Banana Mango Smoothie

I found the original recipe on Pinterest, where I keep all sorts of goodness if you want to follow me 🙂

I made some tweaks to keep things even more natural, so here goes…

Ingredients:

• 1 ripe banana
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 ripe mango
• 1-2 freshly squeezed oranges (or 1/4 cup orange juice)
• 1.5 cup almond milk
• optional to add 1 drop of orange, lemon or lime essential oil

How to make it:

If you’re using a blender, just add everything to the blender. If you’re using a hand blender, put everything in a large cup (preferably stainless steel).

1. Add the banana and mango
2. Squeeze the orange’s juice right in or add in the orange juice
3. Add the almond milk
4. Add the chia seeds (and essential oil)
5. Blend until smooth

Pro Tips:

• for the orange juice, if you’re watching your sugar or you are sensitive to acidity, go for a drop of orange essential oil and sub the juice for water or extra almond milk. The juice of the orange (and lemon or lime) is acidic, but the peel, which is where its essential oil is extracted from is not. So you get all the nutrients without the acidity.
• if you can grind the chia seeds in a coffee grinder, for example, they’ll blend in better. Definitely don’t add them at the beginning because they’ll likely just stick to the bottom.
  • I like to keep an extra coffee grinder for whole spices and seeds for this exact purpose.
• if you’re in the market for a blender, do your research and splurge a bit – it’s like a mattress or fridge: it may cost more than you wanted, but the value you get out of it will be 10-fold if you get it right.
  • When I find a good blender, I’ll let you know. I’ve heard great things about Vitamix and Magic Bullets in terms of usage and warranty, but haven’t personally tried them yet.
• Get creative! The best part about smoothies is that you can really make it anything you want. That’s why it’s great to go for your physical once a year to check your levels and just be aware of how you’re feeling. If you’re tired, maybe you need more greens in your life. Go for natural sweeteners like dates to keep you from a sugar crash.
  • Write down all your recipes and take note of how you feel before and after.

The good, the bad, and the good

The best thing about smoothies is that they can pack a lot of the nutrients and minerals that support us on this journey called life, and are a great way to get your veggies and fruits in.

The one thing about smoothies though, and you may remember this from a previous article, is that digestion starts in the mouth. When you chew, you release the enzyme Amylase which helps to start breaking down food before it hits your stomach. Well, since you’re drinking it, you’re not allowing the enzyme to get a chance to do its thing, so it can be a bit hard on your stomach to digest.

Try and swish it around in your mouth so that the amylase enzyme can break down the food. I know, it sounds weird because you’d think by blending it all, you’re doing your digestive process a favour, but it’s just the way your body works.

Bananas are loaded with essential vitamins and minerals such as potassium, calcium, manganese, magnesium, iron, folate, niacin, riboflavin, and B6.

Mangoes are immunity. They are loaded with antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, It has vitamin K which is beneficial for our bone health and vitamin A which promotes good eye health, and is very rich in Vitamin C. Check out this article on mango nutrition.

Chia Seeds are an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, rich in antioxidants, and also provide fiber, iron, and calcium.

Almond Milk is a good source of vitamin A, has no saturated fats and is naturally lactose-free.

Let me know how you did, and of course, if you have any questions email me.

About the author…

Natalia is a Certified Wellness Coach, Yin Yoga Teacher, and an Independent International Distributor with Young Living. She is a #1 Best Selling Author, holds an MBA and CPA, and is now dedicated to helping people get back to healthy, clean living so that they can have the energy and mindset to live their best life!

Before transitioning into her role as a Wellness Coach, Natalia worked at one of the top Canadian Wealth Management firms in Canada, acting not only as a coach and mentor to her staff, but also as acting co-chair and mentor to women enrolled in their Women’s Mentorship Program.