Acai Health Watch

The perfect gift for yourself or an acai loving, health conscious friend. The Ultimate Acai Smoothie Cookbook has over 120 acai recipe ideas for delicious blended acai drinks for enjoyment any time of day. It is written by Donna J. Pliner Rodnitzky, who is the author of many smoothie cookbooks, so she is a real pro when it comes to blended drinks with ice cream, yogurt, fruits and juices. You’ll see there are so many ways to enjoy the delicious chocolately berry flavor of acai just in smoothie form!

The Ultimate Acai Smoothie Cookbook came out last year. In addition to recipes, it provides instructions on how to select and store fruit like different types of berries and melons, so that you’ll enjoy their maximum health and taste benefits.

The recipes are organized by fruit. For example, if you have bananas on hand, you can go to the banana section and find smoothies containing acai and bananas. (A delicious combination, I might add). Recipes tend to use 3-9 ingredients, most of which are readily available. Access to fresh fruit, dairy and soy milks, yogurts, sorbets, juices and nutritious additions
like flaxseed and wheat germ, are all you need to enjoy most of the acai recipes in this book.

You might opt for something pretty straightforward like an acai, raspberry, banana, blueberry yogurt smoothie. Or, venture a bit farther afield with an acai, pineapple, peach, banana, tofu and peach soy yogurt smoothie. Either way, you’ll never tire of the many smoothie recipe combinations, or the unique flavor of acai.   Enjoy!

 p.s. There’s a good price the Ultimate Acai Smoothie Cookbook here on eCampus: The Ultimate Acai Smoothie Cookbook: More Than 120 Smoothie Recipes Made With the Age-defying Acai Berry

People enjoy acai not only for the energy boost or its antioxidant properties.  They like it because it tastes good!  You’ll find that many recipes, both sweet and savory, that call for berries or figs can use the acai berry as a delicious substitute.

Lamb chops are a natural fit for a tart acai berry compote with a nutty crunch.  This particular recipe calls for acai juice, but you may also try it with frozen acai berries that are becoming more available in health food grocery stores.

Açai and Nut Compote

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 shallots, finely diced
• 1 ½ cups pure açai juice (note: you can find this at many Latin grocery shops if your local grocery store doesn’t carry it. Failing that, you can find the juice online).
• 1 tsp cider vinegar
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
• ½ cup toasted pine nuts
• 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme

Method:

1. In a saucepan, heat oil; sauté shallots until golden Add açai juice, vinegar, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Simmer until reduced by one-third.
2. Add pine nuts and thyme; simmer for 5 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Serve with lamb, pork or chicken.

Açai and Pine Nut Compote for Meat: Brazil’s Super-Food With Frenched Lamb Chops | Suite101.com.

Here’s to your health! If you can’t make it to Nobu Miami, try making this Acai Berry Martini cocktail at home.   A lovely holiday after dinner drink, don’t you think? Here’s the recipe courtesy of the Miami Herald.

Acai Martini: Combine 2 ounces acai liqueur (VeeV preferred), 2 ounces acai juice, 1 ounce passion fruit juice and a splash of lavender syrup in an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake vigorously. Strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with a chocolate stick.

Chill out with acai sip – Clink! | Mixed drinks & spirits – MiamiHerald.com.

You may have heard of VeeV, an acai spirit or liqueur.  This article in Digital City shares some ideas about keeping healthy with booze this flu season.   While VeeV itself doesn’t make any health claims,  the acai berry itself is packed with nutrients.   This tasty acai cocktail recipe will at least help you relax, if not provide all your body’s needed vitamins.

“So go ahead and make a VeeV Anti-Oxidant Cooler, with 2 oz of VeeV, a splash of pomegranate juice, 5 blueberries and 8 pomegranate seeds.Muddle the berries in a mixing glass and add the VeeV and pomegranate juice in a cocktail shaker. Shake and strain, pour into a chilled glass, and watch every illness you’ve ever had get annihilated. (Okay, not really. But wouldn’t that be fun?)”

Fight Flu Season with Anti-Oxidant Booze – Digital City – Local Lifestyle and Entertainment News.

We’re often asked whether eating acai is healthy for kids.  Our answer is yes, absolutely!  Especially when it is in the form of delicious, healthy foods.

Kids love popsicles, and making acai popsicles is a great way to expose them to a new flavor.  It’s a fun snack to make and eat, and is packed with nutrition.  You can also blend acai with other fruit purees for variety.

Acai Popsicles

Ingredients
• 3.5-oz. package frozen acai puree (Sambozan brand is available in the frozen fruit section of Whole Foods–four 3.5 oz. packages are sold together.)
• 2 cups whole milk vanilla yogurt
• Sweetener of your choice to taste (I use sugar, but to keep the wholesome vibe going, you might prefer honey, stevia, succanat, etc.)

Directions
In a blender, combine acai with one-half cup of yogurt. Whiz until smooth. Sweeten to taste.

Divide the remaining yogurt among six 4-oz. popsicle molds (or dixie cups). Top each with acai mixture. Use the handle of a teaspoon to swirl the acai into the plain yogurt, just enough to make pretty swirls.

Freeze until set, at least three hours or for as long as you like.

KIDOINFO – parents and kids – providence and beyond » Grocery News: Acai Popsicles.