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I’ve been trying to get my family to eat more fruits and this worked perfectly. Even my kids loved it!
Danielle
It’s official: I’m hooked on papayas.
Papaya mango smoothie, papaya in curry, papaya covered with brown sugar and lime, Thai green papaya salad (alright, so far that one just exists in my head)… but all around, sweet and savory and everything else, I am just adoring everything about this tropical fruit.
Did you know that papayas have these big seeds in them? Er, actually, they’re little. But there’s a lot of them. They are squishy and they taste bitter and spicy and they go straight to the garbage. Gar-bage. I said it.
But actually, every time I cut into one of these gorgeous fruits and before I scoop those seeds into my reject bowl, I just stand in awe for a minute and try to think of yet another angle for photographing how beautiful that sweet, juicy coral-pink-yellow fruit is against the texture of the squishy black seeds.
It’s stunning, really.
This smoothie is my current go-to. I’ve used combinations of pretty much every tropical fruit ever. Mango, papaya, banana, pineapple, pomelo, orange, coconut… gang’s all there. Or not – you can just make this smoothie with a simple papaya, mango, and milk. And maybe a tablespoon of honey or sugar because… I need it. Seriously. This is not fancy stuff. It’s simple ingredients coming together perfectly.
Since they’re in season now, the custodian at our school picks papayas right off the tree on the school property. He slices them up and serves them to all the teachers for a snack. That. Is cool.
Also. This week I bought the world’s biggest papaya from a market on our street. I stopped in on my morning run, and now magically I want to go running every day because fresh juicy papaya, leading to fresh juicy papaya mango smoothies, will be my reward. Win, win, winnn!
This papaya was different than the ones I get at the grocery store – more reddish colored on the inside and more, um, big. And how amazing is the green-yellow pattern outside? It’s amazingly amazing! Why can’t we grow these in the Midwest again?
Truthfully though, as much as I will miss having papayas for breakfast and the precious kiddos at the shelter, our hearts are getting ready to go home. It’s becoming a daily exercise to be present and whole-hearted as we are starting to think ahead to good ol’ Minnesota, our family, our friends, and everything else that awaits us there.
We have 40-something days left to live this chapter of our lives, and my hope for Pinch of Yum in this final stretch is that in addition to being a place for food lovers, it can allow you to experience the beauty of the ministry that we’re a part of and the people who have committed their lives to this work. “Living Abroad” posts have been really fun to write and even more fun to look back on, so thank you for allowing some space for that to happen here this year. I so sincerely appreciate all your encouraging and positive comments about this place and our experience.
Ok, I’m done.
Smoothie. Love. Go.
Quick update: for all my blended stuff these days, I get the best results with my new Blendtec Designer Series Blender. If you’re in the market for a new grown up blender, this has your name all over it.
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Papaya Mango Smoothie
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
This papaya mango smoothie is made with just papaya, mango, milk, and honey! The end result is smooth, creamy, and refreshing.
Ingredients
- 2 large, ripe papayas
- 1 large, ripe mango
- 1 orange
- 3/4 cup coconut milk (I used the kind from a can)
- 1/2 cup regular milk
- 1 tablespoon honey
Instructions
- Cut the papayas in half and remove the seeds. Cut the peel off the halves, roughly chop the peeled papaya and place in the blender. Cut a mango in half around the pit (there’s a large pit down the middle), scoop the flesh out of each half and place in the blender. Peel an orange, separate the sections, roughly chop into small pieces, and place in the blender.
- Cover the fruit with the coconut milk, regular milk, and honey. Blend until very smooth. Add ice and blend until smooth, or serve chilled.
Notes
I don’t have a freezer so ice isn’t an option for me. 🙂 Instead, I just keep all the ingredients in the fridge so when I want to make a smoothie, it’s all already cold and I don’t have to wait for it to chill.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 5 mins
- Category: Breakfast
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: papaya mango smoothie, mango smoothie, fruit smoothie
Disclaimer: this post contains affiliate links.
Whyyyy can’t papayas that lovely looking come to us in the US??
I’m so excited to try this, usually smoothies have banana and I cant eat them.
The few times I’ve added banana, I always feel like it throws the taste off. So usually now I make it without! 🙂 Glad that it works for you!
I love these! I love the color, so pretty!! I have actually never had papaya, but you make me want it!
I wish I were starting off my morning with one of these! I love all of your pictures of the sky, gorgeous!
That is looking gooood! It’s made me want to try so many more exotic fruits. I tend to just stick to what I know but a papaya will be on my hunt-down list next time I’m out shopping!
