Soy-Free Vegan Tropical Acai Berry Bowl Recipe

Whipping up acai bowl recipes are pretty easy. I like to use whatever fresh and frozen fruits I had on hand. This one is similar to my Acai Banana Berry Bowl Recipe , but it’s perfect for summer with fresh mango and berries. Acai bowls can be topped with your favorite fruits, but I know some of you have never had one before and are unsure how to make them at home.

Acai is usually sold in a frozen puree for use in smoothies, acai bowls and frozen desserts. You can also buy acai juice, powder and supplements, but I stick with the puree because it’s delicious and a little less processed.

Acai bowls are made up of frozen acai puree, apple juice or soy milk, frozen fruit, granola, fresh fruit and sometimes honey. If you do not have acai frozen puree in your country (I found it at the health food store in Canada and the USA) you can substitute about 1 cup of frozen blueberries.

This is a soy-free version which uses apple juice instead of soy milk to blend it together. You can also use fresh pressed apple juice if desired as well.

Soy-Free Vegan Tropical Acai Berry Bowl Recipe

 
Serves 1

Bowl Ingredients:

4 oz/ 1/2 cup apple juice (unsweetened if desired)
2 100g packets of frozen Acai (I used Sambazon Original Smoothie Packs)
3/4 cup frozen mango (sub a fresh mango if you do not have a high powered blender such as a VitaMix or Blendtec)

Garnish Ingredients:

1/3-1/2 cup low fat granola of choice (I like Galaxy Granola as it’s oil free)
1/2 -1 ripe banana, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup fresh ripe ataulfo mango, diced
1/2 cup diced strawberries
Small handful of blueberries
Drizzle of honey or agave *optional (I don’t find I need this in mine)

 Directions:

1. Remove packets of acai and frozen bananas from freezer.

2. Slice the mango, slice the banana and wash the blueberries and set aside.

3. Add apple juice to your blender. Break up the frozen acai into smaller pieces and cut the plastic open and pour into blender. Add the mango. Blend on low or pulse to break up the frozen fruit. If you have a VitaMix use the tamper to puree into a soft serve. If you have another type of blender you may have to stop and stir and keep pulsing to combine. Stop blending when smooth.

4. Scrape acai mixture into a bowl.

5. Top acai with granola.

6. Top with diced mango, bananas, strawberries and blueberries.

7. Serve.

Have you ever had an Acai bowl? What’s your favorite topping?

Vegan Chocolate Cherry Blender Ice Cream

With Summer coming soon you might be craving some sweet warm weather desserts. My favorite is always a fresh homemade blender “ice-cream”, which uses frozen bananas for a creamy texture and natural sweetness. Instead of my old staple of “vanilla” I decided to switch it up with some frozen cherries and I have to say I’m absolutely hooked on this recipe! Chocolate cherry anything was basically my weakness growing up, but this version is all natural and actually good for you so there’s no guilt!

All you need are a few simple ingredients, unsweetened almond milk, frozen very ripe bananas, frozen cherries, cocoa powder and a blender. I recommend using a Vita-Mix if you’re planning on making blender ice-creams frequently (along with smoothies, blended soups, salad dressings and home ground flours). But you can also use a regular blender or food processor (just make sure to let the bananas defrost a little and chop them into smaller pieces to make them easier to blend.

In my Vita-Mix this recipe is ready in about 30-60 seconds (reg blender a minute or two) so it’s easy to whip up. You can also serve it as a snack or a light meal instead if you want to! I often make blender ice-cream for my family or dinner guests and everyone raves about how delicious it is, they can’t even tell it’s vegan. All they know is it’s some delicious soft serve ice-cream. I hope you like it too!

