Açaí Beet Bowls

Friends! I’m a little nervous about autumn coming. I’m not yet used to summer. So let’s drag the arse out of it, shall we?

This summer breakfast should do the trick. Plus, we get to sneak veggies into a dish and no one will know. It’s one of my favourite hobbies.

Açaí first arrived in Ireland 15 years ago, but didn’t take off. Back then, it was in smoothies with raw cacao (remember that?) and Himalayan pink salt. But it was also mid financial crash, and so pricey açaí smoothies received the P45 too.

Today, 2025, trendy cafe menus from Mullingar to Middleton are now under siege with açaí bowls. This frozen berry brekkie has become totemic of a deliciously bonked-up, hipster lifestyle. And like iron filings to a magnet, I am all over it!

So what's all the fuss about?

The açaí berry is home to lots of anthocyanins which readers of this Substack will recognise as specially commissioned inflammation assassins. We like. Inflammation can be anything from headaches to hangovers, and from bruises to bronchitis. Açaí, like blueberries and raspberries, are naturally low in sugar and tastes somewhere between chocolate sorbet and red wine. What more can you ask for from a berry?!

Where can I get my mitts on some?

Packets of frozen açaí pulp can now be purchased in health food stores and select SuperValu stores nationwide. This means you can make them at home, without shelling out €12 per bowl in your local trendy cafe.

Açaí bowls are commonly served with a variety of toppings like goji berries, peanut butter, berries, chia seeds, coconut, cacao nibs, and all the trimmings of a wholefood whore. I'm a disciple. And after today, I hope you will be too. (Although cafe versions do not contain beetroot - that’s a Susanism).

And, erm, why beetroot?

Lately, I’m obsessed with beetroot. It’s one of the tastiest veg on my kitchen sonar. All those potassium lovebombshiding inside that crimson colour, a freight of iron, lots of lovely polyphenols and (IG-obsessed) nitric oxide, I'm surprised it hasn't been knighted by King Charles.

Don't fancy prepping and cooking a beet for this recipe? Vacuum packets can canter to the rescue with their promise of instant gratification and similar tsunami of nutrition. You can also choose to use shelled hemp seed in place of protein powder.

Next week, I’ll be filming the crazy-quick, midweek, vegetarian meal my family have been mainlining all summer. Want to join the fun? You can upgrade your subscription below to a monthly (6€) or annual (50€ for all my kitchen classes and my posts).

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Until next week!

If health is our wealth, let’s eat ourselves rich.

Love, light and beetrootitoot,

Susan Jane

x

// Açaí & Beet Bowls//

Serves 2

Here is the link to my buckwheat granola, and here is my recipe index for all my videos and posts. We love Nobó almond butter or pistachio nut butter drizzled on top with raw cacao nibs, flaky sea salt, buckwheat granola, and a freight of blueberries. Normally I’m very adventurous with toppings, but I can’t seem to diversify from this combo - it’s a total winner.