Smoothie Archives - Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Fruit Shake Recipes On-the-Go

Fruit shake recipes (aka fruity smoothies) is something good and healthy for mornings or before a hike. Enjoy the 3 fruity ideas 🍓🍒 below.

…I was inspired by smoothie to-go (or on-the-go recipes) because I found I actually crave a cold one on an adventurous hike or on a warm day.

…Or after I’ve reached the mountain top and taken in the height and scenery, I’m thinking, ok… what’s next?

…And a strawberry milkshake 💭 usually comes up, but is not in hand.

It’s a food dream I have in my head… that even matches my pink wear on some days 💕

But then I talk myself out of the shake because the reality sinks in… fast food milkshakes are usually full of sugar and high calories.

…Which isn’t good for all the good exercise calorie loss (or weight loss) that just happened while hiking.

Plus on-the-road, I don’t want to stop if I don’t have to, so I let my craving time pass while driving.

Like you in your travels, I want to keep going…

So to be aligned 😁, I found a good satiating solution… that’s a cold fruit shake I bring along with me… that’s waiting for me after the hike later in the afternoon.

Oh, and it’s HEALTHY too! 🎉

So this week’s post is all about fruit shake recipes you can enjoy and take on-the-go along with you.

And if you like fruit shakes, these easy fruit shake recipes are healthy taste ideas you can use at home or on your next outing adventure! 🧉

Be sure to also check out my tips waaay below 👇 for these enjoyable take-with-you fruit shake recipes….

In the fruit shakes, the fruit and a ‘lil honey, syrup, or spice is the added sweetness.

They’re loaded with vitamin nutrients and the healthy good stuff.

And while a banana is a great smoothie texture and healthy ingredient, if you’re not a fan, below are some other ingredient substitutions that will hold up outside on activity game day.

And the best part is… the ingredients in a fruit shake drink is refreshing, guilt-free, and convenient.

…That’s what I think golfers thought when I was a kid on the golf course serving ice cold lemonade 😀

The most important feature was the ice cold part 🥶 that cools and soothes our Pitta on a warm or overheated activity day.

And in that Pitta Ayurvedic balancing spirit, you can prepare these fruit shake recipes the day before (that’ll please you and others when you want them)!

Easy move: freeze the fruit shakes, and then take them with you in your cool tumbler or cups.

If you take the fruit shakes out from the freezer in the morning, by afternoon or sooner they will have slowly melted for drinking.

You can also bring with you some water and ice in a cooler (if you weren’t planning to already).

And if your fruit smoothie shake has melted too much, add a few ice cubes.

…And if still too frozen, add a ‘lil water to melt.

It’s that easy to get the perfect temperature drink on-the-go! 🧡

Your fruit smoothie will be temperature ready for you when you’re ready to celebrate and feeling happy that you reached the summit top (or whatever that is for your day)…

You can stroll, sip, and enjoy a cold strawberry 🍓 with a strawberries-and-cream fruit shake vibe wherever you are.

…That’s what I’m talking about!

Another fruit shake idea is a grapefruit shake for less sweet-on-the-go tastes.

This fruit shake recipe has whole grapefruit prepared, unsweetened applesauce, and ginger powder.

When you pair whole ingredients that are a tasty duo together, they don’t need sweetness… and that’s coming from the mouth of a serious sweet tooth with former-caterer tastes. 😊

Grapefruit is loaded with Vitamin C that’s anti-inflammatory and good for you especially if you have outdoor allergies, but want to enjoy a sunshine-y day.

Or a star day.

…Anthocyanin strawberries can be the red star ingredient you add.

Anthocyanin is a polyphenol that’s eat-from-the-rainbow 🌈 anti-inflammatory healthy. It’s also part of a healthy Mediterranean diet full of red, blue, and black berries.

For a strawberry fruit shake, the strawberries are also loaded with Vitamin C (as are most food in the same fruit category)… and Vitamin B-9 or folate that’s especially good for cells.

Keeping healthy cells is what matters most in anti-inflammatory living.

And this strawberry fruit shake recipe is made with almond flour, 3-5 strawberries, and almond milk.

The almond flour texture gives it a slight thicker strawberries-and-cream vibe.

But there’s no cream.

…That wouldn’t be good on warm days or for healthy dessert drinks.