Vegan Chocolate Cherry  Blender Ice Cream

Serves 1-2

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk, or other non dairy milk
1 tbsp cocoa or cacao powder
1 large frozen banana (make sure it’s very ripe before freezing, this makes your ice-cream naturally sweet)
1 cup frozen pitted cherries (often found at the grocery store or Costco)

Directions:

1. Place ingredients into blender or Vita-Mix in order listed. (If using a regular low powered blender make sure to let the frozen bananas sit for 2-3 minutes on the counter to partially defrost. Then slice them into small chunks so they become easier to blend. Also cut the cherries in half.)

2. Blend the ingredients on medium low to medium speed. If using a Vita-Mix use the tamper to plunge the frozen fruit down into the blades until well combined (30-60 seconds). If using a regular blender or food processor stop the blender periodically to stir as needed. Blend until smooth and cocoa is evenly distributed.

3. Serve immediately. Blender ice-cream is best eaten fresh, but can be frozen if needed.

Variations:

Instead of cherries you can add different berries such as frozen blackberries, raspberries or strawberries. But you made need to add additional sweetener if using tart berries such as a tablespoon of maple syrup.

For regular chocolate ice-cream, substitute another banana for the cherries.

Have you ever had banana ice-cream before? How do you make it? 

Tropical Mango Banana Acai Bowl

I have another delicious acai bowl recipe for you with mango and banana. This one is similar to my Acai Banana Berry Bowl Recipe , but it’s perfect for summer with this tropical twist. Basically you can top your acai bowl with anything you want, but I know some of you have never had one before and are unsure how to make them at home.

Acai is usually sold in a frozen puree for use in smoothies, acai bowls and frozen desserts. You can also buy acai juice, powder and supplements, but I stick with the puree because it’s delicious and a little less processed.

Acai bowls are made up of frozen acai puree, apple juice or soy milk, frozen fruit, granola, fresh fruit and sometimes honey. If you do not have acai frozen puree in your country (I found it at the health food store in Canada and the USA) you can substitute about 1 cup of frozen blueberries.

Tropical Mango Banana Acai Bowl

 
Serves 1

Bowl Ingredients:

4 oz/ 1/2 cup apple juice (unsweetened if desired)
2 100g packets of frozen Acai (I used Sambazon Original Smoothie Packs)
3/4 cup frozen mango (sub a fresh mango if you do not have a high powered blender such as a VitaMix or Blendtec)

Garnish Ingredients:

1/3-1/2 cup low fat granola of choice (I like Galaxy Granola as it’s oil free)
1/2 -1 ripe banana, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup fresh ripe ataulfo mango, diced
handful of blueberries or other berries
Drizzle of honey or agave *optional

 Directions:

1. Remove packets of acai and frozen bananas from freezer.

2. Slice the mango, slice the banana and wash the blueberries and set aside.

3. Add apple juice to your blender. Break up the frozen acai into smaller pieces and cut the plastic open and pour into blender. Add the mango. Blend on low or pulse to break up the frozen fruit. If you have a VitaMix use the tamper to puree into a soft serve. If you have another type of blender you may have to stop and stir and keep pulsing to combine. Stop blending when smooth.

4. Scrape acai mixture into a bowl.

5. Top acai with granola.

6. Top with bananas, strawberries and blueberries.

7. Serve.

Have you ever had an Acai bowl? What’s your favorite topping?

Acai Banana Berry Bowl Recipe

I have been having my fill of acai bowls since visiting southern California. Originally they come from Brazil, but they are also popular in Hawaii and many American juice bars. I visited one of my raw food friends in California and had the chance to actually make something while on the road in her kitchen. I went in search of acai frozen smoothie mix (as I haven’t seen it yet where I am in Canada) and found some from Sambazon at Whole Foods. (Check their website to find a dealer near you.) It’s about $4.99 for four 100g gram packages. You can use one package for smoothies, or two in acai bowls.

