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For this island tropical smoothie recipe, I’ve included an array of tropical fruits and coconut water blended with a big handful of spinach. Can you imagine how awesome it would be to have a frosty glass of this island green smoothie poolside? And maybe a paper umbrella… Def a paper umbrella.
Our senses of smell and taste have the magical power to transport us directly back to any memory. It’s amazing. This tropical smoothie recipe does that for me. I love traveling to tropical places and spending plenty of time at the beach. I’m a California girl living in Florida, yet I’ll never tire of the ocean!
Take a mini-vacay to the beach with this delicious island green tropical smoothie recipe!
Table of Contents
How to Make an Island Green Smoothie
I’ve mentioned before that I don’t typically limit my fruit intake. I enjoy fruit when I’m in the mood as part of a well-rounded, healthy diet.
I know that’s not always the case for everyone. Those who need to watch their blood sugar should consult with a medical professional before blending.
In any case, I love using fruit to sweeten my smoothies – no processed sugar needed! Fruits like banana and pineapple are naturally sweet and really add a tropical punch to this smoothie. Read on to see just why they’re better for you than refined sugars.
Tropical Smoothie Ingredients
If you’re new to green smoothies, your tastebuds will go through a little adjustment phase as they recalibrate towards the natural sweetness of fruit and other flavors. Some smoothies will taste sweeter than others. If you’re someone who has a sweet tooth, start by blending smoothies made with tropical fruits. Look no further than the tropical beverage below to satisfy the sweetest of sweet teeth!
Tropical fruit adds the most sweetness to smoothies due to their higher sugar content. Lower sugar fruits include berries, bananas, stone fruits, apples, and pears. They are also sweet, but not as sweet as tropical fruit.
As your tastebuds adjust and when you’re ready, start blending other fruits. You’ll find that all fruit starts to taste sweeter and more flavorful now that sugar isn’t masking the other flavors. Before you know it, you’ll find yourself craving a daily dose of leafy green goodness.
Fruit Sugar vs. Refined Sugar
While it’s true that refined or processed sugars digest quickly and totally cause those icky blood sugar spikes, the sugar we ingest with fruit is completely different.
Fruit isn’t just full of sugar. With the natural sugar in fruit comes plenty of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, phytonutrients, etc., etc., not to mention dietary fiber.
Fiber is our friend.
Dietary fiber helps prevents blood sugar spikes by slowing things down as they move down the line so your body can absorb the nutrients at an even keel. You will stay full for longer and that same dietary fiber will help with keeping you, ahem – regular.
Give your body a natural reset through whole food
Brace yourself. I’m going to say a word that scares some who are new to plant based eating – detox.
If you’re looking for an easy way to detox daily, then the island green tropical smoothie recipe below is a great one to get blending.
Four times each year, I promise myself I’ll hit the reset button on my eating habits. I consciously make the choice to eat in ways, for short periods of time, that give my body the best of what plants have to offer. Part of that involves green smoothies of course! The nutrient + fiber rich greens do wonders to cleanse my body in a gentle, yet effective way.
If you’re ready to hit that reset button along with me, check out one of my Seasonal Cleanses. They are purely food based, no fancy-fancy pills or powders. You can cook and blend along with me, seeing results that I enjoy too – like better sleep, better skin and better energy.
FAQs
With a good dose of dietary fiber and a whopping 168 mg of Vitamin C, we sure think so! Yet, I know some rawkstars might need a bit less fruit sugar when blending. If that’s you, be sure to check out our Low Sugar Fruits for Smoothies.
Great question! Depending on the greens you use in your smoothies, you can end up taking in higher amounts of oxalates, which in turn may cause kidney stones. While this doesn’t happen often, if it’s something you’re concerned about we def recommend staying hydrated with good water and rotating your greens. Changing up your greens on the regular helps to keep from building up any one particular nutrient in your body and ensures you get a wide variety of all those oh-so-good for you vitamins, minerals and more.
Most of us don’t take in healthy fruits and veggie as often as we should. Using smoothies are an amazing way to up the intake of the good stuff. When I blend, I’m keeping all the fiber in with my veg + fruit, which helps clear out anything bad my body is holding onto. It’s a great way to detox gently.
More Island Tropical Smoothie Recipes
So now do I have you feeling all the tropical island feels??? If you’re ready for more vacation-worthy smoothies, be sure to give these a blend:
- Vegan tropical smoothie
- Tropical smoothie bowl
- Healthy margarita smoothie
- Piña colada smoothie
- Dragon fruit smoothie bowl
- Perfect pineapple smoothie
Where would you like to be sipping these tropical smoothies: beach or poolside? Drop a comment below to let us know!
Island Green Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 cup spinach
- ½ cup coconut water unsweetened
- 1 orange peeled
- ½ cup pineapple
- ½ cup mango
- ½ banana
- 1 serving homemade protein powder optional
Instructions
- BLEND spinach, coconut water, and orange together until smooth.
- ADD remaining fruit and blend again.
Equipment
Notes
- Use at least one frozen fruit to make the smoothie cold or serve over ice.
- May swap out coconut water with regular water, if preferred.
- To reduce sweetness, substitute avocado for banana.
- Swap out spinach for the leafy greens of your choice.
Very good! I like the citrus taste. Easy to make in the blender. Completely satisfying!
The citrus def makes this one different!
I love pineapple! This is a great green smoothie
I love pineapple and coconut, so this was right up my alley. My husband felt it tasted too tropical, but he doesn’t care for coconut. It did feel like a refreshing treat. I added some plain protein powder because that makes me feel full longer. I’d make this again!
Similar to the day 1 smoothie. Still good. I future I might need to use fresh pineapple to amp up the flavor.
For some reason it was hard for me to find oranges at a nearby store. So instead I made the Avocado Banana Smoothie after perusing smoothie recipes. It’s not the smoothie for this day but I would rate it as a 4 star. Loved the creaminess of the avocado in the smoothie. Today (Day 3 of challenge) I found some blood oranges so I will come back to this smoothie later.
You gotta make the challenge work for you, Mari! Way to rawk!
Really enjoyed the tropical flavor of this one – texture was super smooth and creamy and it made way more than I could drink in one sitting. Put the rest in the fridge and had it later in the day, though I had to re-blend it because it separated.
There’s nothing a little re-blending can’t fix, Sylvia!
Very refreshing smoothie and great combination of flavors.
So glad you liked this one, Wren!
Loved the addition of a fresh orange and coconut water – this made the smoothie slightly creamy, which surprised me! I did not notice much of a taste difference from using coconut water v plain water, and was happy for the additional benefits. Yum!
The coconut water is definitely good for hydration in this one!
Super good. I like the coconut water instead of milk or just regular water.
The coconut water in this one really makes it special!
Very good!!
Thanks so much, Michelle!
Tropical paradise in a glass.
Seriously like a mini vacay, Sherri!
Enjoyed the smoothie! Very filling for dinner and kept me full till the next day.
This one is super filling. Did you add any protein powder to this one, Kyra?
My favorite so far in the challenge.
Love to hear that!!
Tasted great. Used it for lunch.
This one is great for a lunch smoothie, Lily!
My stars
I had to alter it a little …orange juice, coconut milk and a frozen banana. Love it !!!!
Way to make it work for you, Michelle!