Juice Comparison

Rachel Ray acai berry recipes are hard to find. After searching off and on for a number of days I gave up searching but I hadn’t given up hope. I decided to experiment in my own kitchen. Often some of my favorite recipes are those I’ve stumbled across when I’ve had to switch one ingredient for another in a pinch.

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 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.

First I cut the chicken into strips and added a mixture of olive oil and acai juice. Then I thought that would be too sweet on its own so I added some capers, and finished by adding sea salt. If I leave the marinade on the chicken in the fridge for at least a day, I find that along with extra flavor, the salt will tenderize the chicken. I made the marinade in the morning, and we barbequed the chicken for supper that night. It turned out ok, although I still prefer my other versions better. I figure that it might not be the best use of the acai since a lot of the marinade is lost, making this a fairly expensive marinade where a lot of the healthy acai is wasted.

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 yogurt was the texture of cream cheese. It was perfect to spread on bagels or crackers at this point.

I pealed 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 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.

Finally I tried my own version of the classic fruit recipe – the smoothie. For my version I added the following to a blender: 3 ice cubes, 1 frozen banana, 1/2 cup low fat yogurt, and 1/2 cup acai berry juice. Blend this on high until the ice has been blended and the whole thing is smooth. Freezing the banana beforehand ( I cut it in chunks before I freeze it) makes this drink extra thick and creamy. If you want to add some additional healthy ingredients, add some wheat germ or flax meal. Both add some fiber and a nice nutty flavor.

After all my experimenting with acai berry I found that there are quite a few different recipe ideas that are possible, making it easier to enjoy the health benefits of acai without getting bored of the same old drink every time. I have to thank Rachel Ray for inspiring me to create these recipes. Hopefully you enjoy them, and maybe you’ll even come up with your own recipes.

Visit this great site about acai berry diets to read more about a recipe for acai berry.