Speaking of which a cherry and apple fruit shake is another one that’s enjoyable and has whole and healthy ingredients that are great for travel. See recipe below 🍒🍎

Ingredients for a cherry shake include: dark cherry and chopped apples. For some sweetness, you can add cinnamon and/or maple syrup.

And for texture, you can add ground flax seed that’s filled with omega-3, fiber, and protein.

You can also add chia seeds and ground oats for an overnight oats effect if you want to go that route.

But whatever ingredients you ultimately decide on, the dark cherry and apple make this one satisfying fruit shake. 😋

Ingredients for fruit shake recipes are whole and healthy like in an cherry apple smoothie shake. — Ingredients for a cherry apple fruit shake drink.

And these are some good tips for your on-the-go fruit shake recipes…

Fruit Shake Tips For Recipes

✅Use frozen fruit as ice! Also, when fruit isn’t yet in season, buy frozen fruit that’s more economical and doesn’t go bad.

✅Look for organic berries and fruits.

If you’re using the fruit peels, citrus zest or berries, whether frozen or fresh produce, organic is the better pesticide-free way for healthy living. Bananas are an exception since the peels aren’t consumed.

✅Bananas make great smoothie textures. And if you don’t prefer bananas for smoothie fruit shake recipes or don’t have any bananas on hand, these make great fruit shake recipe ingredient substitutes:

chopped apples

applesauce

protein, collagen, or energy powder – will help you keep going in the day

fruit zest (from the outside peel)

If you don’t have a nutrition powder, you can use a gluten-free (healthy) flour like almond or coconut flour good for sweet drinks.

Use a freezer-safe cup or tumbler, and freeze overnight so that your fruit shake stays cold. Pull out in the morning and put by your things you’ll be packing for the day (so you don’t forget!).

For more healthy smoothie ideas, grab this FREE smoothie guide challenge (if you dare 😊)!

Cherry Fruit Shake

This will fill about 12 of an 8 ounce cup leaving room for ice or water as needed during the day. For a full cup, double the ingredients.

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

1/2 cup tart or Bing cherries
1/2 cup peeled and chopped apple
1/2 cup almond milk

Instructions

Blend ingredients and freeze for at least several hours.

Hangover Smoothie Ingredients You’ll Love

Hangover smoothie is a good way to describe a healthy soothing beverage-is-medicine solution when you’re feeling an over hang.

…Most people even these days aren’t aware that a hangover comes from dehydration.

Late night alcoholic drinks is often blamed as the cause. Because alcoholic beverages are diuretics.

And around town, you need to say no more the next morning when you tell others you were out or up late. They get why you’re sluggish.

A hangover, like moods, is best described as symptoms where you don’t feel your best.

And they often start your day, the most important part of your day…

At least for productivity.

And hangovers don’t just come from late nights (with or without alcohol).

Losing an hour in daylight savings can give you that lesser feeling, and headaches from mental hangovers where a situation hangs over you head.

…I remember I felt a hangover when I lived off the highs and lows of life… feeling happy from social events and a fun day shopping at the mall… but then gradually the let down feeling of now what? creeping in… and wanting to keep that high feeling up.

The highs and lows are the worst, and more maturely eventually exercising my contentment muscle cured that… and allowed me to exercise greater self-control that’s an underrated personal development skill that helps throughout life.

But that high-low hangover feeling was a subtle feeling compared to a hangover from alcohol and dehydration….

Where drinking more water helps restore the immediate balance. Remember, our bodies are about 60% water.

Through drinking water and osmosis, we can hydrate our body cells to get us back to our optimal feeling selves in those situations.

👉 Amount of water daily rule of thumb you can use: divide your weight in half and then divide by 6 to know how many 6 oz. glasses to ideally drink per day.

For 130 lbs, that’s about eight – 8 oz regular glasses.

So point #1 is to feel good: and make sure you’re getting enough water.

Going to the toilet a zillion times a day is better where you’re preventing health issues and hangover effects you could have.

And if your urine is a dark yellow anytime, then you know drinking more water is and a tall glass is in order.

Also, adding in more electrolytes with calcium, potassium, and sodium. Some drinks like coconut water or V8 have this without the added sugars and are good for hangovers.

…And if you’re still feeling a hangover effect, then a hangover smoothie can be just what you need for your healing! 🧉

It can help you get on your feet when you feel malaise and want to stay in bed in the morning with throbbing pains and aches.

Headaches are the most common hangover effect.

There are many food ingredients too that can help you feel better faster. And a smoothie is a quick one to make.