Anyway, these acai bowls are SUPER easy to make and very delicious! The formula is simple: apple juice (or another liquid), frozen acai and banana and topped with granola, fruit and honey or other sweetener. It’s essentially a fruit smoothie granola bowl. You can eat it for breakfast, lunch, after a workout or any time of day. Now these are generally pretty large once you add a bunch of fruit on top of it, so be prepared to make a meal out of it. If not use less fruit topping and less granola for a smaller meal.

If you can’t find frozen acai anywhere near you, you can still make something similar. Try substituting frozen blueberries instead (about 1 cup) and blending that in with the banana and apple juice.

Now onto the delicious recipe!

Acai Banana Berry Bowl Recipe

Serves 1

Bowl Ingredients:

4 oz/ 1/2 cup apple juice (unsweetened if desired)
2 100g packets of frozen Acai (I used Sambazon Original Smoothie Packs)
1 frozen ripe banana (sub a fresh banana if you do not have a high powered blender such as a VitaMix or Blendtec)

Garnish Ingredients:

1/3-1/2 cup low fat granola of choice
1/2 -1 ripe banana, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup strawberries, sliced
handful of blueberries or other berries
Drizzle of honey or agave *optional

 Directions:

1. Remove packets of acai and frozen bananas from freezer.

2. Wash and slice the strawberries, slice the banana and wash the blueberries and set aside.

3. Add apple juice to your blender. Break up the frozen acai into smaller pieces and cut the plastic open and pour into blender. Add the banana. Blend on low or pulse to break up the frozen fruit. If you have a VitaMix use the tamper to puree into a soft serve. If you have another type of blender you may have to stop and stir and keep pulsing to combine. Stop blending when smooth.

4. Scrape acai mixture into a bowl.

5. Top acai with granola.

6. Top with bananas, strawberries and blueberries.

7. Serve.

Have you ever had an Acai bowl? What’s your favorite topping?

Vitamineral Green Smoothie Recipe

So can you use green powders in green smoothies instead of fresh greens? Why yes you can!

I think a lot of us are guilty of not getting enough green leafy vegetables in their diet day after day. Myself included. Sometimes I don’t have enough room in the fridge to have salad ingredients every single day, and sometimes I get tired of chewing salad every day. So I often opt for a green smoothie to get more greens in my diet and it’s pretty fast and simple.

You kind of need a decent blender to blend the fresh greens though otherwise they can end up a little chunky or not so smooth. So you may consider using green powders in your smoothies instead for texture.

Or you may not have access to the best fresh greens all year round so a green powder is a more attractive option for you as well.

You can find a variety of green powders at the health food store and on Amazon.com. Some are based on wheat grass, barley grass or a mixture. I picked up a new one the other day to try out called Vitamineral Green. I’d heard people talk about it before and really liking it so I thought why not give it a shot.

I first tried mixing Vitamineral Green into some water and stirring well in an attempt to drink it.  I figured I could manage it. I was dead wrong! It’s not very edible this way! So instead I’ve been playing around added it into smoothies instead of my regular baby spinach or baby greens or kale.

As soon as I started drinking this green smoothie I immediately felt more alert and had a very positive reaction to it. My body definitely enjoys getting more greens!

This is my favorite version that I came up with so far and it definitely tastes like a fruit smoothie with some greens in it, instead of a strong green drink so I think you’ll enjoy it.

Veronica’s Vitamineral Green Smoothie Recipe

Serves 1-2

Ingredients:

1/2 cup filtered water
2-3 large bananas (I use 3 so it’s filling)
1-2 heaping tablespoons of Vitamineral Green (I use 2, but you can work up to it)
1/2 cup frozen pineapple
1/2 cup frozen mango
1/2 cup frozen cherries or blueberries

Directions: 

Place ingredients in a Vitamix or blender in the order listed and blend on high for about a minute until smooth and creamy.

*Note: You can adjust the thickness of the smoothie as desired by added more or less water and banana. If desired you can add some ice and blend again.

Other Tips:

Make sure to add enough water and sweet fruits such as banana or mango to help mask the strong flavor of Vitamineral Green or other green powders.

