I Love Acai Berry

Can I Find Acai Berry at Loblaws?

2009-09-24T08:12:00.000-07:00

Ia acai berry available at Loblaws? Is acai berry sold at Whole Foods? Do they stock acai berry at the Safeway or Costco? I hear these questions all the time. Barely a few short months ago I would have had to answer in the negative. However, the answer has changed. Acai berry products have flooded the markets. One year ago it was difficult for me to find acai but now it is readily available in juice form, concentrate form and even acai capsule form.

I have also noticed that the price point of acai products has been reduced. Admittedly, acai was very expensive 12 months ago. It is now fairly affordable and I have even seen acai berry pills on sale at Shoppers Drug Mart.

Does this mean that the entire populace is able to have easy access to and enjoy the many health benefits of acai berry? Sadly, I don't think so. I fear that this is an example of marketing hype. Business has done market research and the market research has told them that acai is sexy and acai sells and acai will move their products off the shelves. In the interests of making lots of money and not in the interests of promoting the health of the consumer, food manufacturers have added a sprinkle of acai to various products.

The health benefits of acai berry are plentiful. In my opinion, everyone would enjoy better health if they were to include acai into their regular diet. However, adding, a an acai juice blend that is available at Loblaws is not going to do much for your health than other fruit juices. Be wary of acai marketing hype.

If you really want to enjoy the health benefits of acai but the real stuff. Go to your local health food store and ask someone who is knowledgeable about acai. Be prepared to pay a premium price. Acai berry concentrate is expensive but it lasts a long time.

So the answer is yes, you can buy acai berry at Loblaws and you can buy acai berry at Safeway. But you shouldn't.

Acai Berry Recipes

2009-06-22T16:01:00.000-07:00

Rachel Ray acai berry recipes are impossible to find. Every body tells me that she did a show focusing on these recipes but I can't find mention of it. After searching off and on over a number of weeks I gave up searching but I hadn't given up hope. I decided to experiment in my own kitchen while sending out messages in cyber land asking others for Rachel Ray acai berry recipes.

With respect to acai ingedients there are essentially 4 different things I can use. They are as follows:
1. pure acai berry juice,
2. acai berry juice blends,
3. flash frozen acai berry pulp;and
4. acai berry flakes.

The acai berry juice blends are the least expensive ingredient so I limited my initial experimentation to the juice blends.

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 while looking at real estate 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.

I cut the chicken breast into strips and pour acai juice and some extra virgin cold pressed olive oil over the pieces. In an effort to cut the sweetness, I added some sea salt and crushed capers. The result was interesting and got fairly good reviews. I didn't like it as much as my stand by marinades so I won't be likely to repeat this recipe. I found that it had a bit of a mole taste. This would work for people who enjoy the chocolatey flavour of mole. Also I ended up tossing much of the acai goodness down the drain which entirely defeats the health benefits of acai berry juice. Strike two. Additionally and lastly, acai is more expensive than lime juice or orange juice so it was a slightly expensive acai berry recipe experiment.

I thought to myself, surely Rachel Ray would use acai more sensibly! The next recipe I tried was acai frozen yogurt and it was a much bigger success. I added acai berry juice to plain low fat yogurt. I poured the mixture into a screened drainer lined with two layers of cheese cloth. I then left the mixture in the fridge to drip into a bowl for 24 hours. After 24 hours the acai yogurt mixture was the texture of cream cheese. It was perfect to spread on bagels or crackers at this point.

I peeled 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 and chocolate 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.

|The next recipe I tried was also a dessert. I reduced an acai berry juice blend by two thirds. I used the remaining acai syrup in a bananna split. The results were split. I thought it was really good but the rest of my family said the result was not worth the effort. It also turned out to ber a fairly pricey syrup. At times like now when fresh berries are easy to come by this acai berry recipe is not worth it.

The last and most obvious recipe was an acai berry smoothie. I added ice, two frozen bananas, some plain low fat yogurt, and 1.5 cups of acai berry juice to the blender. Predictably, it was excellent. Smoothie recipes are almost fool proof. Don't forget to add a little wheat germ or flax meal to smoothies to add some invisible protein and fibre to your smoothie recipes.

With a little imagination acai can be incorporated into many different recipes. Without much thought I was able to create a main course, desert and a smoothie. Although Rachel Ray acai berry recipes do not seem to currently exist, I will continue looking and in the meantime I will be creating and writing about my own recipes.

Please add a comment to this blog if you have any of your own acai berry recipes you would like to share.

Is There an Oprah Acai Berry Scam?

2009-05-20T08:17:00.000-07:00

Acai berry is one of the most nutritious and powerful anti-aging foods in the world! As we already know, Açaí berries are packed with healthy things like antioxidants and essential fatty acids. Oprah featured acai on her show at least two times with her well known guests doctors, Dr. Perricone and Dr. Oz.

Antioxidants in acai keep skin relaxed and are said to reverse signs of aging by actually reducing wrinkle lines. Acai berries also contain healthy fats and dietary fiber to help promote cardiovascular health, digestive health, and immune health. Acai berries have also been proven to fight against the number one killer, heart disease. All of these health benefits have been clinically established.