Smoothies are also light when you don’t feel like eating.

Below is a great hangover smoothie recipe with berry and citrus to help you especially on those days!

The citrus alone will bring some happy flowing and brightening vibes. 🌼

…AND these common smoothie ingredients are not just good for hangovers.

They’re also good for an anti-inflammatory lifestyle, and incorporating foods that don’t cause inflammation (that is a big known cause for common chronic diseases like heart, diabetes, and certain cancers).

Living inflammation-FREE is a good mission and what I’m talkin’ about 👯

In 2020, I experienced eczema for the first time and since then I’ve learned to eat enjoyably with a lot less sugar and eczema-inflammation free.

Honey, fruits, and monk fruit sugar sources are what I use mostly in baked goods.

…Because Brandy is my name that also means sweet… and this girl is not giving up the sweet taste!

In the Western world, we’ve gotten used to the sickenly sweet pastries we see every time we venture out.

And the more we eat, the more we want since sugar is an addictive substance.

…So controlling the sugar intake is a better way, just like feeling contentment is better than high-low happiness based on current situations in life.

…And so a smoothie is a great way to develop better healthy eating and sweet habits!

You end up with more fruits with vitamins and antioxidants, than needing to add any other types of sugar sources (with zero nutritional value).

it’s a great daily replacement.

Plus, adding healthy, fresh plant-based fruit and veggie ingredients reminds you of an experience of what you get when you order a healthy smoothie from a smoothie shop.

That’s often a look-forward-to treat that becomes an event you mention to others. There’s some sort of cool feeling about it like going to a smoothie shop after yoga class. And we know feeling cool means feeling good. 👍

…Btw, I’ve always had good luck with smoothie shops… once I won a smoothie shop gift card and I’d never won anything before. It felt like winning a small lottery.

I also found the shops make great meetup places in the afternoon past coffee o’clock when you wanna sip and sit outside.

I mean, you gotta celebrate where you have luck 🎉, where you meet nice people 😊, good things happen…oh, AND you hydrate your thirst 💦 as part of your healthy fill!

And these days, you can order some of the healthiest anti-inflammatory ingredient smoothies on the planet that come in colors that look like they’re outta this world. 🌎

Something like this mermaid blue instead of a blue sugary slushy…

You can also easily source your own ingredients and make wellness and hangover smoothies at home.

And if that’s calling you 📣, I have a challenge I think you will love that highlights the healthy, budget-friendly special ingredients that you see or walk past whenever you’re in a grocery store.

…It’s a 7-Day healthy smoothie recipe challenge.

👉 And if you signup now you’ll get the additional FREE bonus baking recipe challenge for anti-inflammatory living (that are some of my fave desserts!).

If you’re like me (a foodie! 🙋🏻‍♀️) who likes sweets without giving up tastes, these 12 healthy bake recipes may do the trick! 💕

…They’re simple to prepare and bake with healthy-inspired ingredients that will help you feel good especially on all-day restore comfort, PJ days!

My healthy food mission is about delicious and staying the same comfortable weight year-round (and lifelong).

…So there’s no loss, and everything to gain.

…That’s something good to add to bakes and smoothie tastes.

And I like to blend the two with smoothie dessert tastes that are drinkable without any of the bad stuff. 🍥

Natural ingredients are good for hangover feelings.

Plus, a healthy hangover smoothie is a great way to balance your body, and add vitamins and nutrients you could otherwise be missing.

Like consider these killer hangover smoothie ingredients:

Berries – Blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and blackberries all have high anthocyanin antioxidants and polyphenols that give a berry fruity-forward taste.

As fruits go, berries are not as high in natural sugar so adding them to a healthy hangover smoothie will help bring out other flavors.

Look for organic berries because regular berries are highly sprayed with pesticides. You may have better luck in the frozen aisles when they’re not in season. 😉

Citrus – Grapefruits, oranges, lemons, and limes are all super high in Vitamin C antioxidants.

Vitamin C is one potent vitamin that I’ve never heard anything bad about… and like you, I’ve lived through some decades of food debates and nutrient controversies.

And Vitamin C is one of the few vitamins that you won’t overdo as your body will naturally flush out the water soluble source.

Citrus as juicy vitamin fruits make great hydration foods for a detox hangover smoothie.

Oh, did someone say detox?

Ginger always seems to come to this mind.

Ginger – is great if you have a stomach ache. Ginger ale may be something that you drank to calm your gut growing up.

