A healthy, non-alcoholic Piña Colada smoothie for one that’s creamy due to the frozen banana and yogurt.
If you like Piña Coladas, then let’s go and make our escape. Ideally to a world in which monkey butlers hand us fruity smoothies all day long, and where no one ever gets caught in the rain – I’m not having my smoothie ruined by rainwater!
And, in this smoothie-filled world, Donald Trump is just a reality TV star and not someone who may actually become the next president of the United States.
In case you missed it, the Donald celebrated gaining enough delegates to cinch the GOP nomination by eating McDonald’s on his private plane.
You know the Donald: he always keeps it classy.
Believe it or not, we’re nearly at the end of the US primaries. There are Democratic caucuses in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico on June 4 and 5 respectively. There’s a big day of voting on June 7, with primaries for both parties held in California, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota – plus the North Dakota’s Democratic caucus.
Then, last but not least, the Washington D.C. Democratic primary is on June 14.
So today’s recipe is a bit of a nod to three of those locations: the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and California. Puerto Rico is the birthplace of the Piña Colada, and made the cocktail it’s national drink in 1978. The Virgin Islands is the home of the Piña Colada’s cousin, the Painkiller.
And I always associate California with healthy, fruit-filled smoothies. Yes, that’s a total stereotype, but in fairness, California does produce two-thirds of the United States’ fruit (and nuts).
Piña Coladas aren’t the lightest drinks out there, given they’re typically made with coconut cream (and rum, of course). To make this smoothie creamy like the cocktail, but still healthy, I used a frozen banana, frozen pineapple, Greek-style coconut yogurt, a little shredded coconut and coconut milk (from the carton, not the can).
Frozen pineapple yields the creamiest smoothie, but if fresh pineapple is all you have, then that works too. Just make sure you omit the milk if using fresh pineapple (unless you want a really thin smoothie).
Since coconut milk from the carton doesn’t have an overly strong coconut taste, I used Greek-style coconut yogurt rather than plain. To make this smoothie dairy-free, try using actual coconut yogurt (i.e. yogurt made from coconuts). Alternatively, pineapple-flavored yogurt would be delicious.
And if you don’t have any dairy or non-dairy coconut (or pineapple) yogurt, then plain yogurt will be A-OK.
There’s one obvious ingredient missing from this smoothie: alcohol.
While I was willing to break out the Tia Maria for the recent Coffee and Walnut Layer Cake and brandy for my Christmas Pudding Pancakes, adding rum to my smoothie felt like a step too far. If you’d like a slight rum taste, replace the vanilla extract with rum extract. Rum extract isn’t particular potent, so don’t expect a huge flavor hit.
Alternatively, if you’re taking the ‘it’s 5 o’clock somewhere’ approach, try replacing some of the coconut milk with white rum. (Please note that I haven’t tested this – it’s just a devilish idea).
Lastly, the pineapple bowl and mini umbrella are completely optional, but very highly recommended.
- 1 frozen banana
- ½ cup frozen chopped pineapple
- ¼ cup Greek-style coconut yogurt
- ¼ cup coconut milk (carton)
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons shredded coconut
- Blend the frozen banana, frozen pineapple, coconut yogurt, coconut milk, vanilla extract and shredded coconut until smooth.
- For a thinner smoothie, add some more coconut milk. For a thicker smoothie, add more frozen pineapple.
- Pour the smoothie into a tall glass (or pineapple bowl). If desired, top with some fresh fruit, shredded coconut and/or granola.
Any thick, coconut-flavored yogurt should work in this recipe. Alternatively, just use plain Greek yogurt.
Fresh pineapple
If using ½ cup fresh pineapple instead of frozen, omit the coconut milk.
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