Recipe: $1.50
Per Serving: $0.75
I completely forgot how San Diego tends to have super sunny days in January. You know, when it is winter in the rest of the Northern Hemisphere. We left a rainy, chilly San Diego in December, and returned in January to its super sunny and summery friend. Which means: it’s totally okay to start your day with a green smoothie!
This time last year we were in the midst of a Green Smoothie 30-Day Challenge. I was still a baby blogger, so I didn’t know what I was writing about, but I loved sharing the price breakdowns and a couple of our favorite recipes. You can drink a green smoothie every day for less than $1! My #1 favorite recipe never actually made it on the blog, so with all that delicious homemade coconut milk, I thought I’d go ahead and post it.
Full disclosure: last year I would ALWAYS buy the frozen mango chunks at Trader Joe’s for $2.69. I’m not sure if they’ve just discontinued them, or if they can’t get cheap mangos, but I haven’t found them for the last couple of months. When your mangoes go on sale, just buy a big juicy one and that should be more than enough for this 2-person smoothie recipe. Sad days without frozen mango chunks.
There’s good news though: you can also supplement with pineapple! I made this using Trader Joe’s frozen pineapple tidbits a few times and it was still delicious. In the future, I’d probably do 1/2 fresh mango and 1/2 frozen pineapple to cut back on the cost but still get that mango flavor. ALSO, I found that frozen pineapple blends much much better than fresh pineapple. The fresh stuff tends to stay a little stringy. You can also freeze the coconut milk in an ice cube tray if you like a very cold smoothie. (About 8 cubes equals 1/2 cup.)
This mango-coconut spinach smoothie is also a crowd-pleaser. We hosted a 12-person brunch before a group wine tasting day and every single person drank a mango spinach smoothie. Even the people who had never seen a green smoothie before were into it. WIN.
Okay, here’s the super simple tropical spinach smoothie recipe. Enjoy!
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Mango (or Pineapple) Coconut Spinach Smoothie
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 5 mins
- Yield: 2-4 1x
Ingredients
- 3 cups fresh spinach (packed)
- 1 cup water
- 1 small banana
- 3/4 cup mango chunks (or pineapple) – best if frozen
- 1/2 cup canned coconut milk (see homemade coconut milk here)
- Optional: add 2 scoops collagen or 2 Tablespoons hemp seeds for added protein
Instructions
- Add the water and spinach to the blender and blend until pureed, stopping and pushing down the spinach if necessary.
- Add remaining ingredients: banana, mango, coconut milk, (optional added protein) and blend until smooth.
- Pour into two large glasses and serve!
Notes
Note: If I just need one serving, I still make 2 servings and store the 2nd in an airtight glass jar for 12-24 hours and then drink immediately after opening it.
Protein: If you want this as a meal replacement, I HIGHLY recommend adding protein to avoid a sugar bomb. I like collagen because it is completely flavorless, but hemp seeds or ground hemp seeds are also great here for a vegan option.
Servings: If pairing with a meal, can easily split this into 4 servings!
- Category: Drink, Breakfast, Dessert
