Saturday, April 12, 2008

Not a love affair

In recent months I have heard so much about this newly acclaimed superfood--açai (pronounced "ah-sigh-ee"), a dark purple berry that is known to be full of goodness like antioxidants, fatty acids, and fiber. Wanting to jump on the açai train just to see what this was all about, I picked up a package of Sambazon frozen açai pulp. What is my first thought to do with frozen fruit? Put it in a smoothie, of course!


For this smoothie, I used 2 packets of the açai pulp, a banana, vanilla soy milk, a spoonful of almond butter, just a dab of agave nectar, and a dash of cinnamon. I blended it up in my Magic Bullet, snapped a picture, and tasted it... and was disappointed. I found the açai to have a dull, flat flavor. It was incredibly bland. Not to mention that it puréed into such a thin, smooth liquid with no real texture--not the way I enjoy my smoothies.

I was determined to like this stuff. After taking a couple of sips of the smoothie, I began to wonder how I could save it. And then into my mind popped one of you bloggers--I know what VeggieGirl would do! She would put carob in it!

So I added about a tablespoon of carob powder, blended it up again, and took another taste. The carob really did the trick. I think it deepened the flavor quite a bit, adding a more complex tone and cutting through the blandness. I still didn't love it--but even if it wasn't love at first taste, açai and I will probably give things another try.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have been wanting to try acai for a while too. Thanks for the review! I just read yet another article about all the wonderful benefits of the berry, so I hope to get some soon!

Courtney

Leigh said...

Soul V has an acai ice cream that's really tasty! But I'm sure the health benefits suffer with the added sugar and such.

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

YES, YES, YES!!! Carob DEFINITELY makes everything taste better :0D

Açai is definitely an acquired taste (just like carob, haha) - give it another shot sometime!!

Glue and Glitter said...

Is that a Magic Bullet?? We just got one and it's awesome!!!

Animal-Friendly said...

That smoothie looks sooo satisfying! I was actually going to make a similar smoothie myself today, but my blender was in the dishwasher :( Adding carob to the acai seems like such a great idea!

aTxVegn said...

I've almost bought the acai pulp several times, but haven't yet because like you, I wasn't sure what I would do with it. Keep playing with it and let me know when you come up with a nice recipe.

Unknown said...

I love acai, but with a little apple juice added the mix. Sweetens it right up. Otherwise, plain, its pretty gross. I am glad to hear your smoothie ended up turning out alright!

VEGAN TICKLES said...

I love ACAI smoothies.
Check out:
viveleveganrecipes.blogspot.com
Look for the ACAI ANTIOWIDANT SMOOTHIES.
It tastes delicious.

Lori- the Pleasantly Plump Vegan said...

i've wanted to try acai. thanks for the heads up

Alicia said...

Maybe it didn't taste great, just OK, but it DOES look yummy! I will never find acai over here, so it really doesn't matter...

JENNA said...

i love acai and i really need to get the magic bullet.