But even better is eating raw ginger straight up. Or adding small chunks to your smoothie so they’re not as spicy-gingery.

And along those lines, adding mild mint calms upset stomachs and bloating. Having mint leaves close by is a good idea.

Like an herb plant that’s below to the LEFT (and on the right is a no care-needed avocado seed plant good for mental hangovers 🌱)

Peppermint is a specific herb and mint ingredient that’s menthol powerful. Mint tea is good to have in your food-as-medicine cabinet.

…And is actually super helpful right away for many aches, from headaches to stomach aches (that remember link in the mind-body and direct mind-gut connection).

And these healthy ingredients can all go in one smoothie… ahhh, but wait there’s more!

These are other smoothie pairing enhancers great for a hangover smoothie.

Tropical fruits – besides vitamins, pineapple and mangoes are great adds to cure a hangover because they have a high natural fruit sugar content (so they help to replenish glucose levels and detox). They’re super sweet for a reason. 🥭🍍

Eaten in moderation, they are healthy fruits from nature’s labels.

Bananas are also great staple adds in smoothies because they add back what’s missing. It’s a good source of potassium that helps to add back body electrolytes.

They are also a great simple filler food that’s on the BRAT diet when you don’t feel like eating (aka. hangover or sick feeling).

A banana is great for smoothie texture and taste. 🍌

You can peel and freeze ripe bananas and have them ready-to-go. They won’t be yellow pretty, but they will do the trick!

And then when you add your smoothie liquid, you get the much needed hydration for your hangover feeling.

Milk (or plant-based milks) can be the bulk of the liquid added where you get even more electrolytes than just water in a smoothie.

Now that you have the ingredients and then some that you can mix up and use in a daily uplifting smoothie…

Ready to make the simple blender hangover smoothie?

Oh, and do check out other Magic Bullet recipes.

Berry Citrus Hangover Smoothie

This is one refreshing smoothie that will help with your headaches too!

Ingredients

1 tbsp fresh mint
1 medium banana
1/2 grapefruit
1 tbsp blueberries
1/2 lemon
1 tsp ginger

Instructions

Add all ingredients and blend. If you prefer oranges for citrus, substitute the grapefruit. And if you prefer strawberries or raspberries over blueberries, have at it! There are no wrong answers! It's your delicious and healthy smoothie!
If you want to make a green smoothie, you can add brewed green tea, spinach. To counterbalance the bitter, add a sweet fruit like pineapple..

Dry January The Healthy Tea Way

Dry January is catchy these days as people (…maybe you?) want to be better to their health and bodies than before because living longer optimally is available.

…And I have an offer below 👇 (that’s FREE) to help this cause, and if that’s where you are!

Drinking healthy is smart and good for weight loss as metabolism and the body changes over decades.

…And no matter what age you are, we’re living in tech exciting times.

That surely (if nothing else yet) keeps us curious to what’s next and on our toes! 🩰

Curiosity and wonder is what this life journey is all about. 💭

And to enjoy life fully, being healthy changes everything about daily life.

It’s the daily little steps that make all the difference. 🐾

And this article is all about how you can optimize your life with healthy tea (and other anti-inflammatory drinks) you can celebrate the ride with through dry January if that’s what you’re doing or aspiring to.

Your healthy drink habit intentions and efforts could be the one action step change that changes the trajectory of your future. No judgment wherever you are, just a mild fact.

…You can avoid surprising health diagnoses and gain healthy outcomes with the one life you and I get by your daily drink habits.

And off the bat, ruling out excessive drinking is good for your body.

…Not just cocktails, but also regular mocktails 🧉filled with sugar. That often comes in a pretty and shiny can.

And for starters, I’m a Sugar Queen.

I know all about the substance as I was the kid who delighted in spoonfuls of sugar out of the sugar jar and always had candy, cookies, cakes… you name it.

If you had a sweet emergency, you could always count on me to have something sweet-on-hand to calm your nerves. 😁

And today I still enjoy the sweet bakes with low-sugar so I can feed my craving that’s not a sugar addiction.

Sugar drinks is where you can score lots of points. I had my own lessons learned experiences. That’s how I started my mornings for a few years where cola felt good.

These days, I can’t tell you the last time I picked up a soda pop because I broke the bad habit.

When you get to that point, your body helps you too and you no longer have a sweet soda craving (addiction).

But getting there can be gradual.

