Thick Tropical Smoothie Recipe with Papaya

What? Is That a Real Smoothie Stand I spot?

We loved the smoothie bars in Hawaii. I love that this trend of fresh juice bars and smoothie stands is slowly but surely picking up.

If you ever come across a real smoothie stand, stop by. A real smoothie stand is a place that has fresh or frozen fruit as well as greens, vegetables, super foods such as seeds, raw nuts, nut butters, almond and coconut and hemp milks as opposed to dairy milk (yuk!), then they know what they are doing and you owe it to yourself to stop and order a smoothie.

You will see a lot of other “smoothie” places, with frozen fruit and pasteurized fruit juices out of a can or a bottle with an offer of some protein powder. Just avoid them! You need some greens and super foods in your smoothie to make it healthy and nutritious.

I LOVE love a pure fruit smoothie now and again but I’d never add bottled fruit juices and don’t recommend it. Bottled fruit juices are an addiction I gave up in exchange for freshly squeezed juices.

And if you feel that $7, $8 or even $9 is too much for a 16-oz freshly-made smoothie, try making it yourself at home. You may save a few bucks but the freshness and high quality and variety of the ingredients that go into a fresh healthy smoothie are WORTH every penny. Treat your body right. Stick to daily clean green eats with smoothies.

And in Hawaii and New York City, the trend is picking up and healthy smoothie stands are showing up everywhere. This makes me (and hopefully YOU!) very lucky recipients of some great smoothie love!

The Perfect Thick Tropical Smoothie with Papaya and Coconut Milk and Hemp Seeds

I had lots of smoothies during our 2-week holiday in Hawaii, and they were all mouth-watering delicious. I inhaled some of them in under 3 minutes! Yum. But this one was an especially delicious combination of fruits and seeds and greens that I repeated back home.

Major health benefits of this recipe:
– Papaya: Amazing hair and skin benefits. It makes your skin look young, vibrant, glowing and soft.
– Banana: Excellent source of energy, refueling, protects against muscle cramps during workout, helps depression.
– Hemp seeds: An incredible vegan source of biologically available easily digested protein, contains all 10 essential amino acids.
– Coconut milk: Great source of healthy fats plus loads of vitamins and anti-oxidants to help you build a strong body.

Here’s your tropical smoothie recipe for this thick healthy concoction:

1 cup of fresh papaya
1 frozen banana
1-1.5 TBSP hemp seeds
1 cup coconut milk
1-2 pitted dates
Optional: 1 TBSP cacao powder

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