Healthy Pineapple Smoothie
Recipe Guide

Benefits of a Healthy Fruit Smoothie.
A healthy pineapple smoothie recipe will make you one of the most nutritious — and delicious — meals on earth. Healthy fruit smoothies are loaded with phytonutrients, vitamins, minerals and enzymes that come in a whole-food form.

The fruits and vegetable blended together in healthy smoothie recipes provide vitamins, minerals, enzymes and fiber that will do wonders for your health — and build up your body’s defenses against disease.

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. 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.

Pineapples are a Great Ingredient for Healthy Smoothies! Pineapples are second only to bananas as America's favorite tropical fruit, and are a popular choice for healthy fruit smoothie recipes.

Pineapples have exceptional juiciness and a tropical flavor that is both sweet and tart. They're high in manganese and vitamin C, as well as a protein-digestive enzyme called bromelain that has been studied for its beneficial digestion and anti-inflammatory properties.

Fresh pineapple that has been cut up should be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container. It will stay fresher and retain more taste and juiciness if you also place some of the juice from the pineapple in the container. Although pineapple can be frozen, this will cause it to lose some of its flavor.

Chilling Your Pineapple Smoothie

Is there's anything more satisfying than a cold, creamy smoothie? There are two ways of chilling your healthy smoothie recipes: using frozen fruit — or adding ice cubes.

• Ice Cubes — a good way of thinning down a smoothie that's too thick and chilling it at the same time.

• Frozen Fruit — has the advantage of not diluting the taste, and also giving your healthy fruit smoothies a creamier texture. It's very easy and convenient to create a stash of frozen cut-up fruit, so you always have some on hand.

Optional Ingredients
for Your Pineapple Smoothie Recipes

Protein Additives

Adding a quality source of protein turns your smoothie into a complete meal. I recommend raw organic eggs or a protein powder made from hemp, rice, peas or whey.

Hemp protein powder is a great way to add healthy omega 3 fats and fiber to your smoothie as well.

Undenatured whey is another excellent source of protein for your smoothies. Both whey and hemp protein are very mild tasting; the hemp powder is not as concentrated and will thicken up your smoothie quite a bit more than the whey protein will.

I don't recommend using cheap protein powders, especially any with artificial ingredients. The whey protein should be cold-processed (undenatured) and derived from grass-fed cows, free of hormones and chemicals. Cold-processing whey protects the nutrients in their natural state.

Antioxidant Superfoods

Green superfood powders like chlorella and spirulina make any smoothie a super-nutritious green smoothie. They give you the equivalent of several full-size servings of dark green leafy vegetables in just one tablespoon.

Superfood supplements like maca root, raw cacao, hemp, flax, chia seeds and others increase the antioxidant content and nutritional benefits of your smoothie in their own unique ways.

Antioxidant superfruits like acai, goji, mangosteen and noni, available as concentrated juices or powders, add lots more antioxidants and a natural fruit sweetness to your smoothies.

Other Great Additions for Your Healthy Smoothie

Coconut Oil is the healthiest fat there is. It contains lauric acid, a rare medium-chain fatty acid (also found in mother's milk) that has many health-protecting properties. Coconut oil gives your healthy smoothie a richer, creamier texture. Because coconut oil is solid below a temperature of 76 degrees F, it doesn't work as well in cold smoothies.

Herbs and spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves have higher concentrations of antioxidants than any fruit or vegetable, and add a warm flavor to your healthy smoothie recipe.

Pineapple Smoothie Recipes

Start by pouring the liquid ingredients for each smoothie recipe into your blender. Use fresh fruit or frozen.

Add any of the optional ingredients recommended above, if you like — then blend until smooth.

Add more liquid to reduce the thickness, ice to chill it, or more fruit to thicken your pineapple smoothie.

Substitute ingredients at your whim — it's fun to experiment!

Pineapple Spinach Smoothie
1 cup of pineapple
1 cup of papaya or 1 banana
1 cup of coconut water
1 tablespoon of coconut oil
2 cups fresh spinach

Pineapple Mango Banana Smoothie
3/4 cup pineapple
1 cup mango
1 frozen banana
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup water

Pineapple Mango Green Smoothie
1 cup pineapple chunks
1 large mango
1 cup chopped romaine lettuce
1 tbsp fresh ginger root

Pineapple Pina Colada Smoothie
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 cup pineapple chunks
1/2 frozen banana
1 orange, peeled

Pineapple Mango Apple Smoothie
1/2 cup apple, chopped
1/2 cup frozen mango chunks
1 cup pineapple chunks
1/2 cup water
3 ice cubes

Tropical Spinach Smoothie
3/4 cup pineapple
1/2 cup frozen mango
1 banana, peeled
3 cups fresh spinach
4 pitted dates
4 ice cubes