When it comes to summer vacation, the perfect addition to a warm day at the park, beach, pool, or even stretched out on your couch watching Netflix is a nice, cool, and delicious sweet treat. With the next three months out of school, there is plenty of time to experiment with new recipes. When your typical treats get boring or you want to explore your creativity in the kitchen, try making a homemade acai bowl! Acai are berries that pack a healthy dose of nutrients and vitamins. These bowls have a smooth consistency like a smoothie, but are thicker. Acai bowls are super easy to make and end up looking beautiful with all your toppings. All you need is a blender and a store-bought unsweetened frozen acai fruit package. Follow these basic steps and this recipe will come together in a little under ten minutes.

Ingredients:

(BASE)

*one frozen ripe banana

*one frozen acai package

*a half cup of frozen mixed berries

*a cup of milk (dairy or non-dairy)

(TOPPINGS)

*a half cup of granola

*one half of a fresh banana

*strawberries

*honey

Steps:

1.       Prep and cut all your topping ingredients first, so when you finish blending the base it will not melt as much, and you will be ready to assemble.
2.       Place the acai package, frozen banana, mixed berries, and milk in a blender and combine the ingredients. (If you do not have a high-speed blender, thaw the acai package before putting it in the blender.)
3.       When the acai mixture has a thick consistency, pour the contents into a bowl.
4.       Top off the bowl with the cut banana, strawberries, granola, and a drizzle of honey.

 When you are choosing your toppings, there are a few key components that can help to make a better bowl. Try and choose a crunchy, sweet, and fresh ingredient to add. For example, put granola, nuts or seeds for crunch, drizzle honey or maple syrup for sweetness, and fruit for freshness.

 If you cannot get enough of ice cream, instead of buying pints of predetermined flavors, try creating your own at home! Banana ice cream is a simple, nutritious, and delicious way to make ice cream without fancy equipment or ingredients. Frozen bananas are the base of the recipe but they are inexpensive, so you will be able to make ice cream all summer long. Bananas are high in potassium, and their natural sweetness increases when they ripen. Using ripe bananas is very important so you get the sweetness of  traditional ice cream. The browner the banana, the better. What is great about making ice cream at home is that you can customize your flavors, add a variety of different ingredients, and is a healthier alternative to traditional ice cream. Feel free to add any nuts, candy, chocolate, pretzels, or fruit to your homemade ice cream.

Ingredients:

*two sliced frozen ripe bananas

*one tsp of vanilla extract

*one-fourth cup of milk

Steps:

1.       Blend the frozen bananas, vanilla, and milk in a blender or food processor.
2.       Add ingredients of your choice to mix in during this step. (fruit, chocolate, nuts, etc.)
3.       Pour the banana mixture in a wide container and place in the freezer for one hour.
4.       Take an ice cream scooper and scoop out your desired scoops into a bowl.

 Both recipes would make a perfect snack or dessert to share with friends or family. Enjoy summer with these easy treats, and stay tuned for more recipes coming next year with, The Brook’s Cook!