Sunday, April 1, 2018

A is for Acai Bowl



I wimped out last year and didn't participate in the A to Z Challenge (truth be told, I didn't participate in ANY blogging for many a month). Early last month, though, I took a deep breath, signed myself up for the Challenge, and then blabbed to everyone that I had done it and now there's no turning back.

I'm continuing my tradition of re-creating Pinterest pins (a challenge within a challenge). There will be recipes. There will be crafts. There will be household hacks. There will be health and beauty stuff. Is it a Pinterest win or a Pinterest fail? I'll have my opinion; you're free to have your own. Aaaaaand go!

Last summer, I accompanied my daughter to her freshman orientation at University of Arkansas. It was two days of too much information, but they did feed us. Our meals were at one of the dining halls, and let me tell you, dining halls have changed TREMENDOUSLY since I was in college. My dorm had one cafeteria line where you got an entree and vegetables (take it or leave it). There were desserts. There was a salad bar. There was always cereal available and bread and peanut butter, and there was a soft serve ice cream machine. That's it. THIS place at UArk had stations for pasta, pizza, sandwiches, entrees (a station with meat and another with vegetarian options), burgers, salad bar, OMELET STATION AT BREAKFAST (we weren't there for breakfast and I don't even LIKE omelets, but still). 

There was also a room that had only healthy options, very earthy-nutty-crunchy, and we ended up sitting in there for one of our meals. My daughter noticed that they had smoothie bowls with acai berries and seeds and stuff, and we got one to try (and although she will deny it, my daughter called them "ah-key bowls" and that's what I thought they were until I Googled it for the purpose of this challenge). They were really good, and I thought about them off and on for months.

I found this on Pinterest:


https://www.dinneratthezoo.com/acai-bowl-recipe/

Similar to what we had at the UArk dining hall, so I decided to give it a try.

Let's talk about acai berries. For the record, it is pronounced "ah-sah-EE"  and NOT "ahh-key" and they are touted as a superfood that will cure all that ails you. They are also Big City food, and if it weren't for a recently opened organic food store here, I wouldn't have been able to get the #1 ingredient in my smoothie. As it is, at $6.95 for four frozen packets of acai berry puree (each good for two servings), I will have to go back to walking on the dietary wild side and forego this superfood (and probably any other superfood for good measure).


Sorry, I cut the top off before I took
the picture. My bad.

My husband had to be my guinea pig, and as he waited for me to prepare his acai bowl, he armchair quarterbacked EVERY STEP of the process. 

"It has to be made in a blender?" "Why does it have to be in a bowl? Why can't we just drink it?" "Are you putting chia seeds in it? Have you ever used them before? They swell up when they get wet!" "Put some honey in it to make it sweeter!" (Should have listened to him on THAT one.) "The big thing now is Greek yogurt in a bowl with stuff drizzled over it. Why can't you just make that?" (BECAUSE THAT'S NOT TODAY'S CHALLENGE!)

In spite of the EXCELLENT advice and commentary, I followed the directions and mixed up the acai puree, vanilla Greek yogurt, honey (it DID have some, just not enough), frozen strawberries and blueberries, apple juice, and banana:


Ingredients in the blender.


Whirr! Whirr!

I poured it into bowls and topped it with almonds, blueberries, chia seeds, flax seeds, and pepitas. I meant to add fresh raspberries, which I bought just for the occasion, but I forgot to put them in....


There you go.

The verdict? I liked it, except it was SOUR. I'm guessing that's the fault of the acai puree, which, again, I don't think was worth the cost. But I liked the contrast of the icy smoothie with the nuts and seeds giving it texture, and I liked eating it with a spoon, and besides, you can't suck the chunky parts through a straw anyway. (By the way, the directions called for the frozen acai puree to be broken into pieces, but it was like trying to crack open a black walnut, and after beating it with the handle of my kitchen shears with little success, I threw it in as-is and it all broke apart in the blender.)

My husband's verdict? "I don't know what the point of it is. Why don't you just drink a smoothie?"

I think it's pretty clear who is the cool cat here and who isn't.

My verdict? Pinterest win!


19 comments:

  1. LoL! I am a Big City gal and still haven't tried the acai bowl (although I do see them EVERYWHERE). I've heard they are a "superfood," but whatever. It seems everything is a superfood depending on the month of the year, right?

