I\’m a big fan of Rachel Ray, and when she had the show where she talked about acai berry, I got very excited. The only thing I thought was missing was more acai berry recipes from Rachael Ray. So I thought that I might do some experimenting of my own and come up with a few new recipes. I\’m not a professional chef or anything, but I do have fairly good luck with modifying existing recipes and having pretty good results.
The first thing I tried was an acai berry juice marinade on chicken breast. This is just a variation of an orange juice and white pepper marinade I picked up in Nicaragua or the lime juice and soy marinade I had been using for years. I should note that I always marinade for at least six hours as any less time doesn\’t do much for me.
First I cut the chicken into strips and added a mixture of olive oil and acai juice. Then I thought that would be too sweet on its own so I added some capers, and finished by adding sea salt. If I leave the marinade on the chicken in the fridge for at least a day, I find that along with extra flavor, the salt will tenderize the chicken. I made the marinade in the morning, and we barbequed the chicken for supper that night. It turned out ok, although I still prefer my other versions better. I figure that it might not be the best use of the acai since a lot of the marinade is lost, making this a fairly expensive marinade where a lot of the healthy acai is wasted.
I thought that surely I could come up with something that tasted better and was better for you. So the next recipe I came up with was a dip. I must say that it turned out a bit better than the chicken experiment. I used a whole container of plain non-fat yogurt as the base. I mixed in acai berry juice, about 1/3 as much as the yogurt, and mixed this well. I think if you wanted to use an acai shake or smoothy drink, that would work just as well. Then I pour this into a strainer lined with 2 sheets of cheese cloth, place this over a bowl, and leave in the fridge for 24 hours. At the end of 24 hours all the liquid will have drained off, leaving you with a cream cheese consistency mixture.
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.
After all my experimenting with acai berry I found that there are quite a few different recipe ideas that are possible, making it easier to enjoy the health benefits of acai without getting bored of the same old drink every time. I have to thank Rachel Ray for inspiring me to create these recipes. Hopefully you enjoy them, and maybe you\’ll even come up with your own recipes.
To find more about recipes for acai berry , visit http://iloveacaiberry.blogspot.com.
Tags: acai berry, diet, health food, health supplements, nutrition, Recipes, supplements, weight loss
