What’s the only thing better than a tasty açai bowl for breakfast? An açai bowl that helps you glow inside and out!
Açai Benefits
The açai berry is a Brazilian superfruit known for its impressive health benefits (and its rich, delicious flavor—finally a health food that actually tastes good!). Açai benefits include being extremely high in antioxidants, which help fight free radicals in the body that can otherwise cause serious diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer; possibly improving cholesterol levels by lowering total and LDL cholesterol; and being nutrient-dense. Unlike most fruits, açai berries are low in sugar and relatively high in healthy fats. They also contain Vitamin A, Vitamin E, calcium, zinc, magnesium, potassium, iron, and other important trace minerals.
Açai’s most renowned benefit is its antioxidant power, which it gets from primarily from the powerful plant compounds anthocyanins. These antioxidant flavonoids give açai berries their deep purple color and their competitive edge when it comes to comparisons with other superfruits like blueberries and cranberries. Blueberries also contain anthocyanins, but pale in comparison to this Brazilian staple, with only half the antioxidants of açai berries.
Also known as the “Beauty Berry,” açai benefits don’t end with just your internal health; Brazilians have used the açai berry for skin remedies as well! You can enjoy the açai berry benefits for skin by both eating the fruit regularly and applying potent extracts of its plant compounds topically through enriched skin care products.
Here’s a quick breakdown of how açai can help your skin:
Açai Berry Benefits for Skin:
- Açai berries have anti-aging properties, which they owe again to their antioxidant content. Neutralizing free radicals in the body not only means added protection against disease, it also means delaying the skin’s visible signs of aging. Açai berries know that you’re still far too young for crow’s feet and fine lines!
- Açai has also been found to be one of the best ingredients for remedying hyperpigmentation. When applied topically, açai berries have been known to help lighten and heal dark spots, acne scars, and other blemishes.
- These impressive berries also have anti-inflammatory properties, making them a great food to include in your diet for a number of reasons, not least of which is helping control acne and breakouts.
- Açai masks and pastes make great moisturizers as well, since açai’s antioxidants play a key role in maintaining skin hydration and repairing sun damage.
Açai Bowl Recipes for Skin Like a Brazilian Model’s
Healthy, glowing skin starts on the inside with a good, nutritious diet. We’ve covered the ways açai berries benefit your skin, so now let’s explore the best recipes for maximizing açai’s benefits for skin through refreshing, tasty, and oh-so-stunning açai bowls.
Glow-Up Açai Smoothie Bowl
This recipe makes its rounds all over Instagram for a reason—once it’s prepped with all of its toppings, it becomes a delicious work of art! The blueberries add an extra boost of antioxidants, while the goji berry topping contributes a high amount of Vitamin C, which can help firm and tighten your skin. Chia seeds are a quick and easy way to get necessary omega-3 fatty acids, which can give your skin the iconic “chia seed glow.” Try making it for yourself!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup frozen açai berries
- 1 frozen banana
- ½ cup frozen blueberries
- ½ to 1 cup almond milk
- 1 cup ice
Toppings:
- Dried goji berries
- Chia seeds
- Chopped raw almonds
- Cacao nibs
- Kiwi, sliced (or substitute with a preferred fruit)
Directions:
- Combine all main ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. The consistency should be somewhere between frozen yogurt and a traditional smoothie; adjust amount of almond milk and ice to achieve your preferred consistency.
- Pour blended ingredients into a bowl and add toppings to your taste.
Clarity Açai Bowl
If you frequently struggle with breakouts, then try incorporating this berry-forward açai bowl recipe into your repertoire. As previously mentioned, berries are rich in antioxidants, but many berries also contribute to clearer as well as younger-looking skin. Raspberries are potent anti-inflammatories, so they can reduce the swelling and irritation of breakouts, while strawberries’ collagen-boosting qualities lead to firmer and smoother skin.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup frozen açai berries
- 1 banana
- ½ frozen raspberries
- ½ frozen blueberries
- 1 cup almond milk
Toppings:
- ½ banana, sliced
- ¼ cup fresh blueberries
- ¼ cup fresh raspberries
- Strawberries, sliced
- ¼ cup gluten-free granola
- Raw honey as optional drizzle
Directions:
- Combine all main ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. For the right consistency, you may need more almond milk to balance out the frozen ingredients.
