Poolside Pineapple Smoothie That's Delicious And Healthy

Bring the tropical breeze in with the Poolside Pineapple Smoothie!

Summer is just around the corner and we are reminding our customers about one of our favorite poolside smoothies! This recipe features two of our favorite fruits for smoothies (pineapple and banana) and follows our smoothie guide's easy outline for smoothie perfection.

The end result is packed with vitamin C (an antioxidant our body needs to synthesize collagen) as well as B vitamins.

Add Healthful Seasons hydrolyzed collagen and you have yourself a healthy serving of collagen protein which has loads of benefits for women. We're talking healthy hair, glowing skin, and strong joints.

Healthful Tip: Before making smoothies, purchase fruit in bulk, cut and freeze. Freezing sliced-up fruit on parchment paper before dividing into freezer-safe zip-locked baggies prevents the fruit from sticking together, which makes it easier to retrieve the proper serving amount. Once you freeze all your sliced fruit, you can then divide ingredients by recipe. 

Your Royal Highness...Queen Pineapple

For fresh, whole pineapple, grab the crown of the pineapple and twist it off. Then yell out, "The Queen has been dethroned!" (The last part is very important.)

 Lie the pineapple on its side and cut the top and bottom off using a sharp knife. 

 Stand the pineapple upright and cut down the center.

For each half, line up your knife with the edge of the core and slice down and slightly inward, toward the middle.

After removing the core, slice in half, rotate and slice down, but do not cut through the skin. Rotate and cut ½ inch-sized slices. 

Using the knife, slice underneath the pineapple chunks and above the skin of the pineapple to free the pieces. 

Once you have your pineapple wedges, spread out on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and freeze. Freeze for at least 6 hours or overnight. Once frozen, divide out into freezer-safe zip-locked bags.

Healthful tip: If a fresh whole pineapple is too much, you can purchase fresh slices of pineapple from the produce section. You can also use canned pineapple chunks. 

Healthful tip: Pineapples are high in vitamin C, which you need to process collagen (1, 2, 3). Pineapples also contain manganese and a good source of copper, vitamin B6, vitamin B1, fiber, folate, and pantothenic acid. With its high vitamin C content, pineapple is a water-soluble disease-fighting antioxidant that protects against free radicals in the body. It also contains bromelain, a group of enzymes, which help break down proteins. Bromelain has also been studied for its potential to fight colon cancer and suppress breast cancer cells (4, 5, 6).

Yes! We Have Some Bananas!

Peel and cut bananas into circular slices.

Bananas add a thick and creamy texture to every smoothie, especially when they're frozen.  

Prepping the fruit and freezing it is the hardest part. Making the smoothie is a breeze! Just toss your ingredients in and blend away! Full ingredients and instructions are below. 

Healthful tip: You probably know that bananas are one of the best sources of potassium. But they are also high in fiber and vitamin B6, and a good source of vitamin C, manganese, fiber, copper, and biotin. When you peel a banana and see the dense fruit inside, it’s hard to believe that bananas are low in fat, high in fiber and water. Bananas also contain beneficial antioxidants and have been studied for lowering blood pressure, controlling kidney disease and other health-related benefits (7).

Seasonal tip: Bananas are NEVER out of season! They are inexpensive, delicious, and nutritious. You can stock up and freeze them or buy fresh.