I have the god-forsaken crossfit movement to thank for my quivering butt cheeks.
= My latest attempt at doing something to combat my dessert habit. (As if.) But I couldn’t help it. The hum of crossfit was everywhere, one of my best friends is a coach . . . Everyone I had talked to who had tried crossfit loved it. And . . . I mean . . . what is there not to love about being unable to reach for your cheerios, because anything that requires lifting your arm above your shoulder is off-limits? Or having to fall onto the toilet seat to take a pisciati, since you darn well can’t lower yourself onto the thing. No sir. Too many hamstring requirements in that arc from standing to squatting position.
And yet . . . people keep going back. It’s like an addiction. Except that instead of my sugar addiction, which only gives me lunatic-like cravings and love handles, crossfit supplies adonis-like abs and rippling pectorals. And you know what? I get it. Truly. Because after you bang out a crossfit wod (that’s workout of the day for all you underachievers that didn’t spend your 12 minutes at the gym like i did), you walk out of there feeling FIT. and EPIC. and NINJA-like. Forget the fact that I do knee push-ups and require, not one, but TWO stretchy bands to do something that more closely resembles a jumping chicken having a seizure than an actual pull-up. Who cares. I DID THE WOD. I FINISHED the WOD. My name went up on that little white board with a time and everything. I am FIT.
So I’m off to get a bowl of sugar.
Don’t give me that look. I DO CROSSFIT. And it’s NATURAL sugar.
Acai Peanut Butter Bowl
When we first moved to Denver, I tried an acai peanut butter bowl at Nekter Juice Bar. HEAVEN. Acai peanut butter bowls are the perfect hybrid of cold smoothie, fresh fruit, and crunchy granola.
First, run the acai packets under warm water for 5-10 seconds. You want to minimize this in order to keep the acai as cold/hard as possible. Slam the packs against the counter to break the acai into pieces. I usually make sure I get each pack down to four chunks.
Second, use good, natural peanut butter. (We use Adam’s natural creamy peanut butter.)
Third, cut the banana into chunks before freezing it. Once it’s frozen, it’s very difficult to slice. So I usually pre-chop the banana and freeze it in baggies of half-banana amounts.
Fourth. Buy yourself a stellar blender. When David and I first got married, we had “the little blender that could.” The main pitcher was held together with packaging tape. No joke. A strip of packaging tape was the only thing that stood between us and a dripping kitchen ceiling. For our wedding, David’s aunt and uncle gave us a Ninja blender. Best. blender. ever. All those green flakes in your detox smoothie? No flakes when you get yourself a good blender. Even frozen acai cannot stand in its way. (We won’t forget you, little blender that could.) The better the blender, the less likely you’ll have to keep adding milk to get it to catch everything in its blades. And our Ninja even came with two individual on-the-go-sized blender cups, so that I can have an Acai Peanut Butter Bowl all to myself.
Finally, granola!! Nekter’s acai peanut butter bowl has a granola with more puffed rice, so if I’m trying to imitate that, I use Back to Nature’s Vanilla Almond Agave. But I’ve recently switched over to always using homemade crunchy granola.
There are endless variations on the acai peanut butter bowl. We have made them for breakfast, snacks, desserts, brunch, etc. They are a perfect way to enjoy summer fruit when it goes on sale. (Hello, blueberries for $1.50?!?!) While I LOVE the fall, I keep reminding myself to enjoy these last summer days. I will be missing them when I’m trudging to work in a 100-foot snow drift. O.o
mikaela | wyldflour
1 large acai bowl or 2 small acai bowls
10 minPrep Time
1 minCook Time
11 minTotal Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- 2 - 3.5 oz frozen unsweetened acai smoothie packs (Sambazon)
- ½ banana, chunked and frozen
- ½ cup + 1 Tablespoon vanilla unsweetened almond milk or cashew milk
- 2/3 cup frozen strawberries or blueberries
- 2 Tablespoons peanut butter
- Strawberries
- Blueberries
- Banana
- Pitted cherries
- Granola
- Peanut Butter
- Agave Nectar
Instructions
- Run the acai smoothie packs under warm water for 5-10 seconds—only as long as you need in order to slam the packs against the edge of the counter and break into pieces.
- Cut open the packs with scissors and dump the acai pieces into the bottom of a high-powered blender. Add the frozen banana chunks, milk, strawberries or blueberries, and peanut butter.
- Blend until the chunks are broken down and the mixture is smooth. The mixture should be as thick as possible, so if your blender is struggling, try to shake and blend, rather than add milk. If the pieces just won’t catch in the blender, add milk ½ tablespoon at a time until fully blended. (Using my Ninja, I do not have to add any milk.)
- Serve immediately with fresh fruit and granola scattered on top. Drizzle peanut butter and agave nectar on top, to taste.
- If you want it sweeter, add agave or use sweetened milk.
- If you want it thinner (i.e., drinkable), add milk.
- If you want it thicker, add frozen fruit.
- If you want it less sweet, increase the amount of acai and drop the amount of fruit.
Notes
PS - If you want a lower calorie smoothie bowl, check out my skinny peanut butter smoothie bowl!
PS – If you’re not a huge peanut butter fan, here is a pic and link to my 5 ingredient easy acai bowl recipe that you can customize to your liking:
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