    The armchair quarterbacking sounds like what my husband would be doing. Yesterday he discovered I had checked out a Justin Bieber CD from the library and went nuts, like I am going to sully his computer if I burn that CD onto it, and I was like "Hey, I could've just gone online and *paid money for it*, but instead I got it for free at the library!" Apparently this is a potentially divorceable offense, even after 10 years, because I have shown just how criminally uncool I really am. But who can stop dancing to that "Sorry" song after you see the video with all those cool chicks in it?! (I would include a link, but in case you are also not a fan of Bieber's, I don't want to sully your page... ;D )

    Looking forward to reading more of your posts this month. Happy A to Z'ing!

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    1. Dr. Oz seems to have a new superfood every day. I don't think acai puree is super enough for me!

      Are we married to the same guy?! Maybe they're brothers from other mothers...

      (I've had a teenage girl in my house for a number of years now - can't scare me with a little Bieber!)

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  2. We're in the midst of college tours and I too have been blown away by how college cafeterias have changed since I went to school. They have SO many choices now and lots of fresh, local, healthy options.

    Glad this Pinterest challenge was a win, albeit a little costly. I've never tried acai berries. I might have to check them out, although blueberries are my favorite and count as a superfood too so maybe I'll just stick to them. I love that your husband provided so much input to the process. The final bowls came out fantastic and look yummy.

    Weekends In Maine

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    1. And co-ed dorms?! Unheard of when I was in school! Boys had to be checked in and out at the front desk!

      Yeah, I'm going to stick with blueberries, too. WAY cheaper, especially when you pick your own. The end product was really good, though. I'll definitely make them more often as the weather gets warmer.

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  3. I have tried an Acai bowl once and loved it. I will definitely try your recipe and looking forward to following your AtoZ Challenge. I did it in 2016 but not last year. I'm back for more punishment, sorry that should read fun for this year LOL:)
    Sue from Sizzling Towards 60 & Beyond

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    1. I'm definitely a fan of the smoothie bowl now! It's way easier to eat one with a spoon than drink one, especially when they're thick and make your eyes bulgy to try to get it up the straw :)

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  4. With your husband why the hell can't you drink it? And I'm with you too I think that acai berry is just too expensive. Avocados are cheaper and just as super. But I'm glad it was a win! And I think it's awesome that you're back to doing the Pinterest things, your A to Z is one of my favorites with this theme!zoe

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    1. Because the chunky parts wouldn't fit through the straw, silly! And yes, that was definitely my first and last acai purchase - yikes!

      Just wait for "C"....

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  5. Impressive start to the Challenge--makes me realize why I'm no longer up for it. Also makes me realize that my pronunciation of "uh-SIGH" is incorrect.

    Challenge Wimp Lorrie at www.shrinkrapped.com

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    1. Let's hope I can keep up; I left my list at my dad's house this weekend and now I have to try to re-create it!

      Oh, and I not only Googled the pronunciation, I found an audio clip of it. And your uh-SIGH is way closer than "AHH-key" :D

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  6. I don't think I will be making the expensive acai smoothie, although I love your description of making it and your husband drinking it! I just drink my smoothies straight from the glass, no straw.
    http://findingeliza.com/

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    1. The acai is not worth it. I'll use up what I have and that will be that. But I do like making the smoothie bowls and eating them that way.

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  7. I haven't tried acai yet, but it does look yummy.

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    1. The acai is totally not worth it. The rest of it totally is!

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  8. This definitely involves more effort and expense than I would be likely to put forth, but it does look good and sound good! Honey helps everything... now that's a true superfood! Absolutely loved the commentary of your armchair assistant, sounds much like mine would have, but we give him points for being a willing taste tester! :-)) Yes, the college cafeteria has come a long, long way from what it was in "the olden days"!

    Visit me at Josie Two Shoes

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    1. I make them now with just frozen strawberries, blueberries and bananas, plus the yogurt and the almond milk. And I add the flax seed, chia seeds, almonds, pepitas, and fresh blueberries and I love it!

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  9. I love a sweet and delicious ACAI bowl. All that healthy nutrition is yum. I indulge only when I have an extra $10 to spend on a treat. Which is never. I'd rather get a $3 ice cream cone.

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    1. They're cheap to make if you leave out the acai. And I'd still rather have ice cream, but this is maybe a little healthier....

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