I just got absurdly excited at that first picture! I don’t know if I’ve ever had papaya, but consider me on that bandwagon now!
I’ve never tried papaya before but I am def intrigued now! And I’m officially addicted to mango so…
Those kids are going to miss you like crazy!
I have only ate papaya cooked, in an amazing candied papaya my great gram used to make, I’ve never had it raw but next time I’m out and about I must look for them since I drink fruity shakes on the go every morning =)
Candied papaya? That sounds incredible.
OH YUM. When I was in Africa we drank something similar to this {no ice} mixed with a third fruit — avocado! It was amazing with a squeeze of lime on top. Loved it. You are going to SO MISS the tropical fruit!!!
NO WAY! I just bought an avocado on my “market run” this morning because I wanted to experiment with adding it to the smoothie. how funny!
I too will miss the “Living Abroad” posts. I always enjoy your food posts but there is something extra special when you post about those beautiful children. Thank you for sharing that personal part of your life with us!
Thank you for being interested in it! 🙂
Beautiful pictures. It sounds like you have had an amazing experience over there and something you both will carry with you forever.
This smoothie is beautiful–that color! You are so lucky to have such fresh, tropical fruit at your fingertips!
I bet it is a bittersweet time for you and Bjork Lindsay – heading home in such short time. Many happy thoughts being sent your way. Oh and I love papayas! I’ve never seen one that large before – it’s as big as your head. Suddenly I’m craving massive amounts of tropical fruit right now. 🙂 These smoothies look luscious! Delicious! And refreshing. Yum.
Thanks Sally! By the way, does anyone ever call you Sal? Or Salster? Because… we sometimes do. 🙂
Gorgeous! I’ve heard you can use those seeds for something. Some people do eat them, but I’ve heard drying them & grinding them like pepper is fantastic. (I used to live in Costa Rica).
Anyway, I’ll be thinking about y’all in these last 40 days. There’s nothing wrong with being a little homesick and wanting to move back home. It’s ok 🙂
Ahh yes! I knew there was something good to do with them. That sounds really interesting! 🙂
I have enjoyed your living abroad posts, what a life! Hopefully, you don’t have to come home to the winter that never ends 🙂
I hear it’s still snowing… how is that even possible?!
That first picture is SO COOL! Nice work.
I’m totally hooked on papayas too! LOVE that pouring shot.
Thanks! It was a total mess, splatters everywhere, but we went with it. 🙂
Papaya and mango in the same smoothie? That is dessert for me!
Oh, Lindsay… I am so glad to read the last portion of your post. That has been my prayer for you lately, that your hearts would transition into readiness for your homecoming and that you’d be able to hold the present and the future with open hands. With that said, dear friend, I can not wait for you to get here so we can wog around a lake or two and end up at Cafe Latte for a long, long talk. 40some days and counting… 🙂
WOG! Oh, sweet wogging. in fresh air. I can’t wait!! 🙂
I was hooked at smoothie 🙂 They look beautiful and remind me of warmer weather!
I think I had papayas at every meal while on our honeymoon in Jamaica! It was the first time I had ever had it and the ones I can get in Ohio just don’t taste the same. I really want to grow pawpaws… they have that papaya/tropical flavor, but you can grow them in the Midwest!
Oh my gosh!! I need to read up on that. So cool!
I lurve papaya…. I made the mistake of trying one of the seeds once… Not. Good. At. All. But this smoothie… now that looks GOOD!
This really really makes me miss the Philippines! I haven’t had a mango that tastes as good as the mangoes back home, and now I want a sweet papaya too!
Wow, 40 days. It will be interesting to see what foods you make upon your return. And even if the Midwest this summer is hot I bet you won’t notice. I guess that is Upper Midwest.
We love smoothies, and make fresh tropical smoothies all of the time. I’ll try this recipe for sure. (We do grow papayas, but not quite THAT big! :))
I had a dream a few days ago–Not to freak you out but it was so funny–that you and Bjork knocked on our door and were coming to visit. Somehow I feel like you had a baby with you, so either you were delivering us a new baby (a girl after our four boys?) or you had your own. Anyways, dreams are strange, but who knows–maybe one day you’ll make it to Hawaii! (with a baby?)
Aloha, and thanks for all of your awesome recipes, and sharing. I love it all!
That is too funny! Not sure about the baby thing… but Hawaii doesn’t sound too shabby. 🙂
I love papayas!! I miss the papaya we have at home in the Philippines that my dad took care of.
BTW, why are you using coconut milk from can when you’re in the Philippines? Just curious! 🙂