For years I've been enjoying these tasty concoctions (pronounced ah-sigh-EE) at Cafe Brasil in Santa Cruz and at Surfdog's Java Hut in Encinitas. I'm also looking forward to trying the many different versions at Mana Bowls in Fairfax. But today, I just wanted one for breakfast. At home. In a pinch.
I took this one myself. Can you believe it?
As fate would have it, we had everything I needed in the freezer, including these great Sambazon açaí berry packs you can find at your local health food store (a.k.a. Good Earth). I thicken up the berry mixture with banana and Manitoba Harvest Hemp 50 powder, packing in 15 grams of plant-based protein.
For me, this breakfast is a four hour hunger-killer — a great meal to have before a long surf session or trail run.
Yield
2 servings (2 bowls)
Ingredients
2 sleeves frozen Sambazon Açaí berries (sold 4 sleeves to a pack)
2 frozen bananas
1 cup frozen blueberries
3–5 frozen dark cherries (add more for richness)
8 T hemp powder
2 C almond milk
1 C granola
1 fresh banana, peeled and sliced into medallions
A small handful of fresh berries
2 t honey (to taste)
A few sprinkles of unsweetened coconut (optional)
Instructions
Place all the frozen ingredients, the hemp powder and the almond milk into a powerful blender and blend on high until smooth.
Fill two bowls in this order, dividing everything up into halves:
- 1/2 the granola (~1/4 C)
- blended açaí mixture
- the rest of the granola (~1/4 C)
- banana medallions
- fresh berries
- honey
- coconut (optional)
As you eat this, you'll realize that you're going to have a great day. And if you don't, it definitely wasn't the açaí bowl's fault.