Tropical Chia Smoothie
Nothing says summer quite like a trip to the tropics. But when you can’t make it there in real life, you recreate the vibes yourself which for me features a big fruit protein smoothie.
This is one of the first smoothie recipes I saved and deemed bloggable. It made me really want to continue crafting healthy recipes that others can incorporate into their own diet. Sometimes finding perfect ratios is hard, but that’s why I am here to help.
The key component to this recipe is the usage of chia seeds. I honestly need to make this smoothie more often, because I definitely should increase my consumption of chia seeds.
Chia seeds have so many great health benefits as they are loaded with iron, potassium, magnesium, omega 3’s, antioxidants, fiber, calcium, protein, and so much more.
This recipe also contains over 2 cups of fruit which is always helpful when it comes to nourishing your body and has no protein powder included for those who do not continuously have protein powder in their home.
You will need:
Frozen Strawberries
Frozen Tropical blend
Chia Seeds
Iconic Protein Shake Vanilla (Milk also works as an Alternative)
Greek Yogurt
Ice
I use about a cup of ice with this recipe. I also much prefer to use the sliced frozen strawberries versus the whole frozen strawberries for easier blending. This is specifically true for this recipe because it contains over 2 cups of frozen fruit. It really depends on the quality of your blender and the size of the fruit pieces you are using.
I start this one off by placing my ½ cup of Greek vanilla yogurt in the blender. I use my absolute favorite Greek yogurt which is the Two Good Vanilla Greek Yogurt.
Next, I place my 3/4c of frozen tropical blend (I use the one from BJ’s Wholesale Club Brand Wellsley Farms which contains strawberries, mango, and pineapple) and my 1 ½ cups of frozen strawberries. I place those in the blender and then add the amount of ice that fits. In my 72 oz blender I can fit more Ice than in a 64 oz blender for example.
Once the fruit and ice are in the blender, I’ll add approximately 2 tsp of chia seeds into the recipe. This is one of those ingredients that you can easily add more or less to the drink. It's an easy way to boost nutrient intake, but you also may want to slowly incorporate it into your diet if you are not accustomed to eating high fiber foods.
For the liquid of the smoothie, you have two different options. My personal preference is to use the Iconic Vanilla Protein Shake for more protein, more taste, and it adds a bit of fiber as well. However, you can also use milk for this recipe. I recently made it with Fairlife milk for testing purposes and it still came out just as good. You can even enhance the recipe with some vanilla extract or even add vanilla protein powder if you wanted.
All that is left to do is blend until smooth. My top smoothie tip is to always blend it for a few seconds longer than you think is needed for ultimate creaminess.