- Pour blended ingredients into a bowl and add your desired amount of toppings.
Brazilian Breakfast Açai Bowl
If you want to look like a Brazilian supermodel, start eating like one! This açai bowl recipe, with all of its customizability, is easy to find at any beach or juice bar in Brazil, but it’s easy to make at home too!
Ingredients:
- 1 frozen banana
- 1-2 packets frozen açai pulp
- ¼ cup coconut water (or substitute with almond milk for a creamier texture and taste)
- 5 teaspoons agave syrup (or substitute with raw honey)
Toppings:
- 1 handful granola
- Chia seeds
- Hemp seeds
- Shredded unsweetened coconut
- Passion fruit (pitaya), sliced (or substitute with a fruit of your preference)
Directions:
- Combine all main ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. If you substitute coconut water with almond milk, you may need approximately ½ cup to reach the ideal consistency.
- Pour blended ingredients into a bowl and complete with toppings.
Sunrise Açai Bowl
When you combine açai and raspberries with mango, you have a recipe for radiant skin! Mangoes are rich in Vitamin C, A, and E, which are all key in creating and maintaining smooth, youthful skin. (Plus, it’s hard to find a tastier trio!)
Ingredients:
- 1 cup frozen mango
- 1 cup frozen açai berries
- 1 frozen banana
- 1 cup orange juice
Raspberry sauce:
- 1 cup raspberries
- 1-2 tbsp maple syrup, to taste
Toppings:
- Cacao nibs
- Fresh mint leaves
- Chia seeds
- Fresh raspberries
Directions:
- Make the raspberry sauce first by using a blender to blend the raspberries with the maple syrup, adjusting the amount of maple syrup for your desired sweetness. Set the raspberry sauce aside in a small bowl or liquid measuring cup.
- Blend the main ingredients together until smooth and thick.
- Pour the blending ingredients into a bowl and drizzle your desired amount of raspberry sauce on top.
- Complete the bowl with desired toppings.
Super Green Açai Beauty Bowl
This açai bowl recipe is not only packed with all the nutrients found in leafy greens, but is also a great source of essential amino acids (the building blocks of proteins), while still being entirely vegan! Spirulina, a blue-green algae that is possibly the most nutritious food on the planet, gives this bowl its namesake green color. It provides all of the amino acids your body needs, making it an even better, easily digestible protein source than eggs. For this reason, our super green bowl is also a beauty bowl; amino acids ensure your skin cells can produce collagen and elastin, keeping your face firm, smooth, and young.
Ingredients:
- 1 packet frozen açai pulp
- ½ cup fresh spinach
- 1 ½ cup fresh baby kale
- 1 banana
- ¼ tsp of spirulina powder (found in most health food stores)
- ½ cup almond milk
Toppings:
- ½ banana, sliced
- ¼ cup gluten-free granola
- Shredded unsweetened coconut
- Raw honey as optional drizzle
Directions:
- Combine all main ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. Stop to scrape down sides of the blender as needed to ensure all of the spirulina is incorporated.
- Spirulina has a distinct algae-flavor that should be mostly undetectable when well-balanced in an açai bowl. If you find the spirulina is still too overpowering, blend in an additional ½ - 1 banana to taste and add a drizzle of raw honey.
- Pour the blended ingredients into a bowl and add desired toppings.
The best part about açai bowl recipes is that you can get as creative as you want, while still reaping the benefits of açai berries for your skin. Experiment with the recipes above to create an açai bowl that is entirely your own!
Get the Açai Berry Benefits for Skin Faster
Embracing açai berries and bowls as a regular part of your diet is one good way to boost your skin’s health, but açai’s benefits for your skin don’t have to end there. Brazilian women have used açai berries as a natural, at-home skin care remedy for decades, and recently açai berries and their extracts have been included in many luxury and professional skin care products.
See the magic of the Brazilian “beauty berry” for yourself! Try these recipes or start using a potent, topical açai skin serum like the Açai Triple Stem Cell Complex Sleep Mask from BRZLNSKIN.
