By The Christmas cop has arrived in our house. It happens every year. I get a little excited to break out the snowmen and twinkly lights and he’s all “honor the bird” and won’t let me touch the xmas supplies until we’re eating day-after-Thanksgiving sandwiches. Humbug.
Even though I have to hold off on all Christmas excitement and Michael Buble holiday music, I don’t mind taking my time with the Thanksgiving-esque flavors. Like pumpkin. It’s not going away anytime soon.
I decided to pumpkin-ify one of my favorite foods: the acai bowl.
I wasn’t quite sure if the flavors would work, but it does. It definitely works.
When I poured it out of the blender to have a little taste, my inner Goddess did a backflip and grabbed her spoon. (PS Speaking of inner goddesses, HAVE YOU SEEN THE 50 SHADES OF GREY TRAILER? I thought the books were terrible, but I have to say the temperature in the room increased 30 degrees while watching the trailer. One of the very few instances where movie > book, and I haven’t even seen the movie yet.)
While the smoothie base is delicious, what takes it over the top is this cranberry crunch. Lightly sweetened with honey, it’s a crispy topping to add a little extra holiday flair.
This would be a fun Thanksgiving breakfast option, or a perfect snack when you’re looking for a treat in between sneaking sparkly snowmen out of the garage….
Let me know if you give it a try! <3
Pumpkin acai bowl with cranberry crunch
A holiday twist on the class acai bowl! This is gluten-free, vegan and extremely fast to put together.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 30
Scale
Ingredients
For cranberry crunch
- 1/2 cup raw slivered almonds
- 1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
- 1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
- 1/2 cup dried unsweetened cranberries
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil (liquid)
- pinch of nutmeg
- pinch of sea salt
For one acai bowl
- 1 frozen acai pack serving
- 1/3–1/2 cup cooked pure pumpkin puree (depending on how pumpkin-y you want it)
- Scant 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 cup milk of choice
- Optional: Stevia, honey or maple syrup to sweeten
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees and grease a standard cookie sheet with olive or coconut oil.
- 2. In a large bowl, combine all crunch ingredients and stir well.
- 3. Spread the crunch ingredients onto the cookie sheet in an even layer. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until fragrant and toasted, flipping once halfway through. Let cool completely before storing in a covered container. You can also stir in some chocolate chips after cooling if you’d like!
- 4. To make your acai bowl, add the acai pack, milk, pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice and optional sweetener to a blender. Blend on high until smooth.
- 5. To serve, pour the acai base into a bowl and top with the cranberry crumble.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6
xoxo
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