You don’t have to use Vitamineral Green, you can use another green powder. Be careful as straight wheat grass or barley grass powder may be stronger in taste. Use a small amount of Vitamineral Green or green powders to start until you get used to them. Gradually increase until you use 1 – 2 heaping tablespoons per smoothie.

Try using 1 banana and 1 fresh mango and frozen berries.

Try 1 Hawaiian papaya 2 bananas and frozen berries.

Try 3 bananas, 1/2 cup almond milk and a scoop of cocoa powder.

 What’s your favorite green powder to use? How do you drink it?

Fat Free Vegan Whole Wheat Banana Blueberry Muffins

Oh my… these banana blueberry muffins are delicious. I don’t know about you but I just love the little pop of the blueberries when you bite into them! Mashed bananas (make sure they are very ripe so they mash well) are a great substitute for oil and fat in baked goods.  So I often use them for this purpose. Plus they add a nice natural sweetness as well which is nice.

I use stone ground whole wheat flour in this recipe, but you can use any whole grain flour that you like.  If you want a lighter muffin you can look for whole wheat pastry flour, it’s not as dense as regular whole wheat flour.  For gluten free versions you can use gluten free oat flour or an all purpose gluten free flour.  I still like to use whole grain flour as most gluten free flours are highly processed and more like white flour.

These muffins also freeze well so you can portion them out and save them for later. I love adding blueberries to baked goods and smoothies, but feel free to use any other berries you like instead.

For truly oil free muffins you can use silicone non stick muffin trays, or paper muffin cups. But I like to use the silicone trays so there is no paper waste (and they also get stuck and tear off the muffins.)

Free Vegan Whole Wheat Banana Blueberry Muffins

12 muffins

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups overripe (fully brown) mashed bananas (about 3 large, 4 medium)
1/3 cup almond milk (original unsweetened)
1/2 cup maple syrup (or 1/4-1/3 cup honey or agave as they are sweeter)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups whole wheat flour (or ww pastry flour or GF flour)
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ceylon cinnamon (or reg cinnamon)
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup frozen blueberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F/ 204 C.

2. Combine wet ingredients in a large size bowl and mix together.

3. Combine dry ingredients (except for blueberries) into a medium size bowl and whisk together.

4. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir just until combined. Gently fold in the blueberries.

5. Spoon batter into non-stick silicone muffin trays or a lightly oil spritzed muffin tin.

6. Bake for 25-30 minutes until a knife or toothpick in the middle comes out clean.

7. Allow to cool for 10 minutes and then turn out onto a cookie rack to completely.

8. Serve.

Additional Tips:

For a truly sugar free version you can try using more banana and omit the maple syrup/sweetener. For a whole food sweetener you can blend pitted dates with some water to make your own date syrup.

What’s your favorite way to use blueberries?

 

Fat Free Whole Wheat Vegan Banana Bread

Banana bread is one of my favorite childhood treats. I remember baking it many times and trying to pack as much banana flavor into it as possible. But traditional banana bread isn’t very healthy. It’s made with white flour, oil, eggs and sugar. It’s also not usually vegan.

So I wanted to make a fat free oil free vegan version of banana bread and this one uses stone ground whole wheat flour. Even though it’s oil free, it’s actually very moist and a very similar texture to regular banana bread. I was really impressed with this recipe.

Instead of sugar I’ve used maple syrup, but you can also use another liquid sweetener such as honey or agave if desired, but since they are sweeter than maple syrup you should use a little less.

The best banana bread is made with VERY ripe bananas, who’s skins have turned black and are very soft. If you use regular yellow or spotted bananas they won’t be sweet enough for this bread. When bananas ripen the natural starch inside is turned into sugar by enzymes, so it’s important to let your bananas ripen a lot before using them.

The key to slicing fresh banana bread is making sure you let it cool completely before slicing it. It makes it easier to cut and you have less chance of tearing it.

