Healthy Pina Colada Smoothie
Recipe Guide

Nutritional Benefits of a
Healthy Fruit Smoothie

A healthy pina colada smoothie recipe will make you one of the most nutritious — and delicious — meals possible. Healthy smoothie recipes are loaded with fruits and vegetables that provide an abundance of phytonutrients, vitamins, minerals and enzymes in a whole-food form.

In addition, when fruits and vegetables are blended, the plant fibers are broken down just like when you chew them; the blender literally does most of the “chewing” for you. And chewing food more thoroughly means that you'll absorb more of the nutrients.

Healthy fruit smoothies retain the fiber from the fruits and the vegetables you use as well. The fiber works to improve digestion and helps your body naturally rid itself of toxins. Fiber also helps you feel more satisfied, and maintains that feeling longer.

Ingredients for a Pina Colada Smoothie

The main ingredients in a pina colada smoothie recipe — pineapples, bananas and coconuts — have plenty of nutritional benefits. The pina colada has been around for long enough to be considered a classic. This tropical recipe has a very enjoyable taste that makes for great healthy fruit smoothies as well.

Pineapples have exceptional juiciness and a vibrant tropical flavor that balances sweet and tart flavors. They are second only to bananas as America's favorite tropical fruit. Pineapples are an excellent source of manganese and vitamin C.

Learn all about about pineapples at Produce Oasis/Pineapples

Bananas are one of the best food sources of potassium — the average banana contains 467 mg. They're also excellent source of vitamin B6, vitamin C and fiber.

Learn all about about bananas at Produce Oasis/Bananas

Coconuts are nutritional gold mines. You can use coconut in any of its forms as ingredients in your smoothies. There's coconut water from young green coconuts, coconut milk, meat or coconut oil.

Don't be concerned about coconut's high fat content — these are healthy fats, full of rare medium-chain fatty acids that are very beneficial. Coconut meat is also very high in fiber.

Learn all about about coconuts at Produce Oasis/Coconuts

Orange Juice  Some pina colada smoothie recipes call for the use of orange juice. You should know that there are a lot of inferior orange juice products on the market, and you'll want to know how to choose the best ones if you want to create a health smoothie.

I've devoted an entire page on the processing of orange juice that you don't want to miss — it exposes the truth about the quality and freshness of the juice in your store. Read it here: Orange juice Facts

The pina colada recipes below use whole orange pieces instead of orange juice; that way, you get an unprocessed product and the beneficial fiber from the orange pulp as well.

Learn all about about oranges at Produce Oasis/Oranges

Making Your Smoothie Recipes
into Complete Meals

Many smoothie recipes are relatively low in protein, so they're not complete meals by themselves. The easy solution is to add a protein source to any healthy smoothie recipe.

The simplest way to do this is by adding a couple of raw organic eggs to your basic recipe. Raw eggs won't change the taste of your smoothie at all, and the argument that they're bad for you because of the cholesterol content is just not true. Eggs are one of the most beneficial foods you can eat, especially when consumed raw.

You can also increase the protein content of your healthy smoothie recipe by adding a protein powder.  Be sure to use a high quality product; most cheap protein powders are excessively heat-processed and aren't really good for you.

There are many other ways to transform your ordinary smoothie recipe into one with enhanced nutritional value. You can add superfood powders, healthy fats, herbs, spices and extra fiber. My complete guide to making a smoothie has lots of tips and tricks to make your smoothie better.

Pina Colada Smoothie Recipes

1. Start by pouring the liquid ingredients for each smoothie recipe into your blender.
2. Toss in your solid ingredients: fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables.
3. Add any optional ingredients, if you like — blending as you go.
   
4. Add more liquid to reduce the thickness of your smoothie, ice to chill it, or more fruit to thicken your smoothie.
5. You can substitute ingredients at your whim — it's fun to experiment!

More Healthy Smoothie Recipes

Healthy Green Smoothies
Healthy Breakfast Smoothie Recipes
Healthy Low Fat Smoothies
Healthy Low Carb Smoothie Recipes
Healthy Low Calorie Smoothie Recipes

Healthy Strawberry Smoothie Recipes
Healthy Strawberry Banana Smoothie Recipes
Healthy Blackberry Smoothie Recipes
Healthy Banana Smoothie Recipes
Healthy Blueberry Smoothie Recipes

Healthy Mango Smoothie Recipes
Healthy Pineapple Smoothie Recipes
Healthy Peach Smoothie Recipes
Healthy Kiwi Smoothie Recipes

More Information on Healthy Smoothies

Healthy Smoothie Recipes
Basic steps to make a healthy smoothie

Complete Guide to Making a Healthy Smoothie
Insider secrets for creating awesome smoothies!

The Best Blenders for Smoothies
For great smoothies, make sure you have a quality blender.

Antioxidants Home Page from Pina Colada Smoothie Recipes