In between binging on your favorite quarantine snacks (mines is goldfish and ice cream - and yes, I am a grown adult) & Netflix, you can throw together this healthy and delicious alternative that will give your morale and mental health that little extra boost its been needing.
So just a little intro about myself - my name is Lauren and I am the Executive Director for the IREM Hawaii & California Central Coast chapters. However, I currently live in the Indian Rocks Beach area on the gulf coast of Florida (I know - I'm all over the country), and we're currently in the process of opening up Pacific Trading Co. - a coffee & Acai bowl cafe!! Yes, COVID-19 is affecting our build out and opening process, but, there is nothing I can do except have good thoughts and drink wine. So I thought I'd share one of my favorite recipes here with you to enjoy at home!
Now I might be talking a big game when I say this will probably be one of the best Acai bowls you will ever have, but trust me. It's the simplicity of the recipe that lets the ingredients shine. And because sometimes, less is more.
You'll only need a few things, which you should be able to pick up at your next quick grocery shopping trip.
What you'll need to make:
A Blender or food processor - a traditional style one that you can take the top off. Because honestly, Nutribullets are pretty difficult for this.
Frozen Acai Packs (Trader Joes sells packs of 4, or your supermarket should have the Sambazon brand)
Bananas
Pineapple (frozen is easiest, but fresh will obviously work too!)
Coconut water (regular water will work as well)
Toppings - Whatever your heart desires, or whatever is in your pantry! Granola, fresh or dry fruit, nuts, peanut butter, cocoa nibs, coconut, honey - you can't go wrong.
Scale (optional) - kitchen or postage scale, either works!
Preparation
As soon as you get home, you'll want to peel a banana (or two if you plan to make a few more over the next couple days) and throw it in the freezer for a couple hours. Same goes if you are using fresh pineapple. Now, if you have a good, sharp knife, freezing the banana whole and slicing after is the easiest. If you don't have a good knife, cutting a frozen banana will be a little harder, so I suggest slicing the banana and putting it on waxed paper or foil, and freezing that way.
Step 1
Take out your frozen Acai Packet, banana and pineapple.
We'll be using 1 packet, 3oz of banana (appx half a medium sized banana), and 3oz of pineapple.
Note:
All Acai frozen packets come standard as 3.5oz. If you don't have a scale, you'll want to take note of this, because we want to use relatively the same amount of frozen Banana & Pineapple in our recipe.
Step 2
If your banana and pineapple isn't sliced into small pieces, do so now.
Step 3
Add 1.5 ounces of coconut water to the blender, and add in the Acai packet and 3oz of both banana and pineapple.
Step 4
Cover and turn on either your blender or food processor. Stop the blender once you hear that its not catching any of the frozen fruit. Scrape down the sides with a spatula and give it a little mix to help the chunks of fruit get blended. Continue doing this until you see that everything is blended together. I usually do this about 4-5 times until everything is incorporated well.
Whatever you do, resist the urge to add more liquid!!! You want the bowl to be thick and have a gelato like texture. If you didn't use a scale and just eyeballed the banana and pineapple, you can add just a small splash more of liquid to help. And by splash, I'm talking like half an ounce.
Step 5
Spatula everything out into a bowl and add your toppings! You can get as creative as you want with your toppings, and even make designs and patterns with it!
Personally, I like to add A LOT of granola, banana, chia seeds, and honey. Sometimes I'll throw in a strawberry or some other fruit that is dying in my fridge. I'm pretty basic, so I don't like to get too crazy with it.
And there you have it - You just made a cafe quality Acai bowl right in your own kitchen!
But don't let that stop you from supporting the small businesses in the area :) And sorry not sorry that yours might even taste better than theirs!
More Notes:
Feel free to change up and experiment with the fruit combination! But you'll want to stick with the same portions (3.5oz packet, and around 6oz of other fruit). BTW, they sell frozen Pitaya (dragonfruit) packets at some stores, and those are SO DELICIOUS as well!
If you're super bored, you can get to know me on Instagram @laurenljk_ or check out our business at @pacific_trading_company or www.pacifictradingcoffee.com
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