Acai Slim
Complex™

Furthermore, we know that the fatty acid content in acai berry is much like that in olive oil and flax oil. Those two types of oils are getting more and more press recently praising their numerous health benefits. By helping keep our cell membrane soft, supple, and healthy all things too numerous to mention function more efficiently. For example, the oleic acid found in acai helps omega-3 rich oils enter our the cell membranes. High insulin levels can lead to inflammation which leads to premature aging. It was the element of acai, Oprah found most interesting.

I know my health will be enhanced by adding acai berry to my diet. So, you ask, where is the scam? The scam is perpetrated by some unscrupulous dealer of acai on the internet. The world wide web is penetrated with web sites promoting acai berry Oprah says it's wonderful!! These sites include a picture of Oprah and acai berry. The sites include purportedly genuine testimonials from people who have enjoyed increased health and remarkable weight loss as a result of taking of acai. This is all true for the most part or at least could be true. The problems comes into play from the websites that offer free trials of acai.

There have been hundreds of people complaining, that within a few days of requesting a free trial offer they are being billed for a full month supply. It is difficult to reverse these charges. The steps needed to cancel ongoing acai orders is arduous. These companies don't want you to cancel.

Don't be afraid to experience the health benefits of the acai berry. Oprah sure does. Just don't request a free trial offer of acai berry without expecting some sort of headache.

Check here for more info on acai complaints.

Is Rachel Ray an Acai Berry Fan - You Be The Judge

2009-02-12T23:38:00.000-08:00

You may not know about Acai Berry but Rachel Ray is raving about this little Amazon berry. It has also been featured on the Oprah show. It is one of the 10 superfoods promoted by Dr Perricone. Studies have shown that this little berry is one of the most nutritious and powerful foods in the world! Acai berries are the high-energy berry of a special Amazon palm tree. Harvested only in the rain forests of Brazil, acai berry tastes like a delicious blend of berries and chocolate. Acai berry is packed full of amino acids, antioxidants, and essential fatty acids. Although acai berry may not yet be available in your local supermarket, you can find it in several health food and gourmet stores, and tons of diet pills sites have it listed as a natural supplement. So why is is there so much Rachel Ray Acai Berry excitement?

Acai Berry
Extract 5:1

One of the benefits of Acai is that it can reverse signs of aging. A potent mixture of antioxidants that can help combat premature aging including 10 times more antioxidants than red grapes and 10 to 30 times then the proven benefits of red wine. These antioxidants keep your skin soft and smooth and supple and can actually eliminate some pre-existing wrinkles.

Acai also contains an effective combination of dietary fiber, monounsaturated (healthy) fats, and phytosterols to help promote cardiovascular and digestive health. Phytosterols from plant sources have been found to be beneficial in treating many conditions, such as the immune system deficiency, arthritis and high cholesterol. The plant sterols compete for absorption sites with those of cholesterol (an animal sterol), they thus reduce the amount of cholesterol absorbed by the body. Total and LDL (low-density lipid) cholesterol levels can be reduced by the consumption of phytosterols.

Acai berries also boast an amino acid complex which acts in conjunction with minerals to promote proper muscle growth and health. This is important to anyone trying to increase their muscle mass or anyone trying to prevent muscles wasting. This may mean that the acai berry should be added to the list of burn the fat
supplements.

The fatty acid content in açaí berry resembles that of olive oil and other healthy oils such as canola and grapeseed. It is also rich in monounsaturated oleic acid. Oleic acid is healthy for a variety of reasons. It helps omega-3 rich oils such as fish oils penetrate membranes of our cells; together they help make cell membranes more supple and flexible. By keeping our cell membranes supple, neurotransmitter and insulin receptors and hormones function more efficiently. This is vitally important as high insulin levels create an inflammatory state, and as we know, inflammation causes unwanted and unnecessary aging. From a health standpoint, oleic acid exhibits further benefits as it has been shown to retard the development of heart disease.

The oleic acid found in acai berry is used in many new and exciting medications. For example, Lorenzo’s Oil, made famous in a movie of the same name, uses oleic acid. The use of oleic acid in Lorenzo’s oil slows the onset of ALD which is a condition that causes symptoms similar to those seen in MS patients. Although not a complete cure, Lorenzo's oil delays the development of ALD in those boys who do not yet show overt signs of the disease..

The health benefits of acai are too good to miss. You owe it to yourself to take advantage of these health benefits. Listen to Rachel Ray and make acai berry a part of your life..

I Love Acai Berry

2008-12-29T16:32:00.000-08:00

Well, I finally have tried Acai Berry. I've been hearing about it for weeks now, and thought I should try it for myself. The promoters of this little health kick are promoting it a bit like a cult though, that is the only negative thing that I've seen about the Acai Berry phenomenon to date.

So, why, you ask, did I finally decide I had to go out and get some Acai Berry? To tell the truth, I'm not the healthiest eater ... a perfect snack for me is warmed up coffee and a pack of Oreos (I get these cute little packages of 4 Oreos to a package. So I am thinking to myself that I could probably use a little boost when it comes to vitamins, fresh fruit, antioxidants ... you know, all the healthy stuff.

On top of the reports that it is a "super food" and 10 times better than blueberries for antioxidant powers, mostly I wanted to see if the reports about it helping your energy levels would measure up. The oreo diet leaves a little to be desired in the stamina department.

So, I will give it a week, and then I'll be back to let you know how I make out. By then I should know if any of the claims live up to the hype. Although the 'miracle weight loss supplement' claim will probably take me a little longer than a week to prove or disprove.