The Larson Lingo: Acai Berry Smoothie Bowl + A Winner

One of my new favorite things to have for lunch or for an after school snack are Acai Smoothie bowls. We have a local place that opened up last year that only makes Acai smoothie bowls and earlier this year a Vitality Bowls opened up in our town. I am not sure if this is a California thing or if they are all across the country, but one thing is for sure...Acai Smoothie bowls are delicious and healthy! The only problem is that they are pricey...each one is between $8-$11 EACH!

They are so expensive to make because Acai berries are rare....it's kind of like a cross between a grape and a blueberry, the acai berry is a small, reddish-purple drupe consisting of a cluster of seeds, with only around 15 percent or so being edible, harvested from tall, slender palm trees found around the Amazon River basin of South America.

These berries are also quite perishable, but have significant nutritional attributes when eaten fresh.

You can only buy acai berries here in the US in frozen form or juice form.

Acai berries are low in sugar, but contain excellent amounts of iron, calcium, fiber, and vitamin A.

The properties contained in acai berries may help prevent health problems such as arthritis, inflammation, obesity, neurological diseases, and allergies. Acai berries have positive effects on ailments associated with oxidative stress, heart disease, and cancer.

Acai Berries are considered a super food!

I introduced my kids to them this summer & they all love them now.

This is good because Acai Berry Smoothie bowls are full of fruits and veggies, but this is bad because they are so expensive.

I knew that I could make them at home for a lot cheaper, so after some experimenting, I perfected the recipe!

Here is what you need:

Smoothie bowl:

Acai frozen smoothie pack (found in the freezer section at Trader Joe's)

1/2 cup frozen or fresh strawberries (sometimes frozen strawberries are hard to blend, so fresh is fine to use)

3/4 cup frozen blueberries

1 handful of kale/spinach

1 banana

1/2 cup Apple Juice

Garnish:

Fresh Strawberries, sliced

Fresh Blueberries

1 banana, sliced

Handful of your favorite granola

Drizzle of Honey

Directions:

In your blender, put in your frozen pack of acai puree (make sure you thaw it in the microwave for about 15-20 seconds & then break it in a couple of places before you throw it into a blender).

Here is what the pack looks like from Trader Joe's:

Also add the banana, frozen strawberries, frozen blueberries, apple juice & handful of kale. Blend until smooth.

The mixture will be thick. You want it more of a frozen yogurt consistency rather than a smoothie consistency.

Pour mixture into a bowl:

Then add a handful of your favorite granola. I love the KIND brand of granola. All of their flavors are delicious, but my favorite one is the Oats & Honey with Coconut clusters. They also have a really delicious Vanilla Blueberry with Flax granola.

Slice up another banana and layer on top of the granola:

Slice up 2-3 fresh strawberries next...

Add a handful of fresh blueberries:

Then drizzle on some honey & viola...you have a homemade acai berry smoothie bowl for a fraction of the price!

The recipe that I listed makes 1 large Acai Berry Smoothie Bowl.

I can eat this size for lunch and be full until dinner time!

When I make this size recipe for my kids, I split it into 3 bowls for them and it is a great after school snack for them.

This is going to be a go-to after school snack for my kids...especially this time of year because the girls have soccer practice 2 times a week in the evenings, so this is a perfect snack to give them enought energy after school so that they aren't starving during soccer practice (which ends at dinner time!)

If you don't have a Trader Joe's or Costco near you that sells Acai Frozen packs, you can order them on Amazon HERE and they will ship them to you with dry ice! You get 24 packs of them & it breaks down to about $2.50 each which is a pretty good deal!