Tropical Mango Turmeric Smoothie Bowl
You know the weather is warming up when mangoes are on the specials boards out the front of every fruit barn in town. And what a wonderful sight it is! Mangoes are one of nature’s sweet delights, and thankfully enough, they’re also brimming with vitamins and minerals, especially Vitamin C and A. Curcumin is the main active ingredient in turmeric. It has powerful anti-inflammatory effects and is a very strong antioxidant. Unfortunately, curcumin is poorly absorbed into the bloodstream. It helps to consume black pepper with it, which contains piperine, a natural substance that enhances the absorption of curcumin by 2000%. Curcumin is also fat soluble, so I have included half of an avocado to not only enhance the creaminess of the smoothie, but also to increase the absorption of the turmeric. This smoothie is quite filling, and I actually couldn’t finish the last little bit…so instead of tipping it down the sink, I used it to create some ‘Mango Coconut Smoothie Muffins’ and my goodness they were moist and delicious. So if you make this smoothie for breakfast, you can simply set aside ½ cup of it and you’ll be ready to bake your morning tea too! I’ll post the recipe for the muffins tomorrow morning.
Serves 1
Smoothie:
1 cup fresh pineapple
1 cup frozen mango
1 large frozen banana (overripe is best)
½ ripe avocado
1 tsp. turmeric powder
1/8 tsp. black pepper (helps to absorb the turmeric)
¼ cup coconut yoghurt / natural yoghurt
1 tsp. maca powder (optional)
1 tbsp. unflavoured protein powder (optional)
Toppings:
You can use whatever toppings you have on hand, such as nuts, seeds, dried fruits etc. This is simply a list of what I used to top mine with:
½ fresh mango cheek (thinly sliced and rolled into a ‘rose’)
Bee pollen
Puffed quinoa
Inca berries
Dried Pineapple
Edible yellow/orange flowers
Place all smoothie ingredients into a blender and process until well combined.
Pour into a large bowl and top with the suggested toppings or your own choice of crunchy, nutty, chewy and sweet bits. Enjoy!
*Note: If you would like to make the easy ‘Mango Coconut Smoothie Muffins’, simply set aside ½ cup of the smoothie mixture*