Truly Scrumptious

Acai Bowl

Acai (say it Ah-sigh-ee) berries are really good for you. Acai is a superfruit full of antioxidants and can help with lowering cholesterol. You can buy it in various forms, but frozen cubes or sorbet is probably the most convenient. There’s a legendary cafe outlet in Perth called Yelo that has a branch at North Beach which we frequent for the amazing coffee. I noticed that nearly everybody who eats breakfast there chooses the OG Acai Bowl. There’s also a chocolate version with Nutella. This is what the Yelo OG Acai Bowl looks like (current price $16.50 AUD):

The Yelo version is very tasty, but the granola at the bottom is quite sweet and in clusters, and the acai is a thick, frozen sorbet. The assortment of fruits is nice – kiwi fruit, banana, strawberries, blueberries, passionfruit, along with some coconut shreds. It’s also dairy free, which is really important for me,

Obviously it’s great to go to Yelo and have somebody prepare this for you along with a great coffee, but it’s also nice to make at home. That way you know exactly what goes into it, and you can make the Acai base as thick or creamy as you like. This is my version where the acai is more of a smoothie:

I like to blend the frozen acai cubes with some blueberries and coconut yoghurt. This makes it a bit less likely to give you ‘brain freeze’, but you can also use the neat sorbet if you like. You can also blend it with cold teas such as hibiscus tea or other fruity teas, or even green tea, and you can also add the milk of your choice – I sometimes add coconut or soy milk. If you like it sweeter you can add some maple syrup or honey. Once you have a nice smoothie, pour it into a bowl (or bowls if making more) and then top with your favourite toppings. I like to use fresh berries such as blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, some kiwi fruit for colour, and bananas. If you have passionfruit that’s also a great addition for some zing. Cocoa nibs are always good (the darker the better for that intense chocolatey hit), coconut, granola (that’s my home made granola on top), plus any seeds you like such as sesame, sunflower etc. It’s really one of those breakfasts that you can make your own and you can add a dollop of yoghurt if you like a creamier finish. When it’s winter and the fresh berries are not so available, you can use jar and tinned fruits such as peaches, cherries and lychees along with fresh bananas. You can also make a compote with frozen berries.

If you are watching how many different plants you eat per week (try to aim for at least 30), my bowl contains at least 14 different plants (the granola makes a big contribution here). Remember that the plant variety you feed your gut promotes a diverse microbiome, and there is plenty of scientific evidence to suggest that this is proven to help increase your resilience to diseases. If you would like to try this wonderful breakfast, I hope that my blog post has given you some ideas.