The cheap açai bowl

THE CHEAP ACAI BOWL

to calm your obsession

I am obsessed with açai bowls..

If they have one on the menu I HAVE TO HAVE ONE!

The first time it appeared in a brunch place in Ghent I was SO EXCITED.

But also a bit sceptical, like:

Hmmm where did you by the açai berries?

Or is it the powdered açai packets that you put in a regular smoothie?

Because I already tried that trick and it didn't taste half as amazing as the real ones seem to taste like (assuming from what I see in the pictures of hipster LA bloggers anyway, ahum).

So my first ever real açai bowl was eaten at a yogafestival and I could not believe my luck!!

Yoga AND açai, this must be the dream!

I am a living cliché.

And you know what, it was the dream: the texture, the deep berry taste, the freshness, the sweet touch, the creamyness... Amazeballs.

Shortly after that I saw them popping up in some breakfast and brunch places, one at the time.

So I made it my mission to go and taste them all as soon as they released.

And two years later I am still obsessed with them.

I would even go as far as calling myself a conaisseur of açai bowls.

But even if I am obsessed with them, I am very often a tiny weeny bit dissapointed when I order them.

Let me explain.

For me the perfect açai bowl has to be super cold with an ice cream/sorbet like texture and have a dark deep purple shade.

Not too liquidy or watery and not a hue of soft millenial pink, which they often are.

The best real açai bowl for me in Ghent is at Plus +. They must have a killer blender because the açai has the texture of a really thick and creamy nice cream.

(This saturday I am going to BEO markt and I already saw they have one on the menu too, So of this one is better, I will let you know!)

But now onto my recipe. Although I love making açai bowls at home, a packet of frozen açai berries is hella expensive!! And also not very easy to find in most places. This is why I started making my own cheap version of the famous bowl and I am starting to actually like this even more than the real deal.

The base is super simple: Frozen blueberries, banana and spinach (mainly to add some healthy greens, this does not affect the taste at all) some lime and not to forget: chiaseeds to thicken the texture and create something a bit firmer.

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Ingredients:

- one banana

- one cup/ two to three big handfulls of frozen blueberries

- half a cup/ one big handfull of frozen spinach

- one and a half tablespoons of chiaseeds

- juice of half a lime

- depending of the strenght of your blender: just enough water for your blender to process the mixture

Optional:

- a pinch of grounded cardamom

- a tablespoon of almond or peanut butter

Toppings:

- fresh strawberries or any berries

- some almond/peanut butter

- fresh basil!! I know this sounds weird but berries and basil is amazing paired together

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So this is kinda self explanatory but just put all of the ingredients in a blender and mix until the shade turn into a deep purple. If you let it sit for a about 5 min in your freezer or fridge, the texture will thicken.

Enjoy!

And be sure to let me know what you think!

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