Is it still sunny near you? If so you’re going to love this seriously refreshing Sunshine Smoothie. I’ve been really getting into my arvo smoothies the past few weeks – this Flu Busting Smoothie, this Jaffa Smoothie, even this Salted Chocolate Thickshake smoothie. This mango-infused one though is irresistibly refreshing. It’s all things tropical island – sweet mango, creamy banana, a sprinkling of earthy coconut. With just 5 ingredients and 5 minutes, get on and transport yourself to tropics now!
How to Make this Sunshine Smoothie
What is a Sunshine Smoothie?
The inspiration for this Sunshine Smoothie is two-fold. Firstly it reminds me of the classic Mango Weiss ice cream bars we had as kids. If you haven’t tried them, they’re a smooth creamy ice cream stick blend of coconnut yoghurt and mango – rather delicious.
The second part of my inspiration is from my travels around South East Asia. Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Borneo and Cambodia, have been some of my favourite destinations. And of course, there’s tropical fruit everywhere. Everywhere you go there are side stalls offering to blend these tropical delights into a monster shake, all for the incredible sum of 1 US dollar. The local versions are usually made with lots of fresh fruit, ice, and a generous helping of sweetened condensed milk. I’ve remade ours using plant-based milk and dates, which gives them more than enough sweetness without the dairy.
Ingredients for Sunshine Smoothies
This sunshine smoothie is pretty simple, just 5 base ingredients, with optional coconut on top. If you’ve got access to fresh mangoes then chop those up and freeze them ready, otherwise you can commonly now find frozen mango in the freezer section of the store. You’ll also want to slice up and freeze the bananas in advance too (I typically always have both of these in the freezer ready for recipes like these). Here’s what you’ll need.
- Mango
- Banana
- Plant-based milk (coconut is awesome, otherwise anything works)
- Dates
- Lemon juice
- Ice
- Desiccated coconut for the top
Tips for the best smoothies
You might already have your smoothies down pat, but I still surprisingly get a lot of questions on how to get your smoothies ‘just like they do on Insta’. Here are a few of my top tips for you:
- Put your liquids on the bottom, ice on top: You want to always put your liquids in first, then your fruit and other ingredients, and finally your ice. This way when the blades of the blender get going, they’ll pull in the easy to blend ingredients first 9Eg the liquids), and then slowly bring in the harder ones such as the frozen fruit and ice last. Do it the other way round and your blender will likely get stuck (or get very very hot).
- For creaminess use plant-based milk: For each cup of liquid, either use all plant-based milk, water plus a tablespoon of nut butter (almond and cashew is the most subtle in flavour), or ¼ cup coconut cream and ¾ cups water. This will give your smoothie that creaminess without needing dairy, yoghurt, or ice cream. For this particular smoothie, a coconut based milk tastes delicious. If you’re using the tetra-pak thin style coconut milk then use the full milk measure; if you’re used canned coconut cream or milk, just use ¼ cup and the rest water. I personally never buy the tetra-pak coconut milks as it’s much more cost effective and less packaging to use the canned coconut option.
- Always use frozen fruit: This will make your smoothies creamy and thick, without needing ice cream. I always buy the bunches of ripe bananas on special, slice them up, lay them in a single layer on a silicon baking sheet, and freeze them. Once frozen, then put them in a container – this way they’ll be free flowing for your smoothie rather than all freeze together in a gigantic banana iceberg.
Love smoothies? Try these next:
- Salted Chocolate Thickshake
- Flu Busting Smoothie
- Green Kiwi Smoothie Bowl
- Jaffa Smoothie
- Superfood Smoothies
- Apple Pie Smoothie
- Rich Chocolate Smoothie
- Daily Green Smoothie
Let me know if you make this tropical Sunshine Smoothie delight! Leave me a comment and rating below, or take a snap of yours and tag me on Instagram @begoodorganics.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ c mango chopped & frozen
- 1 banana sliced & frozen
- 1 c plant-based milk
- 1 date
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 c ice
- 2 tbsp desiccated coconut (optional)
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a blender, liquid on the bottom and the ice on the top.
- Blend for 1 minute until smooth, top with desiccated coconut, and serve. You can also pop it in the freezer for half an hour to firm up slightly, then eat with a spoon as a frosty style gelato.
Equipment
Recipe Notes
- If you use coconut milk it makes this even more tropical. If you’re using the tetra-pak thin style coconut milk then use the full milk measure; if you’re used canned coconut milk or cream, just use ¼- ⅓ cup and the rest (⅔ – ¾ cup) water as it’s much creamier.
Did You Make This?
Tag @begoodorganics
I can’t wait to see your creations!
