Tropical Green Smoothie

Something tropical only seems fitting, considering it’s my first day back from my Caribbean cruise!

Plus, a green smoothie is exactly what I’m craving now after a good long week of having too much fun. Speaking of all the fun…

Here’s a few food and view highlights from my trip (the airplane beach was crazy!):

My family went to Nassau, Bahamas, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Sint Maarten. I loved them all, but I literally want to move to Sint Maarten. I think it just may be the most beautiful place I’ve ever been. The cruise ship itself was a ton of fun, too. The thing was like a floating city—it was massive. I went on a cruise to Alaska last Summer, but this boat was at least twice the size of the last. We went on the Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas, if you’re curious.

Okay, enough gushing about my family trip…Let’s talk about these smoothies!

I’ve been a big green smoothie fan for almost a decade now. They’re fast, super delicious, and a great way to pack in a bunch of nutrients. But adding avocado is only a recent trick I’ve learned! It makes your smoothie so unbelievably creamy, you just have no idea! It’s like the creaminess a banana gives, but times 5. I used both banana and avocado in this smoothie, but you can definitely skip the banana if you want more of the mango flavor to shine through (though, I’d then recommend a bit of agave or maple syrup to make up for any lost sweetness).

I think this is such a fun combination of flavors. I’ve also made this the exact same way, but I threw in some pineapple and it was awesome. Feel free to experiment with whatever tropical fruits you have on hand! Kiwi, starfruit, or papaya all sound like they’d make excellent additions.

By the way, if you’re always wondering how the heck you’re supposed to cut a mango, this is a super simple way:

Cut both sides off the core (just cut down straight…I like to gnaw off the core to get all the flesh off because it’s delicious, haha).

Then, score each side into a grid and push the whole thing up—kinda like you’re turning it inside out or something. Now, you can just scoop the little cubes away with a spoon! Easy peasy!

Oh, and if you’ve never had a green smoothie before, and are worried about the spinach, I promise you can’t even taste it!