After watching the Rachel Ray show where she talked about acai berry, I started doing some searching to try and find some recipes for acai berry. I just couldn't seem to find anything that I thought was worthwhile, so instead of giving up I decided to see if I could come up with my own recipes. I have had pretty good luck in the past experimenting with food and coming up with my own versions of things.
First I wanted to make a marinade for chicken that I would then bar-b-que. I have a great citrus (lime, orange and sour orange) and white pepper marinade that I learned when I stayed in Nicaragua for a while. Another variation of that is my own lime juice, soy, and Bragg recipe. So I thought that instead of the citrus, I might be able to use acai to add a different flavor.
To make my marinated barbeque chicken I always start with chicken breasts cut up into strips. This makes my chicken turn out more or less like chicken satay, but without the peanut sauce. I threw the chicken in a Tupperware, added olive oil and acai berry juice, and to balance the acai sweetness, I decided to try some capers in the mix. I finished the marinade by adding sea salt to tenderize the meat. If you do add salt make sure to marinate your meat for a minimum of 6 hours, otherwise the salt will just end up drawing the juices out of your meat and you'll have tough dry chicken. By suppertime my chicken was ready to cook. As it turns out, it was quite tasty - similar to a wine marinade. I don't think I have the recipe quite right yet though, because my citrus chicken is still my favorite. Plus, it seems that a lot of the expensive acai is wasted in the marinade, instead of actually eating it.
So my second recipe that I came up with actually turned out a lot better. It maintains all the health benefits of acai as well, so that is good. Start with a container of plain yogurt. You can use low fat if you want to reduce the calorie and fat levels of this dish. Add one cup of some sort of acai drink - either juice or a pre-mixed smoothie, and mix well. Then take this and put it in a strainer with 2 layers of cheese cloth and set it over a dish to drain. Let this sit in the fridge for 24 hours to allow all the liquid to drain off.
I pealed the acai/yogurt mixture off the cheese cloth and into some Tupperware. I then froze the mixture for 8 hours. It was delicious! It was tangy from the yogurt and had the rich berry taste of acai. The amount of freezing depends on how you like to have your frozen yogurt. I prefer it softer rather than harder and therefore 8 hours worked well for me.
Finally I tried my own version of the classic fruit recipe - the smoothie. For my version I added the following to a blender: 3 ice cubes, 1 frozen banana, 1/2 cup low fat yogurt, and 1/2 cup acai berry juice. Blend this on high until the ice has been blended and the whole thing is smooth. Freezing the banana beforehand ( I cut it in chunks before I freeze it) makes this drink extra thick and creamy. If you want to add some additional healthy ingredients, add some wheat germ or flax meal. Both add some fiber and a nice nutty flavor.
So after all my experimenting with acai berry recipes, I am pretty happy with the ones that I came up with. I'm sure that I'll do some more versions and will probably come up with a few more that I can use to keep me from getting bored of the same acai drink every day. I just wish that Rachel Ray would have another show about acai berry, because I'm sure that she could come up with some pretty delicious acai berry recipes. - 31843
First I wanted to make a marinade for chicken that I would then bar-b-que. I have a great citrus (lime, orange and sour orange) and white pepper marinade that I learned when I stayed in Nicaragua for a while. Another variation of that is my own lime juice, soy, and Bragg recipe. So I thought that instead of the citrus, I might be able to use acai to add a different flavor.
To make my marinated barbeque chicken I always start with chicken breasts cut up into strips. This makes my chicken turn out more or less like chicken satay, but without the peanut sauce. I threw the chicken in a Tupperware, added olive oil and acai berry juice, and to balance the acai sweetness, I decided to try some capers in the mix. I finished the marinade by adding sea salt to tenderize the meat. If you do add salt make sure to marinate your meat for a minimum of 6 hours, otherwise the salt will just end up drawing the juices out of your meat and you'll have tough dry chicken. By suppertime my chicken was ready to cook. As it turns out, it was quite tasty - similar to a wine marinade. I don't think I have the recipe quite right yet though, because my citrus chicken is still my favorite. Plus, it seems that a lot of the expensive acai is wasted in the marinade, instead of actually eating it.
So my second recipe that I came up with actually turned out a lot better. It maintains all the health benefits of acai as well, so that is good. Start with a container of plain yogurt. You can use low fat if you want to reduce the calorie and fat levels of this dish. Add one cup of some sort of acai drink - either juice or a pre-mixed smoothie, and mix well. Then take this and put it in a strainer with 2 layers of cheese cloth and set it over a dish to drain. Let this sit in the fridge for 24 hours to allow all the liquid to drain off.
I pealed the acai/yogurt mixture off the cheese cloth and into some Tupperware. I then froze the mixture for 8 hours. It was delicious! It was tangy from the yogurt and had the rich berry taste of acai. The amount of freezing depends on how you like to have your frozen yogurt. I prefer it softer rather than harder and therefore 8 hours worked well for me.
Finally I tried my own version of the classic fruit recipe - the smoothie. For my version I added the following to a blender: 3 ice cubes, 1 frozen banana, 1/2 cup low fat yogurt, and 1/2 cup acai berry juice. Blend this on high until the ice has been blended and the whole thing is smooth. Freezing the banana beforehand ( I cut it in chunks before I freeze it) makes this drink extra thick and creamy. If you want to add some additional healthy ingredients, add some wheat germ or flax meal. Both add some fiber and a nice nutty flavor.
So after all my experimenting with acai berry recipes, I am pretty happy with the ones that I came up with. I'm sure that I'll do some more versions and will probably come up with a few more that I can use to keep me from getting bored of the same acai drink every day. I just wish that Rachel Ray would have another show about acai berry, because I'm sure that she could come up with some pretty delicious acai berry recipes. - 31843
