How to make a refreshing and healthy Acai Smoothie

The warmer weather is finally on it’s way (if you live anywhere cold like we do in Montana)! Fingers crossed 😉

As soon as it starts to warm up, my morning coffee switches from a hot latte, to an iced latte. Instead of hot tea, I make our favorite iced tea; Brazilian matte. And I say hello to smoothies!

If I could only live off a few items for the rest of my life; it would be fruit, bread, cheese, wine, and coffee 🙂 So I love this time of year when Costco starts to fill up with all the seasonal fruit and we get to start having smoothies!

There are so many good smoothie recipes out there. They are a great way to get both fruit and veggie servings in one cup and delicious at the same time. While I love any type of smoothie, my favorite are acai smoothies because of all the health benefits found in acai.

Acai

So what is acai exactly? Acai (pronounced ah-sigh-EE), is a small round berry that resembles a blueberry, but is about the size of a grape. Found deep in the South American rain forests, these little berries grow on acai palms.

Small, but mighty; these berries are considered a super-food. They contain 4 main qualities:

Full of antioxidants: antioxidants are important because they help to build up your immune system as well as protect your cells from damage from free radicals by neutralizing them. They contain almost 3x the amount found in blueberries!
High fiber: We all know what fiber is good for 🙂 But this is a great and delicious option for getting a good source of fiber instead of a scoop of powder 😉
Rich in heart healthy fats: Fish isn’t the only way to get those good Omega 3’s! Acai is packed full of omega 3 fatty acids! These heart healthy fats have been said to help to lower cholestrerol and lower your risk of coranary heart disease. Sounds good right?!?
High in calcuim: Tiny but powerful, these berries are jam packed full of healthy nutrients and low in sugar! High calcuim is important for keeping your bones, joints, heart, muscles and nerves strong!

Can you see yet why there is so much hype around this berry? Not only do the long list of benefits make them healthy for you, but they taste delicous and can be eaten in a various forms.

Our family loves acai bowls, for breakfast. But let’s face it. Mornings are hectic and I usually don’t have time to pull that together and get kids out the door in time for school drop off. So these acai smoothies are a perfect compromise for those busy mornings. Kids love them, so healthy, and just a little prep and quick clean up = WIN!

Here is a simple Acai smoothie recipe that I make pretty much on a daily basis. Best part? It only takes about 2 minutes 🙂

What you need:

1 Serving of an Acai smoothie

2 individual bags of Frozen Acai pulp (choose a pulp that is sweetened with guarana, and you won’t need to sweeten it)
1 banana
3/4 cup of water

Additional mix-in options:

If you want the pure, authentic acai taste, stick to the recipe listed above. It is simple but delicious. But feel free to add any other ingredients to customize it to create your own perfect acai smoothie. Some common ingredients added are:

strawberries
blueberries
mango
avocado
coconut milk
almond milk
peanut butter powder
protein powder
chia seeds
flax seeds

These are just a few suggestions….it’s up to your taste buds!

Directions:

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Step 1 – Soften packets under warm running water

Run your two individual packets (4 come in a bag) under warm water for 5 seconds

Step 2 – Break up packets before opening

Using your hands, break the packets into smaller chunks. This makes it easier for the blender to do its job

Step 3 – Add ingredients to blender

Cut open the packets and place in your blender with all your ingredients. (depending on how many ingredients you add; you may need to add more water)

Step 4 – Blend

Blend everything until the Acai chunks are gone and the texture is creamy. Although any blender will work, you will notice a huge difference if you use a higher quality blender like a Ninja or a Vitamix.

I have the Ninja which I love because it has the power to break up large chunks of frozen foods. Plus, it also comes with an individual blending cup attachment as well as a Cuisinart processor type attachment. It does it all 🙂