Then you can wrap it up or store it in air tight containers.

Scroll down for the recipe.

Fat Free Whole Wheat Vegan Banana Bread

 
1 loaf (12 slices)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups overripe mashed bananas (about 3 large, 4 medium)
1/3 cup almond milk
1/2 cup maple syrup (or 1/4-1/3 cup honey or agave because it’s sweeter)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups whole wheat flour (or other whole grain, or gluten free)
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ceylon cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Note: for a sweeter (more traditional) loaf you can add an additional 1/4 cup brown sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F/177 C.

2. Combine wet ingredients in a large size bowl and mix together.

3. Combine dry ingredients into a medium size bowl and whisk together.

4. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir just until combined. If you want to add some dry ingredients such as fruit or nuts gently fold them in now.

5. Pour batter into a non stick silicone loaf pan or a lightly oil spritzed metal loaf pan. Use a spatula to smooth out the top. Sprinkle additional cinnamon on top if desired.

6. Bake for 50-60 minutes until a knife in the middle comes out clean.

7. Allow to cool for 10 minutes and then turn out onto a cookie rack to completely before slicing.

8. Serve.

Additional Tips:

If you tend to have bananas that ripen and then turn black before you can use them, you can peel them and place them in a bag or in a plastic container in the freezer. Then take them out and thaw them for this recipe. It’s nice to have overripe bananas whenever you have an incling to make banana bread.

What’s your favorite addition to bake into banana bread? Walnuts? Raisins? Berries?

80/10/10 Recipe: Raw Vegan Strawberry Banana Green Smoothie

So last week I launched my new ebook ‘Simply Decadent Smoothies’ as part of my combo recipe package with ‘Savory Raw Dinner Recipes’ and ‘Comfort Soups To Keep You Warm’ and gave it away as a free bonus.

The combo package was incredibly popular, but a few of you wanted to know if you could get just my smoothie ebook if you had already purchased one or more of the other products before. So I just wanted to let you know that  ‘Simply Decadent Smoothies’ is now available at a special discounted price here.

Today I’m going to share with you a tasty new green smoothie recipe that is featured in the recipe ebook. Often people have a hard time finding enough green smoothie recipes that they like and that contain different greens so they are not just eating the same ones all the time like baby spinach.

So because I have a few greens growing in my garden (like leaf lettuce, Swiss chard, kale and spinach) I like to at least rotate through those ones and think up new combinations that work well while masking the taste of the greens with sweet fruit.

This green smoothie recipe features banana, mangoes, strawberries and red leaf lettuce and looks more of a burnt orange color than green for a typical green smoothie recipe.

So let’s check it out:

 

Raw Vegan Strawberry Banana Mango Green Smoothie

Serves 1

Ingredients:

2 ripe bananas
1 ripe mango (flesh only)
2 cups whole strawberries (fresh or frozen)
1 handful of red leaf lettuce or other mild green
1/2 cup of water

Directions:

Place ingredients into VitaMix or blender in order listed. Blend on medium speed and use the tamper (if necessary) to push the lettuce down until they are incorporated. (If you have a regular blender you may want to chop the lettuce first into smaller pieces.)

Garnish with a fresh strawberry and serve!

What do you think of this smoothie recipe? Have you ever used red leaf lettuce in a green smoothie?

For more delicious smoothie recipes check out:

Simply Decadent Smoothies

Over 50 raw fruit and green smoothie recipes

In this 46 page ebook, you will discover:

  • What tools are necessary to create the best tasting smoothies
  • How to tell if your fruit is ACTUALLY ripe
  • How to design your own fruit smoothies that taste great every time
  • How to design your own green smoothies that taste great every time
  • How to make your green smoothies more appetizing and attractive
  • 25 delicious raw and vegan fruit smoothie recipes
  • 26 delicious raw vegan green smoothie recipes

                           

                        Order Now