Living in Maine means I miss a lot of the food trends I was always aware of when I lived in New York. It’s most likely because I follow less New York City Food based Instagram accounts or because there aren’t shops with the latest food trend popping up left and right around me. Gone are the days where I knew that crepes were ‘in’ or that someone replaced the paleo diet with the keto diet. Instead, I’m lucky enough to live in a town where the same family-run shops that have existed in the town for 10+ years are chugging along and don’t seem to care that bubble waffle ice cream cones are all the rage in Manhattan.
Which is why a few weeks back when my best friend mentioned she was craving an acai bowl it intrigued me. Sure, I’d heard about them, but I didn’t realize they had replaced the FroYo shops that had taken over when I was living on the island back in 2012. So after some research, Google was kind enough to inform me what comprised acai bowls, and I thought to myself “I can definitely make that at home!” not thinking about the restrictions of fresh fruit in Maine in the wintertime.
I made myself a version at home. I stumbled upon a pre-fabricated freezer version of acai bowls by Dole at the grocery store. After trying their version out I decided I could make a version that not only fit my palate better but would also create less waste. I went back to the grocery store and spent about fifteen minutes walking around sizing up what was available fruit-wise and settled on using frozen fruit for this version. Welch’s has an “Antioxidant Blend” of frozen fruits that was exactly what I was looking for! It had berries and cherries promising that the blend wouldn’t be overly sweet or chalky like frozen mango has the tendency to become.
With some minimal tweaking I made myself a version that hit all the notes I was looking for. It’s got three ingredients to make up the smoothie, so it’s not loaded with creepy sugars or preservatives and when it’s topped with my favorite granola recipe (which I’ll share with you all tomorrow) it is the perfect breakfast on the go. I even make bigger batches than this individual serving and pour them in jars and freeze them into individual serving sizes. By the time I take the smoothie out of the freezer in the mornings and drive into work it’s perfectly thawed and ready to eat without any action on my part to make myself breakfast in the morning. I consider this a win for someone who loves the snooze button as much as I do.
You can switch up the fruits as you’d like, but until I can get my hands on some fresh fruit this summer, I’ll be favoring this blend since it’s so easy and so delicious!
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 1 cup frozen fruit — I used the Welch’s antioxidant blend
- 1/3 cup full fat Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup frozen banana, chopped into 1/2″ pieces
- 1/4 cup granola
Combine frozen fruit, Greek yogurt, and banana in a blender or food processor. Blend until no chunks remain. If additional liquid is needed add 1 oz water, juice, or milk.
Once the smoothie has been blended pour into a bowl or jar. You can choose to top it with the granola now, or if you’re making these ahead of time, store in the freezer with a tightly sealed lid.
Take the frozen smoothie out of the freezer and thaw for 30-45 minutes, top with granola, and enjoy!
Combine frozen fruit, greek yogurt, and banana in a blender or food processor. Blend until no chunks remain. If additional liquid is needed add 1 oz water, juice, or milk.
Once the smoothie has been blended pour into a bowl or jar. You can choose to top it with the granola now, or if you’re making these ahead of time, store in the freezer with a tightly sealed lid.
Take the frozen smoothie out of the freezer and thaw for 30-45 minutes, top with granola, and enjoy!