This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
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.
Another great smoothie. I added the homemade protein powder, well had to substitute hemp seeds until I get the Hemp protein powder, which I just ordered!!
Great way to add some protein to this one, Nichole!
So similar to the Best Green Smoothie but the addition of orange and the coconut water is a delicious twist.
The orange and coconut water def give this one the “island” in island green smoothie!
very good – better than yesterday!
Glad you loved this one, Pam!
Delicious! Makes me want to go on a tropical vacation!
Seriously makes me want to be on an island too, Kathleen!
Day 2 – Delicious! The orange was a flavour booste that made me pucker up in joy! This is such a great challenge! I LOVE it!
Yes! The orange is the star in this one, Kari!
Wow, I’ll be on Island Green time anytime with that smoothie! I had cut a fresh pineapple yesterday that was impossibly sweet in the best way, and the addition of the orange was a great balance. It was my 1st time using coconut water in a smoothie, and won’t be my last! This combo had such a lovely islandy fruity flavor, even with the addition of the homemade protein powder. And apologies if ‘islandy’ is not a word.. let’s just call it a very happy adjective. Go Green!
“Islandy” is the best way to describe it, JuJu!
So good!
Yayy! Glad you like this one, Amy!
Used all fresh fruit for this mornings blend. Very tasty combination. This one was ok for me. A bit too heavy on the acid. Between the orange and pineapple. I can do without. A nice try, and what not to use for me.
The citrusy flavor definitely isn’t for everyone, Cheryl! I completely understand!
I liked this better than the Day 1 Smoothie. However, I did change this up a little too. Instead of coconut water (which I don’t like) here’s what I used. I had some red grapes that had a good flavor but awful texture. I blended them up in my Vitamix to make “grape juice”. So, I used a cup of that instead of the coconut water. I also made this a “meal replacement” as mentioned on the website and added 2 TBS of Quick Oats and 1 TBS of raw Almonds (this amount was for 2 servings). I’ve also been doing the “Fat Burning Smoothie for Weight Loss” at lunch time.
Sounds like your version of this one turned out great, Pam!
This smoothie is delicious. I made it the night before, and it held up well when I had it the next day. It’s filling, so I didn’t end up drinking it too fast even though it tasted really good.
This allowed me to slowly enjoy it and stay satisfied without needing more food before lunch.
I haven’t made mine ahead of time, but it’s great to hear it works!
This is one of my absolute favorites!! It still has the greens and creaminess from the banana, but the fresh orange and coconut water makes it sick a treat and so refreshing!
The orange and coconut water definitely makes this one even more tropical, Leslie!
One of the best tasting and refreshing smoothies I have made. Will make again
Hi Kim! So glad you’ll be making this one again!
There is such a nice balance with all of the ingredients in this smoothie that I wanted to make another one!!! It is sooo good!!
This one is hard to stick to just one, Michelle!
Delicious, slightly tangy from the orange, tropical tasting, slightly sweet, not overpowering , refreshing,
Light,,citrusy
You described this one perfectly, Cristina!
Another yummy drink! I’m a bit of a weirdo about texture, so I have a hard time with some foods, as well as the taste of a lot, so I’ve always had a hard time with pineapple and mango (there just a bit too much for me) but mixed into drinks, I LOVE them!! I can’t wait to try the rest of the drinks, and to feel the benefits on my body.
You’d be surprised what you can handle when it’s mixed into a smoothie, Dan!
Loved the sweetness of it. Swapped the coconut water for regular water and it was still lovely and sweet.
Regular waters works just as well, Liz! Keep rawkin’!