This creamy, frosted papaya banana smoothie wins the summer contest for tropical drink of the season. Papaya and banana are blended with fresh squeezed orange juice in this energizing vegan smoothie spiked with healthy, anti-inflammatory turmeric root.
We've been slurping papaya smoothies on repeat at our house all summer long in spite of heavy contenders like gorgeous Dragon Fruit Juice and refreshing Wild Harvest Guava Leaf Tea.
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⭐ Why you'll love this vegan smoothie
- Amazing tropical sweet taste
- Thick and frosty
- Healthy superfood boost
- Dairy-free
- Sugar-free
📋 Ingredients
I love how all the tropical fruit flavors in this papaya banana smoothie are complemented and enlivened by just the right amount of bitter spice.
- Fresh raw turmeric root - Select crisp fresh roots without any specks of mold.
- Papaya - Naturally sweet tropical taste. Choose fully ripe papaya.
- Orange juice - Fresh squeezed will make a difference.
- Frozen banana - Freeze slices ahead of time for a thick and creamy smoothie.
- Black pepper - Increases absorption of healthy compounds in turmeric.
- Coconut oil - Works synergistically with black pepper.
- Ice - Melts while blending for a frosty, spoonable treat.
🔪Steps
Whipping up a naturally sweet and icy papaya smoothie takes less than 10 minutes.
- Slice turmeric root thin.
- Squeeze fresh orange juice.
- Remove seeds from papaya and scoop the flesh into a measuring cup.
- Combine turmeric root, orange juice, papaya, coconut oil, pepper, and ice in a high-speed blender and blend until smooth.
🍹Benefits
I came up with this papaya banana smoothie recipe after my doctor suggested I add turmeric to my diet for arthritis in my thumb. She reminded me of the powerful anti-inflammatory benefits of this golden spice.
Well, I took on the experiment, and the positive result of drinking this sunny papaya smoothie for seven days straight blew me away. It worked!
Now, I am NOT giving medical advice. Please do your own research and follow your own doctor's guidance. I offer this recipe first and foremost for its amazing tropical taste.
However, I would feel remiss if I didn't mention some of the truly impressive nutritional benefits packed into a papaya smoothie with turmeric.
- Papaya - Promotes digestion and healing with papain, fiber, and lycopene.
- Banana - Balances electrolytes with high levels of potassium.
- Orange juice - High in vitamin C and folate.
- Turmeric - Contains curcumin linked in hundreds of studies to prevent or heal a host of ailments including arthritis and heart disease.
🧂Turmeric with black pepper
Ok, so somewhere along the way, I'm sure I heard you ask, "Won't black pepper ruin the taste of a smoothie, and why the heck is it in this recipe anyway?"
Well, UMass Chan Medical School and the National Library of Medicine have articles describing how piperine in pepper can increase the absorption of curcumin in turmeric by up to 2,000%.
I didn't want to overwhelm the yummy flavors in this banana papaya smoothie by using too much turmeric. However, I also wanted this tropical treat to deliver maximum benefits.
Thus, I included black pepper and coconut oil, also said to increase the bioavailability of curcumin in turmeric. Fortunately, it only takes a little of each, and the taste is not noticeable.
🍌 Freezing bananas
Have you ever reached into the freezer to grab some berries or chunks of mango to make a smoothie and found the fruit frozen into a hard ball? A whole frozen banana is just as discouraging when you're trying to make a fast papaya banana smoothie!
That's why I want to share this trick for freezing banana slices with you. You can use the same method with bite-size chunks of any fruit. They break apart easily when you're ready, and you can use as much or as little as you like.
- Slice bananas crosswise into ½-inch pieces.
- Fold a 12-inch by 16-inch piece of parchment paper in half lengthwise to mark the middle. Open the paper and place banana slices on the bottom half of the paper. Allow about one inch of space between three sections of banana with 12 pieces each.
- Cover the slices of banana with the top half of the parchment paper.
- Bundle the packet. Fold it up and secure it with a piece of twine or rubber band.
You'll end up with 3 layers of fruit that won't stick together while freezing. Plus, kitchen tip uses biodegradable materials and reduces plastic. It's good for the planet and good for us!
👩🏻🍳 Expert tips
- Peeling turmeric - It's ok to include the skin of fresh tender roots. If the peel is thick or tough, peel it from the root by scraping it off with a dull spoon.
- Pepper - Measure carefully to avoid using too much.
- Serve - This icy papaya smoothie is the perfect hot afternoon pick me up. It's light and refreshing. Try the protien breakfast variation listed below if you would like a more filling option to start your day.
📖 Variations
- Papaya pineapple smoothie - Substitute frozen banana with frozen pineapple.
- Papaya mango smoothie - Substitute frozen banana with frozen mango.
- Turmeric and ginger smoothie - Add ½ teaspoon of chopped ginger root.
- Protein breakfast smoothie - Add ¼ cup of hemp hearts, replace coconut oil with 2 tablespoons of macadamia nut butter, increase orange juice to one cup and reduce ice to 1 cup. You'll have a single large smoothie with a whopping 24 grams of plant protein.
💭 FAQ
Turmeric powder is made from cooked and dried turmeric root that is ground to a fine texture. Some of the beneficial compounds and essential oils are lost in this process. Also, manufacturers sometimes add coloring to the powder. Turmeric powder is a wonderful spice that has its place, but using raw whole turmeric root insures potency, purity, and a fresher taste in recipes like smoothies.
Yes, if you need to use turmeric powder, substitute 1 teaspoon of dry ground spice for 2 tablespoons of the raw sliced root.
🥗 More papaya recipes
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📖 Recipe
Papaya Banana Smoothie With Turmeric
Ingredients
- 1 cup papaya
- 1 cup frozen banana
- ½ cup fresh squeezed orange juice
- 2 tablespoons sliced raw turmeric root
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1/16 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 ½ cups ice crushed
Instructions
Make papaya smoothie
- Wash and scrub whole turmeric root. Peel if the skin is old or tough. Slice root into thin slices and measure out 2 tablespoons.
- Squeeze fresh orange juice from 2 oranges. Measure out ½ cup.
- Remove seeds and scoop flesh from one small papaya. Measure out one cup of papaya.
- Place sliced turmeric root, orange juice, papaya, black pepper, coconut oil and ice cubes in a high-powered blender.
- Blend smoothie until creamy and uniform.
Serve
- Pour papaya smoothie into 2 glasses and serve right away with a spoon and wide straw if desired.
Store
- Papaya smoothie is best served right away, but can be stored briefly in the freezer or refigerator.
Notes
- Add ¼ cup of hemp hearts, replace coconut oil with 2 tablespoons of macadamia nut butter, increase orange juice to one cup and reduce ice to 1 cup. You'll have a single large smoothie with a whopping 24 grams of plant protein.
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