Post-Workout Protein Acai Bowl

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What is acai, anyway? Maybe you’ve heard of acai bowls being a superfood or reserved for the super trendy hipster crowd, but fear not! These little berries are packed full of antioxidants and can be make into a smoothie bowl way cheaper than you think. I ignorantly dismissed acai for years as I assumed it would be full of sugar. Rookie mistake. This micronutrient dense berry has barely any sugar in it, making it an easy choice to supercharge smoothies with keeping simple sugar counts low.

Native to Brazil, acai is not found in the berry form in the U.S. or many other countries. Instead you can find it pureed and frozen in stores like Whole Foods. There is one main importer of acai berries, Sambazon, who produces unsweetened purees. Watch out for the sweetened acai berry blend they sometimes sneak besides the unsweetened

As some of these ingredients can be quite tricky when frozen, I can’t guarantee how this blend will turn out without a high powered blender. If you’ve been following this website for awhile, you know I’m a huge fan of the BlendTec blenders, but a Vitamix works here as well. If you haven’t sprung for one of these yet, I urge you to do so as they make so many tasks in the kitchen so much easier.

I add protein to my acai bowls so they are a little more filling and not just straight fruit. Some people are confused as to why I support protein powder, if that is you, check out why I consider protein powder to be paleo. This is in the “treat” category as well because it tastes like ice cream. 

This isn’t labeled a “post workout” protein acai bowl just because we tossed some SFH Fuel into the blender. This protein acai bowl can be enjoyed at any time. I’m just a fan of putting the bulk of my carbohydrate (read: fruit) consumption after workouts. The coconut milk, avocado, and almond butter will help make the digestion a little slower though! 

Here’s how to make it:

INGREDIENTS

  • 1/2 banana, frozen and sliced
  • 1/4 cup walnuts
  • 1/2 cup blueberries
  • 1/4 cup shredded coconut
  • 2 tablespoons almond butter
  • 1/2 cup coconut milk
  • 1 scoop coconut SFH Fuel
  • 1/4 avocado
  • 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
  • 1/2 packet of Sambazon acai puree, chopped or crushed
  • 1/4 cup goji berries

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Place all ingredients into a Blendtec or Vitamix blender
  2. Pulse slowly, with pushing ingredients down if they get stuck. Chopping up bananas and acai puree with greatly help with this process, otherwise they get caught under the blade of the blender.
  3. If bowl is not incorporating well, add small amounts of coconut milk or water, mix, then pulse again.
  4. Scoop into bowl and top when desired consistency is reached.