Mango Coconut Smoothie With a Twist | Dairy-Free

It’s already Day 10 of my 14-Day Smoothie Challenge on Facebook, wow! I hope you got to follow along and try new smoothie flavours in your morning routine. A little something to inspire you to try something different, and today is no exception with this tasty Mango Coconut Smoothie With a Twist!

Rather than just sticking to fruits, I try to add a vegetable or two to most of my smoothies. This increases its nutrients, and let’s face it, we can all add extra vegetables in our diet, right?

I recently made a delicious Energizing Morning Smoothie With Mango and Carrots, and it was so delicious, I decided to create a completely different version of a mango smoothie.

In today’s Mango Coconut Smoothie With a Twist, I not only add a vegetable, but I also use raw Brazil nuts. Why? Well, these nuts boost your smoothie with some essential fatty acids (i.e., good fats), but they are also an amazing whole food source of selenium. In fact, if you eat only 1 or 2 Brazil nuts (raw, not toasted!), you get 100% of your daily requirements in selenium!

Selenium

We don’t talk much about it because we only require a very small amount of selenium every day, but this trace element is essential for our body. Not only is selenium an antioxidant, but it also plays a critical role in reproduction, thyroid hormone metabolism, DNA synthesis, and protection from infection. (source)

Most food and even water normally contains enough selenium, however this can vary greatly on where the food was grown. Selenium is usually absorbed from the ground by the plants, and since most agricultural lands have been depleted of many trace elements and minerals due to decades of mono-crops and synthetic fertilizers, some areas have low levels of selenium and that is passed on to the people eating these foods.

On the opposite side, eating too much selenium on a regular basis can also create issues, so balance is key, as is usually the case, and there is no need to go overboard and eat an entire cup of Brazil nuts in one sitting. 😉

Enjoy!

Spinach is on the Dirty Dozen list, so please look for organic spinach to reduce your exposure to pesticides and other toxic chemicals.

Mango Coconut Smoothie With a Twist

Makes 2 breakfast servings

• 1 mango, peeled, flesh cut from pit
• 1/2 banana
• 1/2 avocado
• 2 Tbsp hemp seeds
• 2 dates, pits removed (or 1 tsp raw honey or maple syrup)
• a big handful of organic baby spinach
• 1/4 cup shredded coconut
• 4-5 raw Brazil nuts (not toasted)
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cup filtered water
• 1-2 ice cubes (optional)

Blend everything in a high performance blender until smooth, approximately 30-45 seconds. Enjoy!