We are gaga for healthy bowls- so much so we dedicated a whole email to them! The most famous smoothie bowl of them all, the Acai Bowl, is having its moment and we figured you probably wanted to know how to make your own! So we got in touch with the awesome team behind The Bowl, a Hong Kong company that hosts acai bowl stands at events and markets around town, and ask them to dish on their top dish!
The Perfect Acai Bowl Recipe
The Acai Bowl’s main component is a creamy frozen acai berry puree. The acai berry comes from the Amazonian rainforests and is hailed as a superfruit packed with vitamins, antioxidants, and essential amino and fatty acids. When frozen and blended up, the acai base really looks (and tastes) like ice cream and you may even decipher a hint of dark chocolate – but looks can be deceiving as this treat contains 100% nourishment and 0% refined sugar! A veritable bowl of healthfulness!
We like to keep things easy so below we share how to whip up a basic and refreshing Acai Bowl at home with a (fairly) simple ingredient list.
Ingredients
- Freshly chopped fruit (sliced bananas and berries of all kind go really well with acai)
- Granola for the crunch (make your own or stock up on the best locally made ones)
- A splash of liquid for easier blending (2 or 3 tablespoons of almond milk, coconut water, coconut milk etc)
- 1 frozen banana (make sure to peel and slice the bananas before you freeze them- it can be a pain to peel frozen bananas)
- 1 frozen acai smoothie pack or 2 tablespoons acai powder (Note: At The Bowl, they use unsweetened, pure acai puree sourced straight from Brazil so you can taste the rich, dark cacao flavor of the fruit but sadly, that is not available for retail. Sambazon is the only brand available in Hong Kong, find the frozen packs at Just Green or the Be-Juiced bar, find acai powder at these outlets.)
- a high-speed blender- a Vitamix or a Blendtec will get you top smoothness but a regular blender or a food processor works too
Directions
- Take a frozen Acai smoothie pack and 1 whole frozen banana, add a splash of liquid, and blend until you get a consistency thicker than a smoothie, kind of like yogurt.
- Spoon the Acai base into a bowl, top with your choice of fruit, and don’t forget the granola: the bowl’s crunch is the second best part after the acai!
Want more? Satisfy your craving at The Bowl at one of their events. Their Nutty Bowl, featuring their homemade almond butter, is a customer favorite! The Bowl uses only natural, unsweetened acai berries sourced straight from Brazil and jam-packs their bowls with seasonal fruits, homemade granola, and superfood toppings – no skimping allowed!
Follow The Bowl on Instagram or Facebook for their weekend pop-up stand schedule.
All images courtesy of The Bowl HK.