Annie Willis - The Acai Berry Miracle

Disclaimer

The contents of this book are not intended as medical advice. Discuss with a healthcare professional any medical concerns you may have, which prescription medications youre taking, and how acai can affect them. Acai can interfere with certain chemotherapy treatments, affect MRI scans, and increase bleeding and blood pressure when consumed in large quantities.

Copyright 2020 by Hollan Publishing

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Cover design credit: Kai Texel

Cover illustration credit: Getty Images

Interior photography: Photos used under license by Shutterstock.com

Print ISBN: 978-1-63158-619-4

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-63158-626-2

Printed in China

Table of Contents

Introduction

A re you ready to look and feel better than you ever have? Acai is here to help! This miraculous little fruit is brimming with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that can help you strengthen your immune system, get glowing skin, fend off free radicals, protect your brain, lower your cholesterol, and fight inflammation. But acai really shines when you use it as the foundation for other fresh, nourishing ingredients. A single smoothie or bowl becomes a mouthwatering multivitamin.

The Acai Berry Miracle shows you how to use these combinations to unlock acais full potential. You can balance your blood sugar, improve your digestion, protect your heart, enhance your eyesight, and even slim down with just a few small tweaks to your routine. And youll start seeing the incredible benefits of acai blends immediatelythey fill you up, boost your mood, and give you the energy you need to tackle your day.

When youre ready to harness the miracles of acai and take control of your health, youll start with the 10-Day Acai-Powered Wellness Challenge. This isnt a diet or a detox. This is a fully flexible framework that empowers you to choose how you want to feel.

During your wellness challenge, youll enjoy one smoothie and one bowl each day to let your body get used to superfood blends. Youll also develop a healthy routine that includes balanced meals, movement, and mindfulness. And youll do it all your way so that those good habits stick. Eat the foods you like, choose movement that makes you happy, and find some time for rest and relaxation. Sound good? It gets better!

The Acai Berry Miracle offers you 60 delicious recipes full of amazing combinations like chocolate-peanut butter and coconut-mangoall organized to help you feel your best. Whether you love a good vegan eatery or you hit the drive-thru every night, these acai smoothies and bowls will work for you. Plus, youll learn how to make your own healthful blends using your favorite ingredients.

If youre ready to feel happier, healthier, and more energized, dont wait another minute! Discover how acai can help in The Acai Berry Miracle.

PART 1

The Powerful Acai Berry

A cai has become a mainstream flavor thats synonymous with wellness. You almost expect to see it listed (usually alongside blueberry) in healthy options like yogurts and teas. But you can also find it promising to imbue its mysterious powers of good health in everything from chocolates to energy drinks. This magical berry seems to have popped up overnight and taken over grocery stores everywhere.

But theres nothing mysterious or magical about acaiits just a humble little fruit thats jam-packed with healthful vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Although it only made its way to the United States in the early 2000s, acai has been a nutritious staple of its native countries for centuries. To the generations who grew up with it, eating acai is like enjoying a handful of blueberries.

If youre in the States, though, youre not likely to find acai in your local produce aisle. Acai is highly perishable and must be processed and frozen within hours of picking. Unless you have a tropical greenhouse in your backyard, youre most likely to find acai as a frozen puree or freeze-dried powder.

No matter what form you find it in, acai will still deliver its miraculous nutritional benefits. You can enjoy more energy, a stronger immune system, better digestion, improved brain function, lower cholesterol, glowing skin, and more. Let acai help you take control of your health and get ready to feel amazing!

Acai 101

First things firsthow on earth do you say it? Acai is pronounced ah-sigh-EE. This deep purple fruit is native to tropical Central and South America, and the name is a Portuguese adaptation of the indigenous word for it. (Thats why youll often see it written as aa .) Youll find acai berries on the aa palm, or Euterpe oleracea , a tree that can grow up to 100 feet tall, with leaves up to 10 feet long. The berries grow in clusters on dense branches beneath the leaves, with each branch bearing between 500 and 900 fruits.

But acai berries arent berries at alltheyre drupes (fruits that have pits, like cherries and apricots). Although they look like blueberries, the edible portion of acai is just a thin outer layer over a pit that generally takes up 80 percent of the fruit. And the taste is nothing like a sweet, juicy, ripe blueberry, either. Instead, its often described as something between a blackberry and dark chocolate. (And if you think that sounds earthy and a little bitter, youre right. Often, youll find this low-sugar fruit mixed with something sweeter.)

As you might imagine, harvesting acai berries from their giant palms is a challenge. For centuries, locals have been climbing the trees in bare feet, with no equipment, and harvesting 10-pound branches of berries by hand. And thats exactly how its done today. Because acai is so highly perishable, its quickly loaded into hand-woven baskets and transported by boats to processing plants. Within hours, the berries are washed, pureed, and frozen for packing and shipping all over the world.

Acai might be the newest member of the superfood group here in North America, but people in Central and South America have understood its powerful benefits since the beginning. From its legendary origins to its voyage north, acais place in the superfood lineup has only become clearer and more compelling.