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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
- Piรฑa 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
- ยฝ cup coconut water unsweetened
- 1 orange peeled
- ยฝ cup pineapple
- ยฝ cup mango
- ยฝ 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 makeย 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.
Wow. I’ve never used coconut water before and find it to be a nice addition. I used fresh pineapple like I do for juicing and discovered that I need to be more careful with the prepping. J
It’s great for hydration and gives this one a little more of an “island feel”, Jann!
Very easy to make. Like they way the flavors blend so well together.
Hi Brenda! Glad you liked this one!
I was ready for the extra protein and hydration today. Delicious and quick smoothie!
The coconut water in this one is great for hydration, Jan!
Wonderfully refreshing. These are so tasty.
So glad you thought this was refreshing, Barb!
Very summery flavor to this smoothie. On a very grey dreary day with windchill in the 30s it was very nice. I sat in front of my light therapy box while drinking it and pretended it was summer.
I bet it felt like a mini vacay, Sherri!
All my tastebuds can say is “Wow”! I wasn’t sure how the orange juice and coconut milk would mix but I loved this smoothie. Just the right balance of all the right flavors. THUMBS UP!!!
I love a good thumbs up, Elissa!
It wonโtbe the last time we Mixed up this one. My 6 year old daughter starts to enjoy greens in a juice, how great!
6 Year old stamp of approval means a lot, Claudia! Especially when it comes to anything with greens!
WOW! This Smoothie is a symphony of pleasant flavors! Orange was definitely a main player on the tastebuds; however, Pineapple and Mango hit their notes as well, with Banana just slightly chiming in.
The orange is def the star of this show, Doree!
Day 2 smoothie was mmmm good. The combination was very tropical and it wasnโt sweet. I added flaxseed meal along with chia seeds for a little pick me up after my morning run. I doubled the recipe so my sister can have a glass and she enjoyed it as well.
Flaxseed meal and chia seeds are awesome additions to this one!
I wasn’t impressed by this one. It wasn’t bad and I could drink it but the taste was neutral, I like parties n my mouth ๐
This one definitely isn’t for everyone, Renee! Completely understand.
This is my favorite smoothie so far!
Yayy! Glad this one made your favorites list, Debbie!
Loved Day 2 smoothie. I was a bit skeptical about adding orange at first, but really enjoyed the combination. Will make this smoothie again. Quite delicious!!
The orange can be intimidating yet it really gives this one a great flavor!
Ono (Delicious in Hawaiian)!!! The orange was a great touch along with the pineapple ,mango and banana
I drank it in about 20 seconds. I made it when I got home for lunch, I was starving since I didnโt eat anything this morning.
This one is hard not to gulp down, Paula!
It was good less sweet then first but I tasted the coconut water which honestly not a great fan. Excited to move to Day 3
You can definitely swap out the coconut water if needed, Susan!
Delicious, absolutely delicious
Yayy! I’m happy you found it delicious, Sue!
I enjoyed day 2 smoothie as well. Used it as a recovery drink after a workout and added some protein powder to it.
This one is great for recovery. The coconut water adds extra hydration!