Now that it’s summer, I’ve had time to slow down and enjoy breakfast with BJ in the morning. Lately, we’ve been making acai bowls. I got hooked after having one a couple of years ago in NYC at Dimes, and now it’s become our regular stop whenever we visit. Sp far, after some experimenting, this is my favorite prep for acai bowls:

• 1 frozen banana (pre sliced)
• 1 frozen packet of acai (run under water for a minute and break it up)
• 1 cup of  frozen berries (I get the antioxidant packet in the freezer aisle
• 1/2 -1 cup of coconut water
• a generous squeeze of honey

Blend all the ingredients together and top it with hemp seeds, sliced fruit (dried apricots are great if you have some around), chia seeds, flax seeds, granola, coconut chips or whatever you have around. It’s light, refreshing, and pretty easy! (Most recipes call for 2 packets of acai, but that can get a bit expensive and I found that one will do the job.)  During our last trip in June, I also tried Dime’s pitaya bowl, and I later found the recipe is posted on Vogue.

We have a habit of hoarding cookbooks, but we’ve been slow to fix up anything besides salads and stir fry. I’ve made it my goal to cook more this summer. In last couple of weeks, we’ve made blueberry and chocolate pancakes, meatloaf (combined recipes here & here), gumbo, and quinoa cakes. Tonight, we’re having friends over and making shaking beef and spring rolls from Charles Phan Vietnamese Home Cooking. All in all, a major big step forward for us! Ultimately, my hope is to be able to whip up dinner quickly and learn how to meal prep. Once the school year begins, I’m usually wiped out by the end of the day, and we tend to eat out more often. But after using Mint, and seeing how much we spent a month on food (it’s the little things that added up – drive thru cone, midnight french fries craving, etc.) we’ve been consciously trying to cut back. Next up we want to try our hand at french toast – BJ’s favorite.