Acai Bowl Recipe

One of my favorite breakfasts in Grand Cayman was an acai bowl from Island Naturals cafe.

Cool, creamy, refreshing and light, the banana and almond milk based bowl was a perfect start to the day when topped with coconut flakes, cacao nibs, nuts and berries.

It reminded me of what I once liked about yogurt, the creamy texture and crunchy toppings, without that sour dairy taste I could never quite embrace.

After returning home, I wanted to start making my own acai bowls for breakfast. While they’re delicious in winter, I really look forward to starting my day with them come summer when I can bring them out on the deck or porch with a cup of coffee.

Acai bowls are basically like thick, extra cold smoothies that you top with your favorite things. Almost every recipe I found combined frozen bananas with a little non-dairy milk and acai powder to form the base.

Here’s my version: 

Enough for 1 hearty breakfast or 2 light breakfasts

2 frozen bananas
3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
3 dates
2 T acai berry powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Blend until smooth, adding more liquid if necessary to reach desired consistency.  (A high speed blender works best for this since the bananas are frozen.  If you’re unsure of your blender’s capabilities, I recommend using your food processor instead!)

Top with your favorite superfoods, such as chia seeds, shredded coconut, goji berries, chopped nuts and cacao nibs.  (The photo at the top is a simple snack bowl topped just with coconut and cacao nibs.)

The beauty of this bowl is you can too it with whatever you like! Fresh blueberries and strawberries are amazing. Hemp seeds, chopped nuts, a sprinkle of oats, whatever you like!

I like that I can make this with pantry ingredients – I always have bananas and almond milk on hand, along with some variety of fresh toppings.

The best part? My kids devour this. They love the “chocolate chips” on top. What a great way to give them an antioxidant boost in the morning!

I buy the Navitas Naturals Acai powder and store it in my freezer.  I also buy their cacao nibs, which are raw, unsweetened bits of cacao.  Cocoa is roasted cacao, which removes some of the antioxidants.  Since the nibs add a delicious bitter crunch, it’s easy to forgive them for not being chocolate chips!