And a good place to start is replacing bad drink habits with simple and low-sugar drinks that are good for your health, like healthy smoothies.

There are also plenty of delicious natural drinks that have a great taste out-of-the-box that don’t need much thought to make or zhugh to create…

Teas are at the top of list.

With a little added water (that is the drink of life), you’re off to the races, avoiding some headaches and overeating.

Water is life and naturally the drink for all life, like camels that can’t get enough of the flowing crystal liquid 🐪

And water in tea as flavoring is a great way to add variety drinks to your day!

The healthy tea benefits outweigh the concerns for stained teeth and any other tea-related disadvantages.

…I’ve been drinking black tea and all different color 🌈 and types of teas my entire adult life, and my teeth are still white.

Plus, we live in an era of whitener options to get them pearly.

And tea is much better for your teeth than sugar.

One super tea is green tea (more on this below 👇).

And if you’re not a green tea 🍵 flavor fan (like most Vata first people that prefer sweet), there are options, like: fruity herbal tea and adding cinnamon spice.

There is so much drink-from-the-rainbow variety! 🌈

And last time I checked the stores, there were whole aisle shelves filled with teas, so you’re in good company to support a dry January cause that can be year-round.

Packaged tea from grocery stores often come with 20 bags and for under $20 you can buy lots of tea variety.

But before you head to the stores, check your teas at home.

When you’re ready, head to your tea stash to survey what your current options are. And maybe think of how you can add to the deficit.

In your kitchen shelves, as part of organization, you can pull out all your tea bags and loose teas (whether they’re in bags or not).

Sniff how fresh they are.

And see what your (Ayurvedic) preferences are as your nose knows!

That’s what I like to do also with spices during the holidays.

…This sniffing idea caught on with me from childhood slumber parties I went to.

Sleepovers were a popular thing to do.

And one New Year’s childhood sleepover (…back then, they were all dry 😊), we stormed my friend’s kitchen (aka parent’s cabinets) and pulled out all the spices and set them on the table… and from there we did a fun blind sniff test on one another.

That started my cinnamon curiosity. 💕

…And that cinnamon stick memory sticks with me as decades later I’m into the Ayurvedic spice. 😊

Just like that, I grew from sugar to cinnamon girl! 🧒🏻 🦸🏻‍♀️

And today you can do the same fun experience with your tea and spices at home.

…In the malls I went to (another popular past-time), there were Teavana stores (that Starbucks currently owns) where they kept loose teas and they would let you sniff the loose tea wafts.

The employees waved the tin tops so you can make your own tea pairing blends.

And you could bring back the canisters to refill. I miss those days when I fell in love with mate tea and chai undertones that are BOTH even more popular today!

That’s inspiration for making your own home tea blends that can be made from spices, and vice versa.

…And with teas in front of you, you can mix-and-match and have a dry January party every day. 🎉

You can even double-up with 2 tea bag flavors to light your tea fancy.

…And this is how you can fit your green tea in that goes well with peach and other fruity flavors.

Leaving the teas out so they’re visible brings tea possibilities.

Detox, black, green, herbal, white, and red (rooibos) teas… bring it on! This is my sample stash that changes as often as the seasons…

When you sniff teas, the tea smell strength tells the tea story… of how it will taste brewed. And also how healthy it will be.

The healthy profile is in the fresh, so that’s one reason why freshness and expiration dates do matter.

On Green Tea

Green tea is one of the most healthy tea types, and matcha tea is one potent green tea type that is high in tea caffeine if that’s important to you. 🍵

Teas have anti-inflammatory healthy profiles. Like L-theanine in green teas and catechin (polyphenols) in white and black teas.

Usually polyphenols are rainbow 🌈 colors, but black is void of colors and white has all the colors.

Like fine wines, green teas have grades and ceremonial grade is high-quality and going to be the most favorable for a sweet tooth.

Premium grade is close, but comes from a second harvest so will be a more like a traditional green tea that’s bitter and culinary grade.

And green tea is great for a tea ritual.

Dry January won’t seem as dry with your tea practice that is cozy warming 🕯️and complement yoga time on your mat. 🧘🏻‍♀️

Muti-tasking both is healthy.

And as for beginner tea tools:

Buy or bring out a tea pot that will make your party enjoyment easier.

Growing up, tea pots with jasmine tea are familiar to me because that’s when I saw them served with fortune cookies at Chinese restaurants my family occasionally went to.

