Big fan of smoothie bowls, but want something more convenient? You may have considered a pre-made option like the Tattooed Chef Acai Bowl!
But are they actually tasty? How healthy is it? Is it worth the price?
I wrote this compressive review to answer the questions you might have.
Quick Summary
Disclaimer: This review is based on the authors opinion. It is not personal dietary advice. See our disclaimers for more details.
This bowl really delivers in the flavor department!
Pros:
- Tastes refreshing, creamy, and sweet. Similar to frozen yogurt.
- Convenient and requires virtually zero cooking skill
- It includes fruit, and can be healthier option than several other desserts
Cons:
- Can be expensive
- Plastic container
- Saturated fat could be lower
What Are Tattooed Chef Organic Acai Bowls?
Tattooed Chief’s Organic Acai bowls include these items:
- Acai based smoothie bowl
- Granola packet that includes unsweetened coconut for crunch.
Acai is a fairly rare fruit in North America- you won’t see the actual fruit in stores often. If you do find it, it’s likely in the “exotic” section, or found as a component of other foods like chocolate and smoothie bowls.
Sometimes acai is marketed as a “super fruit.” While it does have a host of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties(1), so does fruit in general!
Other fruits in the Tattooed Chef Acai bowl are bananas, strawberries and blueberries.
Features of this product include(2):
- Vegan friendly
- Antioxidants
- Easy to Make
How Do I Eat It?
The box lists two ways you can eat this (2) You can either:
- Dethaw at room temperature for 60-65 minutes. Then add toppings and eat
Or,
- Microwave for 45 seconds, mix, stir, and microwave for 10 more seconds, add topping and eat
Of note, your microwave times may vary- you might need to adjust the time.
Where Can I buy Them?
You can buy these at several grocery stores. Here are a few that carry the Tattooed Chef’s Organic Acai Bowl (FYI: of course, stores can change what they carry!):
- Costco
- Walmart
- Sams Club
- Target
- Stop and Shop
- InstaCart
- Amazon
Tattooed Chief Acai Bowl Review
Customer reviews don’t always cover everything you want to know about products. So let me attempt to go over all the points I can think of!
Taste
9 out of 10 stars
This bowl was sweet, but not too sweet. It did not taste artificial to me. The natural sweetness of the fruit really shinned through. My husband and daughter enjoyed also enjoyed this!
Probably the best word I can describe it is: refreshing.
It was like something you might find at a smoothie café or frozen yogurt shop. I can see myself eating this at a beach.
Texture wise, it reminded me of frozen yogurt. The creaminess of the bowl likely comes from the addition of banana and coconut milk.
The granola/coconut added some crunch and the whole blueberries gave it a varying texture, which was nice.
I think granola packets could have used more granola, but that might just be my preference. I’m not a big coconut fan, but did enjoy this bowl!
Cooking Level
8 out of 10 stars
Easy! All you have to do is de thaw or microwave (check out the product for details).
Of note: I followed the directions on the box to dethaw for 60-65 minutes. At about 68 degrees Fahrenheit in the house, it was still quite frozen though. Of course this can vary depending on climate.
So, I did end up microwaving for a bit in a separate bowl because I did not want to microwave in plastic.
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients for the Tattooed Chef’s Organic Acai 6.25 ounce bowl (please note, ingredients may change, check your own box):
“Acai Bowl: Organic Acai Puree (organic acai, filtered water, citric acid), organic bananas, organic strawberries, organic blueberries, organic coconut milk (filtered water, organic coconut cream), contains 2% or less of vitamin and mineral blend [calcium phosphate, magnesium phosphate, L-selenomethionine {selenium}, vitamin A acetate, vitamin D2, zinc oxide, vitamin B-12], sea salt, organic sunflower lecithin, organic locust bean gum, gellan gum).
