Recipes using the Acai Fruit
October 26, 2008
Interested in ways to use the popular acai berry. Depending on your main reason for using acai in a meal preparation, you may want to consider whether or not you are eating it for a change of pace or eating it for its well documented health benefits.
Why? This is important since the nutritional makeup of acai is effected when heated. So therefore, if you are looking for ways to use acai in a recipe you may want to find a recipe that keeps it cold for maximum benefits in health. Try using a pure juice or puree product over a dish of ice cream. This keeps the acai cold while sweetening it with the ice cream. Another healthier idea for using acai, is possibly the most popular way to use it – in a smoothie. Smoothies can be made out of anything your imagination puts together really. Add yogurt, banana, some other berries, your acai product of choice and a bit of milk (soy, cow, etc.) for the right consistency. Try an acai milkshake by taking ice cream, acai and blending together. You could definitely add other things to it as well and make a smoothie type milkshake. There have been well-known companies making an acai sorbet or sherbet product, but why have all those preservatives when you could make your own with an ice cream maker. Again, other fruits could be added for a well-proportioned healthful snack. Another common way to eat acai is to blend it with yogurt, milk and vanilla. Place this mixture over granola and top with berries for an acai type parfait. Another options may be to use vanilla wafer cookies in substitution for the granola. Interested in keeping healthy while entertaining? Try an acai fruit cocktail such as the Acai Margarita created by the Aspen Restaurant in New York City, New York, USA. They put together two parts of Silver Patron silver tequila, one part triple sec, good splash of lime juice and an equal amount of Sambazon original acai grocery pack. Shake the mixture and pour over ice. Not normally used in larger meal preparations, acai has been seen to be used in a few savory dishes such as a chicken mole variation. Again, this is using acai in a cooked meal and may not provide the nutrition you may be hoping for it to have. If that is of no concern to you than try experimenting with acai on your own for your own unique recipe. The most common recipe using acai is the smoothie and when looking through the recipes for acai you will see the many variations of smoothies made using acai. The next common use is probably in cocktails. Acai does not have a typical sweet berry taste, so there are limited options for its use. A couple of good websites for acai recipes would include www.acairecipes.org and www.sambazon.com/recipes.html . They may give you a great favorite recipe or your next big recipe idea. Healthy acai eating!
