Deluxe Açai Bowl

“In Santa Barbara we rented the top floor of a large and lavish house only a few blocks from the beach. After having spent the previous weeks in shabby motels, we felt like a royal family up there. The owner was an artist of some kind and she agreed to let us stay there for a very low rent.
Often on our travels, people are surprisingly kind to us. It must be the baby in the pushchair that helps soften their hearts.
In a back alley, only a short walk from the house, we found a café where all the cool kids hung out. The café served an array of purple açaî bowls that we soon learned were both delicious and very healthy. After leaving Santa Barbara and continuing down south, we started stocking up on frozen açai pulp and making our own bowls whenever we had access to a kitchen.
In Sweden (and many parts of the world) frozen açai is both hard to find and very expensive so nowadays we make our bowls with açai powder and other kinds of frozen berries. It can be found in most health food stores.”

Makes 2 bowls / V / GF Makes 2 bowls

• 300 g (10 ½ oz/2 cups) frozen strawberries, slightly thawed
• 2 frozen sliced bananas
• 4 tbsp açai powder about 250 ml (8 ½ fl oz/1 cup) unsweetened
• almond milk (or milk of choice)
• 2 tbsp of any of the following: nut or seed butter, plant-based protein powders (made from hemp seeds, brown rice, sprouted peas or seeds), or soaked nuts or seeds

Topping

• fresh fruit, sliced
• hemp seeds
• bee pollen
• goji berries
• clear honey (preferably unheated), optional

1. Place the frozen fruits, açai powder and milk in a strong high-speed blender.
2. Add the nut butter, protein powder or soaked nuts or seeds, if using.
3. Mix until creamy and smooth. Aim for a frozen yoghurt consistency. If you do not have a strong high-speed blender, use a hand blender and mix in a tall jug.
4. Spoon the açai mixture into bowls and top with sliced fruit, hemp seeds, bee pollen, goji berries and a drizzle of honey, if using.
5. Serve immediately.