The acai berry is a super food from Brazil, and over the past year or so it has established itself as an important food group in Southern California. More often than not the acai berry comes in the form of an acai bowl. Essentially, it is blended into a smoothie-like consistency then it is topped with granola and fruit and served with a spoon rather than a straw (hence calling it a bowl, not a smoothie). I would estimate that I have an acai bowl about twice a week; it's perfect for an afternoon snack, breakfast, lunch, dinner, really any time I am feeling hungry, so I thought it was about time that I honor acai bowls in all their glory. And it only seems fitting that I am eating an acai bowl while typing this article.
A little background information for you -- Sambazon was the first company to introduce acai to America from Brazil as an acai café in Cardiff-by-the-sea in San Diego. When it first opened everyone was hesitant to believe in this new super food berry, it seemed almost made up. Why hadn’t we heard about it before? Slowly but surely for one reason or another it became popular and now it’s rarely doubted as a legit food. Additionally, the company made acai more accessible to everyone else by selling frozen packets of what they prepare in the café to a wide range of customers and other grocery stores. Even Whole Foods caught onto the trend and began selling the blended made-to-orders bowls in store as well made from frozen Sambazon packets. The reason I love acai bowls so much is because they are super healthy and good for you and yet it tastes so much like ice cream. It is so sweet and I would eat it all day long if I could, but they end up being really filling, which is why they are appropriate for meals as well. And as an added bonus acai bowls are so picturesque they are perfect for snapchat stories and are a great opportunity for an instagram that says I’m trendy and healthy!
Unfortunately, as soon as acai bowls became the talk of the town, another brand new super food came out called pitaya, which comes from dragonfruit. Pitaya is a bit more purple, but other than that is very similar to acai and claimed to be the healthier option because it contained less sugar and more antioxidants. And this is why I have a problem with pitaya and those who choose to eat pitaya over acai bowls; you can’t just discover a new super food right after acai worked so hard to prove its worth. Pitaya should definitely be considered second-rate acai because it just can’t truly compare to the original South American super food. It just seems unfair to me that pitaya attempted to steal acai’s thunder. At the end of the day the acai bowl will always be one of kind in my heart and pitaya will never live up to those standards and that’s all that matters.
