Almond Butter Acai Bowl
Happy 4th July to my American readers! You can easily throw some blueberries on top of this bowl and you have yourself a red, white (bananas can look white, right?) and blue breakfast to celebrate!
Acai bowls are a delicious way to pack in fruits and nutrients to a summer breakfast – I don’t know why it took me so long to get on the acai train!
I’ve always enjoyed the taste of acai in smoothies and these bowls are a delicious way to feel like you’re chewing something – which can be key at breakfast to make you feel full. Sometimes liquid breakfasts just don’t cut it.
The acai berry is a nutritional powerhouse. Most acai bowl recipes – and this one is included – only require between a teaspoon and a tablespoon of acai powder and many people wonder “how can I be getting any nutrients out of that tiny amount?”
Well, the amount of antioxidants in the acai berry is said to be 10 times that found in red grapes – and when you dry the berry and grind it into a powder that power is concentrated. The berry also is high in iron, vitamin A, fibre…you name it. Its taste is surprisingly delicious, also – it has a deep berry flavour and a hint of chocolate. That’s why I include some cacao powder in this recipe – just a tiny hint of cacao brings out the berry’s natural chocolate flavour perfectly, without turning this into a chocolate flavoured breakfast (though there’s nothing stopping you from trying that variation too, of course!)
This breakfast is great on a summer’s day, it will fill you up, and you can go nuts with the toppings and make it your own. Enjoy!
Almond Butter Acai Bowl – raw, vegan, gluten-free
Serves 1
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1/2 frozen banana, very ripe
1/2 cup almond milk (begin with this and add more if you need to, but you want the base thick enough to eat with a spoon)
1 tbsp almond butter
1-2 tsp cacao powder
2 tsp acai powder
Toppings:
1/2 banana, sliced
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 tbsp hemp hearts
1 tbsp ground flaxseeds
2-3 tbsp gluten-free granola (I like Viki’s or Udi’s brands, or you can make your own)
1 tbsp cacao nibs
1 tbsp goji berries
A handful of mixed nuts
Fresh berries
Etc etc – anything you can think of, really!
DIRECTIONS:
1. Place the frozen fruit, almond milk and almond butter in a blender. Blend until smooth but still thick; if you need to add more milk you can but add a tiny amount at a time to avoid getting the base too thin.
2. Blend in the cacao and acai powders.
3. Pour into a bowl and put your toppings on! You can take it to work like I did in the photo above – this breakfast transports great, so just pour it into a Tupperware instead of a bowl, apply your toppings and enjoy!