Sambazon Exhibits At Natural Products Expo West!

Two weekends ago, the Sambazon crew packed up and traveled 30 miles north of our San Clemente office to Natural Products Expo West at the Anaheim Convention Center. Expo West is full of natural, organic and eco products ranging from yummy food products to environmentally friendly cleaning supplies to the latest in eco fashion.

While Sambazon has been exhibiting at Expo West for years now, this was my first expo and I was beyond excited to soak it all in. Arriving at the convention center, the Sambazon team was automatically greeted by our amazing Amazon rainforest themed booth that had a very chill, professional vibe complete with Brasilian beats for all to enjoy.

Every person that we passed a Sambazon sample to LOVED our product. Everybody seemed really into our new Antioxidant Elixir and couldn’t believe how great and refreshing it tasted and how low calorie it is. Our juices remained a favorite with both our hardcore customers and some new to the Sambazon brand. But, the hands down favorite was the acai sorbet bowls we made in the morning. We topped our sorbet with organic bananas and Kaia’s purple and green granola – delicious! We gave away thousands of samples and everybody walked away loving acai with big purple smiles.

Throughout the weekend, we hung out with other fantastic, like-minded companies like Guayaki Yerba Mate, Manitoba Harvest and Amazing Grass. We all had a fantastic time and it was incredible to meet other great people making a difference in the food industry.

If you have a chance to go to Expo West next year, stop by our booth and say hi!

- Kirsten Saladow (Sambazon's Communications Manager)

Featured Recipe: Purple and Green Granola!

I was really looking for something exciting to make this month, something we'd never done before... that's when a coworker Lindsey mentioned Purple and Green Granola. Well, my mind automatically went to the days when purple and green ketchup just came out and how as a kid, I loved it. I'd never read the back of the bottle however, and now I'm not sure I'd ever want to. So colored granola - it's more of granola with a purple and green hue from mixing half with Sambazon Açaí Powder and half with Amazing Grass. Nothing artificial, just good old organic ingredients with enough grains, seeds and dried fruit to make you wonder why you've never tasted anything so hearty and delicious before. Plus it's nut free, wheat free, and contains very little sugar.

Purple and Green Granola:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and oil two baking pans (we used Earth Balance vegan butter)

4 cups oats
1 cup finely shredded coconut
1 cup dates
3/4 cup dried figs
1/2 cup oat flour
1 cup millet
1/2 cup amaranth
1/2 cup quinoa
3/4 cup flax (golden or dark flax or mixed)
3/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup maca
1 big pinch salt
1 tsp ginger

Mix all the dry ingredients in your largest kitchen bowl. Feel free to experiment with different spices like cinnamon, nutmeg or cardamom, as well as grains. If you can't find something, just overlook it. Granola isn't like baking a cake - ratios are a bit more forgiving.




Then add the following ingredients to the bowl and mix again.

3/4 cup apple sauce
1/2 cup agave
1/2 cup flax seed meal

Add 1/2 cup hot water and stir, this will bind the granola.


Lastly add 3/4 to 1 cup sunflower butter and stir gently to help create clusters.

Separate granola equally into two bowls. In one bowl add 2 tbsp of Amazing Grass Supergreens mix. In the other, add 6 tbsp of Sambazon Açaí Powder. Mix and pour into baking pans.




Bake granola for 30-40 minutes or until slightly crunchy. Stir once or twice while baking to make sure it cooks evenly. Be careful while mixing to maintain clusters. As granola cools it will harden.


Let cool and mix together for the ultimate Purple and Green Granola!

Keep it Purple,

Kaia Lai
West Events Manager / SAMBAZON

Sambazon Fuels The Pan Kids Jiu Jitsu Tournament

Jiu Jitsu, it’s not for the faint of heart or soul... And turns out that some 8 year olds have got a whole lot of soul. Last weekend marked the first Pan Kids Jiu Jitsu Tournament in South Los Angeles, where the best of the best in North America from age tiny to 15 competed for the Gold, Silver and Bronze. And watching these little guys compete was just as exciting as their fully grown counterparts, no joke. Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, all over again (Jiu Jitsu Style of course).

Despite the heavy rain, Sambazon and our friends over at Silvio’s Brazilian BBQ, set up to feed the troops all day. And let me tell you, kids can eat way more açaí then you’d ever expect. So when we finally saw Purple smiles on everyone, and full tummys all around, we knew we could call it a day.

Keep it Purple,

Kaia Lai
West Events Manager / SAMBAZON

Part 2: Ocean Minded, Surfrider and Sambazon Work Toward Cleaner Beaches!

