More smoothie goodness!!
Our guests have raved about this uncomplicated tropical concoction so much that I felt it had to be posted here for all to share. [warm smile]
Enjoy!
1/2 cup young coconut flesh, chopped
1 cup young coconut water
1 cup fresh pineapple, cored and chopped
2 large very ripe bananas, sliced
1 tablespoon raw coconut oil
pinch of Himalayan salt
1/2 cup fresh water (optional)
Using a high-speed blender, puree the young coconut flesh and coconut water together until a milky consistency is reached. Next add the chopped pineapple, sliced bananas, coconut oil, and salt and process until creamy. You should end up with a mixture that is like a viscous sweet nectar…”MMMMM!” If you find that the mixture is too thick for your taste, add the 1/2 cup of fresh water to thin it out a bit.
A few tips…
The listed ingredients amount to about four to five cups of smoothie, equal to roughly two large servings or four small servings.
The peels of very ripe bananas will be speckled with lovely brown spots. The larger the spots, the more ripe the banana. And the more ripe the banana, the sweeter is it. When you utilize the natural sugars found in very ripe bananas, there will most likely be no need for other sweeteners. However, if your bananas are not as ripe as you’d like them, feel free to include a bit of raw agave nectar (or any other raw sweetener of your choice) to the mix and adjust the level of sweetness to your taste.
Fresh pineapples are readily available in many international markets, as well as some large chain grocery stores and health food stores. A ripe pineapple will be quite aromatic with leaves that are easy to remove and an outer rind that is more yellow than green. Now, don’t go pulling and twisting all the leaves off pineapples in the store in the hopes of obtaining the best one. Plucking away one leaf toward the middle of the top will do just fine. [wink]
Young coconuts will vary from one to next in how much flesh is found inside. Some are quite young to where the flesh can be akin to jelly, some with flesh starting to solidify but still quite soft, and others more mature with flesh that is thick but pliable. Opening each one is a surprise. Since there’s really no way to definitely know exactly how much flesh is inside each one, it may be good to purchase two to three young coconuts at a time, just in case. Discovering that there’s not enough of an ingredient in the midst of recipe prep is not fun. Also, be careful not to pick ones that have strange pigments anywhere on them, like pinkish or purplish spots. The outside should be white and not dimpled as if drying out. And, if your coconut smells or tastes “off”, it may have likely gone bad. Most will taste mild and sweet though some can be rather bland, and some even a little bit salty. But they shouldn’t taste bitter. Trust your senses! Young coconuts can be found in Asian markets as well as some health food stores.
Now, prepare yourself for total bliss!
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