Summertime is by far my favorite time of year. So, its not by chance that I decided to start this blog during the summer. After all, this is the time when fruits are at their peak, making it a perfect time for this Mango Papaya Smoothie!
This smoothie brings back memories of me picking mangoes from the mango tree in the yard of my childhood home in Jamaica. And it also involves one of my mom’s favorite fruits, the papaya. It’s a bit hard to describe a papaya to someone who has never had it before. It looks like a really large Caribbean avocado (in Jamaica we call avocados “pear”). When ripe, the inside of the papaya turns a vibrant orange color, and is filled with lots of small, black seeds (don’t eat them!). A ripe Caribbean papaya is sweet, juicy, and ooh soo GOOD! And bonus, papayas are filled with Vitamin C and other antioxidants. Don’t you just love it when things that are tasty are also good for you?!If you can’t find fresh papaya, you can buy frozen papaya, which still works great in this smoothie.
Today’s smoothie recipe makes papaya and mango the star, and uses fresh ginger and vanilla extract to accentuate the natural sweetness of the fruits. For an extra kick of protein, I also mixed in some hemp seeds. I know, not the typical tropical mango smoothie ingredient, but it takes this smoothie to the next level!
With the addition of bananas and almond milk, this smoothie is dairy-free, creamy, flavorful, and filled with lots of good-for-you ingredients.Plus, it takes less than a minute to prepare! Seriously guys, just throw all the ingredients into your blender, blend for 30 sec to 1 minute depending on your blender, and that’s it! Instant breakfast or snack (or lunch, or dinner — I don’t judge).
Go ahead and give this smoothie a try, you won’t regret it. Be sure to tag #SweetandSorrel!
INGREDIENTS
- 1 large ripe mango, peeled and cut into chunks
- 2 cups ripe papaya, peeled and cut into chunks
- 1 frozen ripe banana (optional)
- 2 tsp peeled fresh ginger
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups unsweetened almond milk (or milk of your choice)
- 2 tsp hemp seeds
DIRECTIONS
- Peel the mango and papaya and cut into large chunks. Store in the freezer over night.
- In a blender, combine frozen mango and papaya with the frozen banana (if desired), milk, fresh ginger, vanilla extract, and hemp seeds. Blend on high for 30 seconds to a minute, until smooth. Then drink and be merry!
*Note: you can leave the bananas out of this smoothie, it just won’t be as creamy.
Makes 2 servings