4School 4Months, Beach cleanup #2– Another rockin' beach cleanup down at Strands beach last wednesday morning! Ocean Minded and Capo Valley High cleaned up 60 pounds of trash putting them in first place in the trash tally.

Here's some words from our friend and Ocean Minded Team Manager Frankie D’Andrea about the second beach cleanup.

Ocean Minded and Capo Valley high cleaned up Strands beach this morning during the surf teams morning practice. It was the first clean up of the month for Capo Valley and they spent 30 minutes cleaning up thousands of little pieces of sea trash brought in from the recent storms. Denise from the south Orange County Surfrider Foundation was down at the beach educating the kids on trash and where it goes when it leaves the beach. Hats off to coach Shultz who has these kids well trained already in cleaning up the beaches. In total the group picked up 60 pounds of trash in 30 minutes. This is great seeing 80 percent of the trash was the tiny little pieces that go overlooked. Thanks to Sambazon and Surfen Donuts as well for keeping us fueled for the clean up.



Just wanted to thank you all for making this happen, great day and stoked on all the support from the kids and everyone else.

-Frankie D'Andrea (Friend of Sambazon & Ocean Minded Team Manager)


Keep it Purple,
Kaia Lai - West Events Manager / SAMBAZON

Athlete’s First Golf Extravaganza

Yesterday marked another Athlete’s First Golf Extravaganza at the beautiful St. Regis Resort in Dana Point, California. To benefit the Orangewood Children’s Foundation a host of pro football players like Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay Packers), Brandon Jacobs (New York Giants), Matt Cassel (Kansas City Chiefs), Mark Sanchez (New York Jets), Matt Schaub (Houston Texans), Reggie Wayne (Indianapolis Colts) and Todd Heap (Baltimore Ravens) flew from all over the country to participate in the fun and games. Doing what we do best, we paired up with Juice It Up! to blend up some delish açaí breakfast bowls. They were so good in fact, that the carnivorous athletes, coaches, and agents loved ‘em and kept coming back for seconds and thirds.

It was a nice change of pace however, to realize that green and good has infiltrated even the world of professional football. More and more players already knew about açaí and some even ate it regularly and all of their blacked out Navigators and Denalis were Flex Fuel (seriously). Bottom line, I haven’t watched football since Jerry Rice was on top, and while image hasn’t changed a whole ton, a lot of old stereotypes no longer hold true (at least fully). And just maybe, this generation of players will be setting the pace for future pros to follow: Green and organic is good for you, good for your fans and good for the environment.

Special thanks to Juice It Up! for helping us make this event a great success.. And did I mention that in SoCal, Juice It Up! has launched a new açaí menu? Five unique offerings... And they are delish, so make sure to grab an açaí bowl from Juice It Up! for your next breakfast... Or lunch... Or dinner.

Keep it Purple,

Kaia Lai
West Events Manager / SAMBAZON

Ocean Minded, Surfrider and Sambazon Work Toward Cleaner Beaches!

4 Schools 4 Months – last month, we got involved in a “Clean your Beach” project with Ocean Minded and Surfrider Foundation. The idea is, four local high school surf teams in South Orange County compete to pick up the most trash during the 4 month period and the best beach cleaners win! So, from February to May, on any given morning, you’ll find 30-40 high school surfers out at their favorite break, cleaning the beach... And drinking Sambazon while doing it! We’ll have updates about each team’s progress so stay tuned as the trash tally unfolds!

Here’s some words from our friend and Ocean Minded Team Manager Frankie D’Andrea about the first beach cleanup day in late February.



4 Schools 4 Months Beach clean up with Dana Hills High was a great success.

The first beach clean up at Salt Creek with Dana Hills High surf team was a huge success. The whole team showed up at the beach early to practice for an up and coming surf contest next week and before they hit the water they had the chance to clean up their local break. Today was the first clean up of the 4 schools 4 months beach clean up program and it started off amazing. In the beginning Rick from South Orange County Surfrider educated the kids about trash at the beach and what happens to it once it leaves our beaches. In all the team cleaned up 40 pounds of trash in only 20 minutes. A huge thanks to the kids of Dana Hills High and coach Degen for having pride in their local break and cleaning up the beach. Also a huge thanks to Surfrider for the cool recycled trash sacks and to Sambazon for keeping the kids hydrated.

Until next time, keep your beach clean....
-Frankie D'Andrea (Friend of Sambazon & Ocean Minded Team Manager)


Keep it Purple,
Kaia Lai - West Events Manager / SAMBAZON