Tropical Fruit Smoothies

There are a lot of different options to fruit smoothies, especially if you live in a tropical climate where there are an abundance of fresh fruits such as bananas, guava, passion fruit, papaya and mangoes. Alone or a mixture of the fruits mentioned they all make tasty, healthy smoothies.

There are many ways to make delicious smoothies from the fruits but I tend to enjoy mine as cold as possible. Some of the fruits can be used just as they are and others you may want to juice and freeze before using them in a smoothie.

Papayas, bananas and mangoes you can use as they are, it works great to just peel and deseed them, then cut them up into about 1 inch pieces and put them lightly into a container then into the freezer. If you pack them to tightly it will be hard to get them apart to use different amounts in your smoothie later. Also, if you cut them into much bigger pieces they don't seem to blend as well and you end up with chunks in your smoothie that is suppose to be smooth, hence the name smoothie.

Guavas and passion fruits are best if you make them into a juice before you add them to your mixture, as they are both filled with seeds. You can do this by putting the pulp of the fruits mixed with the desired amount of water into your blender and using the "Puree" mode, process for a minute or so, until it is smooth and well blended. Pour the through a fine nylon mesh bag, such as a nut milk bag. This will get the undesired seeds out and the extra fibrous chunks you don't want in your smoothie. You can then use this juice right away or you can freeze it for future use. It works good if you freeze the juice in ice cube trays that make small cubes as they will blend better when you go to make your smoothie.

When making your fruit smoothie place the desired portion of each of the fruits out of your freezer into the blender with a good amount of either cold water or a cold fruit juice of choice so that it will have enough liquid to blend well. If you don't have enough liquid it over taxes your blender and you end up with a chunky smoothie that is not mixed well. If desired you may wish to add a sweetener such as agave, sugar or maple syrup depending on your taste and which fruits you have chosen to combine together.

Another option for an addition to your fruit smoothies are nutritional supplements. You can add many things such as bee pollen or powdered supplements to boost the nutritional value of your smoothie also.

A few of the combinations that we have found that make great fruit smoothies are......banana, papaya and passion fruit....banana, passion fruit and guava....mango and banana....

No matter what combination you choose, fruit smoothies are a great choice for a healthy, alternative snack compared to the processed foods so many people reach for these days. Made in the way described they are an easy, fast, filling snack which is packed full of vitamins, minerals and enzymes that are missing from most diets these days.