Acai Bowl with Homemade Granola

I have recently fallen in love with ordering acai bowls for lunch, topped with all sorts of nuts and fruits. Having some legit kitchen appliances at my disposal at home, I figured it couldn't be too hard to try and replicate this at home.

As I thought, making a tasty acai bowl really boils down to one thing - quality acai! The frozen acai I bought from a major supermarket turned out to be pretty amazing (I'm sure I could find better, though) and I thought it would be cool to share the recipe I made with you guys.

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Ingredients

Granola (huge batch)

• 2.5 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup cashews
• 1/2 cup sultanas
• 1/2 cup almonds
• 1/2 cup coconut flakes
• 1/2 cup pepitas
• 3 Tbsp flaxseeds
• 3 Tbsp hemp seeds
• dash of cinnamon
• pinch of salt
  
  
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 cup agave or maple syrup
• 2 heaped tsp maca powder

Acai Smoothie (for one)

• 1/2 cup frozen mango
• 1/2 cup frozen mixed berries
• 1/2 cup non-dairy milk or fruit juice
• 150g frozen acai puree

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Method

Granola

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
2. In a food processor, combine the cashews, almonds, pepitas and half of the oats. Briefly blend until nuts have broken down into smaller pieces. Mix well with the rest of the dry granola ingredients.
3. Melt coconut oil and mix with sweetener and maca powder. Pour over oat mixture and combine.
4. Lay thin and evenly on a baking tray, and bake for around 8-10 minutes before giving it a stir. Bake for a further 8-10 minutes until granola is nice and brown. Remove from oven and don't stir - let it cool and continue to crisp up in the hot tray.

Acai Smoothie

1. Combine frozen mango, berries and milk or juice in a high-speed blender until it is combined as much as possible.
2. Run the frozen acai under the tap to help thaw, then add to the blender and blitz until it is a nice thick and creamy consistency.
3. Fill the bottom of a bowl with the blended acai and top with anything you like - homemade granola, fresh fruit, coconut yoghurt, peanut butter, buckwheat etc.