Açaí with honey, granola and banana / Publicity photo

If you’re a Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and fan, you certainly agree that there’s only one thing more delicious than an açaí: an açaí right after training.

In the cult of the Gracie Diet, the purple fruit has been regarded as a holy medicine for decades. And it may have taken some time in coming, but now scientists and scholars have confirmed what Carlos Gracie knew so well since early last century.

Açaí, according to modern research, is proven to have antioxidant, vasodilation, anti-inflamatory and energy boosting effects, among other things. Açaí also helps expel toxins and waste from the body, not to mention how it aids in lowering cholesterol. In a nutshell, it’s a healthy superfruit.

But do our readers know how to prepare a good açaí?

Firstly, at home or at your neighborhood juice shop, you’ll need to ask to do without the guarana syrup, which isn’t good for you like the fruit is. Just swap it for honey.

Next, just drum up your own recipe. Like, for example the one by aficionado Rolles Gracie, a Jiu-Jitsu professor who lives in New Jersey.

“I like beating açaí with banana and organic apple juice, which is easy to find around here, in the blender. Then I just pour granola over it. It’s what I eat pretty much every night,”says Rolles, who uses four packages of presweetened Sambazon açaí and a banana. He adds the apple juice to taste.

What about you, gentle reader? Have you got a secret açaí recipe to share with the Jiu-Jitsu community?

Send us in your suggestion. The best ones may appear in future issues of GRACIEMAG!