First it was chalky Slimfast shakes, then it was juice bars serving green grain in a cup with a straw...and then, then ShakeO came onto the scene and all was finally good with my tastebuds. But after nearly three months of shakin', blendin' & sippin', I was ::GASP:: getting bored. Then one day a friend took me to South Block Cafe where they make cold pressed juice {blech! Sorry, I just can not fathom drinking my veggies.} and acai bowls.
What's an acai bowl? Actually, let's go back to the basics so you actually know what you're talking about/eating when you mention acai {Ah-Sigh-E}. Acai is a type of berry that hails all the way from Brazil, which is why you might feel as though you're paying a pretty penny for that pretty bowl. Here in the US we only have access to frozen acai puree - not the whole fruit.
To turn that pricey fruit puree into a bowl you blend it with other frozen berries {berry-besties?}, a frozen banana, plain old ice, and then add splashes of almond, soy or coconut milk to thin it out. But don't thin too far - your final product should mimic ice cream. Frozen, smooth, berrylicious ice cream.
Then you top the bowl with whatever your taste buds desire: fresh fruit, granola, coconut flakes, a dollop of peanut butter, chocolate chips, oats...my head is spinning at the possibilities. It's like fake-me-out froyo, ya'll!
Since I have yet to come across frozen acai puree {though there are rumors that it can be found at Whole Foods}, I did the next best thing and turned my ShakeO into a bowl. ShakeO BowlO?! Mind. Blown. Tastebuds having a rave - glow sticks and all.
Step 1: Blend your ShakeO of choice!
Like this Vanilla Strawberry Banana, or this
Strawberry Tropical Paradise, or go towards for a more froyo-worthy
flavor like Chocolate Covered Berries.
Then, add ice, ice, baby.
Lots of ice. Blend. Keep adding. Blend.
Little more.
Once you get to that super thick, ice cream-like
consistency,
you're ready for a bowl.
Look at that ice cream consistency!
I could just gobble it up with a spoon... but wait!
There are toppings to be added...
Step 2: Top your ShakeO bowl with complimenting flavors.
For this berry-filled Strawberry ShakeO I went with
even more berries {blueberries and raspberries},
granola laden with nuts, half of a sliced banana, and coconut flakes.
Step 3: Eat ASAP!
Like
ice cream, this bowl will melt and thin out,
so in order to get a good
scoop you'll want to dig in immediately.
But really, once you have your
beautiful bowl built out it
will be nearly impossible to refrain from scarfing eating anyway!
Next up - d y i n g to try my hand at a PB&J blended bowl! I can just picture it now, with a dollop of PB on top, surrounded by sliced bananas and nuts ::drool:: Coming soon...
XO,
Nik
Psst... More drool-worthy mash-ups:
It was a very good post indeed. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it in my lunch time. Will surely come and visit this blog more often. Thanks for sharing.
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