Pick up the beat with Bossa Nova’s açai juice
September 10, 2008 by Laura Locke
Oh how I hate that random, end-of-summer/transitioning-seasons cold that sneaks up on you at THE most inopportune moment. This is exactly the state I found myself in yesterday morning… red-eyed, head-achy, run-down, and craving sleep. It took everything I had to climb out of my comfy yoga pants and pull myself together for the busy day ahead. (Why is it that you always get sick when you’re in charge of something super important and inescapable?)
Realizing that I had a multitude of meetings and appointments to look forward to throughout the day, I headed to IY- Integral Yoga- my oasis of health- the place I turn to the SECOND I start to feel under the weather. Not knowing what miraculously wholesome cure I would find this time around, I browsed for a bit before settling on a bottle of Bossa Nova açai juice.
Confession- I generally avoid fruit juice like the plague- I dislike sweet beverages and who needs all those empty calories! Nevertheless, I decided to try the juice since I’ve been hearing a lot about açai berries lately. I’ve learned that açai (ah-sci-ee) is a rainforest berry- a small, dark purple fruit that grows on palm trees on the floodplains of the Amazon basin. Açai is low in sugar, packed with antioxidants and considered one of the world’s healthiest fruits (www.bossausa.com gives tons more info about açai and its amazing health benefits). I figured that since antioxidants inhibit premature aging, heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer disease by neutralizing free radicals, a mega-dose might have SOME positive impact on my cold-ridden state.
Fast forward 24 hours… I am practically addicted. Bossa Nova is sweet but not overwhelmingly sugary, its four ingredients are completely pronounceable, and I am well on my way to kicking my cold. I’ve really enjoyed the raspberry and blueberry flavors. And shhhh… the second I am completely well, I will absolutely find a way to fashion this juice into some delicious martini concoction! Superfruit cocktails… Cheers to that!
I second Laura’s endorsement! I sampled Bossa Nova’s acai juice at a Whole Foods in NYC yesterday, and it is delicious… definitely something I would turn to on a sick day- or for a creative cocktail.
On a related note, does anyone know where to find fresh acai juice or bowls (usually served as a kind of thick, acai-based smoothie, topped with granola) in Charlottesville? They were all the rave on the West Coast last summer, and I’m excited to see that acai is making its way to our town.
Does that juicing place on the corner have it?
I haven’t seen acai berries on the menu at Sublime, but I am lucky enough to work near the Corner so I frequently hit them up for fresh juice, smoothies, salads and wraps. I love their granny apple ginger shot- it’s so tasty and ginger helps fight against colds and the flu!
Interesting, I’ll have to check out Bossa Nova. I’ve tried MonaVie (about which there is much controversy), and my personal jury is still out. Besides which, that could be a whole other post!