Acai

USDA advises consuming about 1 cup of berries each day to meet the recommended antioxidants daily intake. Reducing free radicals, slowing down cell-aging, reducing the risk of cancer are some of the benefits of regular intake of antioxidants. Hence I make sure I include ‘em in my diet. A handful of fresh or frozen berries in my fruit smoothie everyday takes care of it. Recently, I discovered a new kind of berry - Acai (pronounced Aa-sa-yee). What made it notable was its endless list of benefits.

Acai falls into the category of superfood. These are food categories that have significantly high levels of crucial nutrients and are recommended for a better health and quality of life. If I can get that kind of nutrition from nature, without higher calories and side effects, why wouldn’t I?

Acai

Acai berries are the fruit of Acai palm trees that grow in Amazon swamps and floodplains. Now, you don’t have to go that extent to get hold of these mighty berries. The pulp of these berries are sold frozen or powdered in many supermarkets. You can also find them in packaged smoothies, carbonated drinks, flavoured coconut water etc. I find frozen pulp easier to manage. All I have to do is to scoop a couple of spoons into the blender. But they are little bit on the expensive side when bought in small quantities. Recently, Costco has started carrying Sambazon Original Organic Acai pulp (labeled as sorbet) in three single pint containers. Easy to store, easy to use. Taste wise, as the package states, it is more of a rich berry flavour with hints of chocolate.

Acai and bananas are a top class combination. Acai topped with sliced bananas and chopped nuts is my favourite ‘ice cream’ sundae these days. But the real winner is Acai smoothie with banana and few chunks of honeydew melon. You have to taste it to believe it.

Acai Banana Smoothie

25 comments:

amna said...

sounds tasty for sure :) i love the glasses too!

Mansi said...

I have an entire article dedicated to speaking about the goodness of Acai Berries Suganya!! it's truly one of the best things ever:) and tasty too...I love it in a smoothie!:)

Meeta K. Wolff said...

Acai are superfoods alright! On The Daily Tiffin we posted a nice article about it a while back. Recently we bought a 1 litre container of fresh pure acai berry juice to drink every morning. It tastes rather vile but hey if it's healthy! The sorbet and your smoothie sounds like a more delicious version of it LOL!

Aparna Balasubramanian said...

Never heard of this one till today. Interesting.

sunita said...

That's something new to watch out for...thanks :-)

FH said...

I am back!:D

Never heard of Acai before, thanks for the info. Happy Holidays!:))

Padmaja said...

Hey Su, I remember my sis who's a plant physiology scientist told me about it when we visited kew gardens in london. But ice cream out of those berries is something very new!!! Your pictures look awesome!!

Priya said...

I read about these berries for the first time in the post Meeta mentioned. I sincerely bought some acai yogurt from Whole foods, but once that batch was done I completely forgot about them. There are no Organic food stores close to where I stay...so need to look for alternatives.

Rajesh &Shankari said...

hmm..learnt abt a new berry today..thanks suganya

Shivapriya said...

Never heard of Acai before. I'm going to buy this in my next trip to costco.

Shweta said...

Lovely post! I love Trader Joe's acai-mango and acai-banana sorbets! Soooo tasty and soooooooo healthy!

Namratha said...

Now that's a fruit new as ever to me! Sounds good and the smoothie looks delicious....hmm time to do my homework on those berries :)

KonkaniBlogger said...

Hey,never knew of Acai till now..Thanx for the info..Nice to put it in a smoothie :)..

Valli said...

Nice pics suganya - I drink acai smoothies at JAMBA juice, but never tried making at home - will try it soon. Didnt know costco had these.

Susan said...

Acai is a new one on me. It even looks like it has chocolate in it. That pint is so vividly colored.

Cynthia said...

I've never heard of Acai before. Thanks for the introduction.

Sagari said...

glasses and pics look beautifulll

Sig said...

That is news to me... thanks for the info Suganya... I will look for it... Happy Holidays to you!

Nupur said...

Hmm...have seen this stuff and now you are encouraging me to give it a try!

Ramya's Mane Adige said...

Thanx for the info about the berries!! :) Love the smoothie!

Kumudha said...

Thank you so much for the acai info. It sounds so exotic!

Shilpa said...

Never heard of these berries. I will check out next time I go to market.
Meeta's comment is scaring me though :)

Kajal said...

I am sure this is good for taste and health. This is very nice combination with banana. This is looks healthy drink with nice dark brown color. Thanks for sharing with me.

KayKat said...

Rock! Thanks, S for reminding me about Acai - the one time I tried it wasn't quite memorable. Your alternatives sound delicious :)

Anonymous said...

Acai !!! Wow the fruit is becoming popular.

If your city has a "Robek's " store, do check it out. They carry a great smoothie made with Acai pulp.


-Mythili

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