Acai Bowls Recipe

I've been sitting at my laptop for ten minutes trying to type something that adequately articulates my family's obsession with açaí bowls. And more specifically, açaí bowls from the tiny California chain Banzai Bowls. They are PHENOMENAL. Ohhhh the things my sisters and I have done for these açaí bowls. When we're at my parent's house in Laguna, we visit Banzai Bowls at least daily. Sometimes twice. In high school and college when we road tripped over monthly from AZ it was literally the first place we stopped. Every time. No point in getting to the house when we could be eating Banzai first? We researched their ingredients and drove to multiple grocery stores to find the exact açaí packets and granola they use. And just this last summer my younger sister even worked there! So this long explanation is to show that we know a good açaí bowl when we see one, and today I'm sharing our copy cat recipe! 

A few things: 

You really need to use a good blender in order to get the right consistency. The key is minimal liquid, which heavy duty Vitamixes and Blendtecs can handle.

On a similar note, you do have to blend these just one at a time or else your blender will be too full and not work great. So these are individually made with love!

Also if we had to guess *wink wink* we'd say that Banzai uses THESE Sambazon açaí packets from Sprouts or other specialty food stores. But I always use Trader Joe's açaí packets because they're cheap and similar!

Classic Açaí Bowl

(Makes one large bowl)

Ingredients:

- 1 packet açaí (Trader Joe's or other)

- 1/2 cup frozen strawberries 

- 1/2 cup frozen mango or pineapple 

- 2/3 frozen banana

- 4 oz apple juice (or hemp milk for less sweetness)

BLEND!!

Pour into a large bowl (or large empty yogurt container) and add toppings.

Toppings:

- hemp granola (HERE, found at Walmart)

- shredded sweetened coconut

- banana slices 

- strawberry slices 

- blueberries 

- kiwi slices 

- honey 

Enjoy!