Mango and Passionfruit Smoothie – the ultimate taste of Summer!

I don’t know about you but mango just screams summer for me and we can’t go past a mango and passionfruit smoothie in our household.  Each year as we anticipate their return, the kids and I can get the occasional fix in from our frozen supply. (Secretly, I may also pat myself on the back just a little bit for freezing a stack of chopped mango when they were at the height of their season earlier in the year).

By making sure your smoothies include a protein source and healthy fats, your blood sugar will remain balanced and your energy won’t roller coaster up and down afterwards. The kids will often choose a smoothie for breakfast in summer and they make an awesome pre-training snack before sport too.

So if you’re a mango lover like us, give this mango and passionfruit smoothie a try. Whilst the passionfruit is completely option, it definitely ups the tropical vibe.

Ingredients

1.5 cups frozen mango

1 cup Almond milk (or whatever milk you like)

3/4 cup Yoghurt or kefir (we use coconut yoghurt)

3-6 egg yolks* (or grass fed collagen powder or a clean protein powder for vegetarians/vegans)

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 passionfruit (pulp only)

• 6 homemade broth ice cubes – for a little extra nutrient density and gut goodness. I make a plain unsalted, no vegetable broth occasionally for this purpose, as it’s really mild in flavour.
  
• Stevia or raw honey to taste (depending how sweet your fruit is and your preferences
• Turmeric and/or ginger (dried powder or freshly grated) for a little extra anti-inflammatory goodness
• Extra fat- a little flaxseed or avocado oil, some nut butter or soaked nuts or seeds
• Some baby spinach or blanched and frozen greens as another way to get vegetables in to the kids
• Perhaps any powdered supplements you take that might fit the flavour profile. I occasionally pop in a mineral powder that’s bright yellow but unflavoured aside from a mild B Vitamin taste. The mango tends to hide this nicely.
• If you are supplementing with any prebiotics, probiotics or liquid vitamin D these all mix really well into this smoothie too, simplifying your morning routine

Method:

1. Place all ingredients except for the passionfruit into a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth.
2. Add the passionfruit pulp and stir through or blend again at a lower speed if you have the option. You can add it at the start if you don’t mind your passionfruit seeds being broken up into small pieces and a grittier textured smoothie.
3. Pour into glasses or a thermos if you’re on the run and enjoy.

Serves 2 -3

* A note on raw eggs

Raw eggs are quite a controversial topic when it comes to food safety. I’ve come to the conclusion that if I’m buying fresh, pastured eggs the risk is really quite tiny and not one I’m concerned about. This differs for supermarket bought eggs, especially caged eggs. The sanitary conditions of the chickens can be quite different and they’re likely to have been stored for longer.

If you’re still a little nervous, you can wash your eggs with warm soapy water before cracking. If there is any salmonella present it’s most likely going to be on the shell. I also have clients who blend in hard boiled eggs to their smoothie, swearing they can’t taste it. Or simply team your smoothie with a hard boiled egg or two for a portable breakfast.

Why just the yolks? The reason is egg whites contain avidin, a compound which interfers with Biotin absorption. Biotin is an important B vitamin present in great amounts in the yolk. Raw whites also contain trypsin inhibitors, which hinder protein digestion.

Cooking negates both these anti-nutrients, so the biotin and protein in eggs are often better absorbed cooked, and often better tolerated by our digestion.

There’s a little debate as to whether this is really necessary, and many cope well on whole raw eggs. As I find lots of my clients do better on just the yolks that tends to be what I encourage. Of course with the pretense that we are all individuals and if we listen to our body, it will usually guide us in what suits it best.