Topping: Organic Granola (organic whole grain oats, organic tapioca syrup, organic invert sugar, organic sunflower oil, organic chia seeds, organic flax seeds, organic brown rice syrup, organic brown rice flour, sprouted organic quinoa flour, organic amaranth flakes, organic sprouted millet flour, organic qunioa flake, natural vanilla flavor, organic molasses, organic rice flour, mixed tocopherols [vitamin E], sea salt), dried coconut.
Source: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Tattooed-Chef-Gluten-Free-Vegan-Organic-Acai-Bowl-6-25-oz-Frozen/1400958159
Contains: Coconut (tree nuts)
This product was marked as gluten free vegan. However it’s not certified gluten free, so some who are looking for those looking for that extra measure should take note.
If organic products are important to you, this one has organic ingredients.
Nutrition
Here are the nutrition facts for the Tattooed Chef’s organic acai bowl including the topping(1):
- Calories: 180
- Total Fat: 8 grams
- Saturated Fat: 4.5 grams
- Trans Fat: 0 grams
- Cholesterol: 0 milligrams
- Sodium: 15 milligrams
- Total Carbohydrates: 29 grams
- Dietary Fiber: 6 grams
- Total Sugars: 12 grams
- Added Sugars: 2 grams
- Protein: 3 grams
- Calcium: 30 milligrams
- Iron: 1 milligram
- Potassium: 270 milligrams
Notable features include a decent amount of gut loving fiber and potassium. For reference, a small orange has about 174 milligrams of potassium, and this acai bowl has 270 milligrams.
This treat contains no cholesterol or trans fat.
It is low in sodium and added sugars. Added sugars and sodium are dietary components that many Americans need to be mindful of (3).
This bowl does have 4.5 grams of saturated fat- a dietary fat we should limit for a variety of factors including heart health (4). Based on the ingredients, most of the saturated fat likely comes from the coconut.
Of course, it’s important for individuals to take their whole day into account when looking at saturated fat.
Finally, based on the nutrition facts, I wouldn’t consider this bowl a meal. A meal would contain more than calories, carbohydrates and protein.
If you are having this for breakfast, consider making it more balanced by adding some foods rich in protein, like tofu scramble, and another carbohydrate rich food like bread toped healthy fats (nut butter anyone?)!
Portion
The portion that I tried (and is available in Walmart and Target) is 6.25 ounces or 177 grams.
The bowl nearly covers my whole hand as you can see in the picture below!
This was a very satisfying portion for me! Of course, depending on your needs and appetite, this can be quite a subjective category.
Price
At Walmart, the price for this Acai Bowl was about $3.48 USD (please note, prices can vary and change, so always check the current price).
In comparison to other Acai Bowls I saw at Walmart, this seemed like a good price as it is also organic.
Here’s a comparison of Walmart Prices for Acai Bowls:
- Tattooed Chef Organic Acai Bowl: $3.48
- Dole Acai Bowl with Fruit and Granola: $3.64 (this one is not organic or vegan as it includes honey)
- Sambazon Superberry Acai Bowl: $3.28
Would I Buy These Again?
Yes! I thought the acai smoothie bowls from Tattooed Chef tasted great and was very convenient.
Here’s a breakdown of pros and cons.
Pros
- Tasty! Refreshing, sweet, and a delicious dessert or addition to a meal or snack.
- It can be a healthier option for dessert than several other “dessert type foods.”
- Organic (for those who find that important).
- Decent price for having Acai (a more “rare” fruit) puree, and being organic.
- Vegan friendly.
- Main ingredients are fruit.
- Rich in fiber
- Gluten free for those who find it important (although not certified gluten free)
- Easy to make.
Cons
- Too pricy for some people or for those might want to save by making their own smoothie bowls.
- Saturated fat could be lower.
- Not a meal replacement.
- Packaging could have been more eco friendly.
I hope you found this review helpful!
While you’re at it, why not poke around on our blog? We go over more nutrition snack topics such as:
Vegan Snacks for School
Snacks for Hiking
and
Whole Food Plant Based Snacks
Lastly, don’t forget to sign up for our e-mail subscribers list if you want to be notified of new articles!
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