At the start of this fall semester Quinnipiac students were pleased to be informed that QU Dining had made a highly requested and delicious addition to the dining hall on the Mt. Carmel Campus. 

Quinnipiac was proud to announce that they had added Sambazon Acai Products-Certified Organic acai bowls as a new healthy option for students after numerous requests for the trendy treat. 

Acai has become an extremely coveted, highly advertised and trendy power food in the past few years due to its numerous health benefits. The plus is that it is really enjoyable and quite picturesque. 

The acai berry is harvested from acai palm trees and is known for its high antioxidant content and numerous health benefits such as promoting heart health, although high in sugar. It is known for its rich, bright purple color. Many people have incorporated acai into their diets due to the benefits it offers and have used the acai berry in various ways such as adding it to smoothies or pureeing it. You can frequently see pictures of acai berry bowls with carefully placed toppings on social media.

Now students can visit Café Q at any time of day to enjoy an acai berry bowl on campus. QU opted for a premade acai in a sort of sorbet texture from Sambazon as it would be easier for students to serve themselves this way. The acai berry puree comes frozen and can be scooped with ice cream scoopers. Although a little difficult to scoop at times, as it is frozen, once the acai puree melts down a bit, it really is tasty and comparable to a lot of other good acai bowls I have had around town. 

There is also a choice of toppings to go along with the bowls, such as dried fruit like kiwi and cranberries and fresh fruit, the most essential acai bowl topping, granola and more. I really like the granola. I think there should definitely be some more fresh fruit options and possibly some honey or peanut butter but other than that, there are a lot of great toppings available to play around with.

 So far, the new acai berry bowls seem to be a hit with the students. Students are very pleased with this new addition to Café Q as they would frequently have to leave campus to find an acai berry bowl, myself included. After trying the Sambazon acai bowls myself I asked some other Quinnipiac students for their input and opinion, and here’s what they had to say. 

“I think the acai bowls are really good, but the toppings definitely need a little work,” said Shaelyn Pacheco, a junior management major. “I think we should have fresh strawberries and chopped banana as an option. It’s a great quick snack for after practice or on the go.” 

Other than the input about the choices of toppings, students do enjoy the acai bowl station.

“I’m obsessed with the acai bowls on campus,” said Amanda Carlson, a junior health studies major. “They are my go-to snack, especially after working out. They’re healthy, vegan and organic which is even better! Definitely a must try.”

Now, you can frequently see students and even faculty walking around campus with an acai bowl in hand. I think the acai bowl station may be exceeding the greek yogurt station in popularity.

Introducing acai bowls to the Quinnipiac dining hall as an addition to the existing food options was a great idea as students can enjoy it for breakfast, a quick after workout snack, or just a healthy treat in place of ice cream. If you haven’t gotten a chance to check out the new acai bowls in the dining hall, I would definitely stop by and give it a try.