creamy goodness and healthy probiotics.
Açaí is the New Bowl on the Block
Whether you want to explore açaí for its unequivocal health benefits or its artful versatility and trending instagram status. You can’t go wrong by switching out your dull nutrient poor cereal bowl with a rich and colorful, antioxidant packed açaí bowl.
