Maqui berry bowl

I love new finds that come with a lovely story, so thought it only fitting to start out this post by telling you how I first came to hear of and try maqui berries.

A while ago now, a new follower started commenting on my photos on Instagram, so I headed over to their page to check out their products. Their name was Yacqui Products, a hybrid of the two products they grew and sold – yacon syrup and powder and maqui berry powder. I hadn’t really heard much about either product, but through following their account I quickly learnt quite a lot about their products, the associated health benefits and how they are used. 

I also started to learn a little about the family, and soon found out that they hail from the same area of Tasmania as where I grew up. Not only that, I actually grew up next to their uncle, who used to have a small farm next door to my childhood house. In the paddock that backed onto our backyard usually grazed a few beautiful cows, and I clearly remember my brother and I being too scared to go outside when we were younger if the cows were anywhere near the vicinity of the separating fence. On the odd occasion when we were brave to venture out, we would quickly come running back in at the first sound of a moo from the cattle. It sounds rather harmless, but if you’ve ever stood in close proximity to a mooing cow at the tender age of 5, it’s quite a daunting experience! 

The family still live in the area, with the farm that the maqui and yacon are grown on being only a short drive from my Dad’s house. I won’t talk too much about the yacon here as unfortunately I still haven’t had the chance to experiment with it too much (asides from drizzling the syrup over oats, which is divine!) but I have played around with the maqui powder. The powder is made from organically grown maqui berries which are harvested by hand, freeze dried, and then pulverised. The taste and nutritional profile of maqui powder is very similar to acai powder, though maqui has a higher antioxidant value.

One of my New Year’s resolutions last year was to eat more seasonally and buy locally. Which was one of the reasons I wanted to make a Maqui bowl – similar to an acai bowl which is crazy hot right now, but featuring locally grown maqui berries instead of imported acai berries. While the maqui berries add a lovely touch to this berry bowl, unfortunately a lot of the other ingredients aren’t locally grown or sourced. I would like to make a berry bowl which features a lot more locally sourced ingredients, but in the meantime, this is half way there.

If you haven’t tried an acai berry bowl yet – and especially if you live in Australia and can get your hands on some maqui berries – this breakfast bowl is a hot contender to become your favorite morning-time dish this summer. Light, refreshing and healthy, it’s a delicious way to start the day! For those extra hot and humid days, make sure to keep a stash of bananas, berries and avocado in the freezer to blend up into a thicker, icier smoothie bowl.

Note that all thoughts and opinions in this post are my own, and it was not sponsored or influenced in any way by Yacqui Products. I paid for the products mentioned myself and am not affiliated with this company in any way.

For more information about maqui berries and to order your own supply, head to the Yaqui Products webpage.