And in trying this at home, keep in mind a tea pot is not a tea kettle. 🫖

Word to the wise: read the instructions that came in the box.

And if it’s a hand-me down pot or doesn’t come with any instruction (…sound familiar?), proceed with caution as many ceramic or clay pots are not boiling water heat-safe… so they could blow a lid.

Leave the tea pot on the serving table and pour the hot water from the stove tea kettle into the table tea pot.

And if you are drinking green tea, let any boiling water cool down first to steaming hot (but not boiling hot).

⛔️ Boiled water burns green tea leaves and that’s how you get a more bitter taste that isn’t favorable (that will make a non-green tea fan even less of a fan!).

To sweeten, you can also add honey and a great healthy flavor pairing is lemon.

Lemon and green tea are anti-inflammatory activating-powerful as a pairing. ⚡️

And when you lean into fun flavors like pucker-up lemon 🍋, dry January will no longer be as dry anymore… and also when you immerse yourself in teas that are easy to find.

Like, a Chai Latte where you fall in love with tea as your new go-to comfort when you’re feeling bored with water.

Or try a ginger tea and you’ve got a delicious drink that’ll give you something to hang your hat on (and not a hangover). Pair with lime, orange, or lemon that are all winter citrus fruits with a zippy vibe.

📣 NEW: For more inspiration, if you would like more daily healthy tea and drink ideas, grab my FREE digital/printable 7-Day healthy smoothie recipe guide.

👉 And if you want super easy and healthy blender recipe ideas, check out my NEW Magic Bullet recipes.

Mango Smoothie Benefits

Mango in a smoothie is one way to start your healthy morning. Learn about the fruit benefits and get ideas for your smoothie.

You’ll learn all about the mango healthy sides here…

First of all, the stone fruit has a good amount of fiber, so it’s a great morning starter to rev up the gut engines… plus the bright taste and sunny color is going to leave you happy. 🌅

You may not have a choice about what side of the bed you woke up on… but you do have a say in turning that wake-up frown, upside down to prepare you for your better day! 🥭

And saying yes to the fruit means adding vitamins and minerals that you may not have without.

For starters, mangos are loaded with Vitamin C that’s a smart morning staple. It’s the vitamin that has stayed constant in health benefits over the centuries. The “C” could stand for “cure” as it has been. And is a great immunity booster.

Plus, it’s water soluble so you can’t take too much.

The fruit is also a good source of Vitamin A good for eyesight and dry eyes if that’s you.

Mangos are inexpensive and found year-round in the U.S so there’s nothing stopping you.

You can get a fresh juice in seconds for less than you would pay for a soda loaded with sugars.

And if you think a mango is loaded with sugar… you’re right. It’s like a pineapple in that way. And mango has more sugar than low-sugar cookies.

…But the 20 or more vitamin and mineral benefits offset the sugar sides as shown in a 12-week study.

The findings include that despite the high sugar amount in a mango, the blood sugar in study participants tested lower as a deemed low-glycemic index food.

That’s what actually counts more than the printed sugar count on a cookie package.

And that news can be a game changer for pre-diabetes, preventing or even managing Diabetes if that’s a concern.

It also is named an anti-inflammatory food… that we like! And is good for everyone to protect against chronic inflammation and diseases.

Because of the polyphenol and fiber counts, eating a mango does good to help offset the gut-inflammatory aspects.

And in my own tests, my skin doesn’t crawl when I eat them… and is probably adding a rainbow glow and erasing lines. 😊

Which btw, you can probably guess what rainbow polyphenols are living in a mango based on its Goldenrod bright orange (paper) color. There was a Vitamin A hint above.

Found in carrots too, mangos have beta-carotene. They also have quercetin (found in apples and onions) as part of the great mango tango.

…And maybe that makes you dance inside a ‘lil 💃🏻 or look at a mango more positively than before.

Or even consider mango as a smoothie starter.

Add a banana and water or milk, and you’ve got a solid mango smoothie!

But you don’t have to stop there…

You can add all the healthy ingredients that help your gut, detox, and provide vitamins and antioxidants on top of mango!

You can pucker up with lemon that’s a winter citrus. It has a summer fruit reputation despite its year-round availability.

And for a third taste dimension, add ginger and turmeric that would make a super mango smoothie, that’s an anti-inflammatory powerhouse.

If you’re food dreaming of a mango drink 🥭, then you may also love mango lassi spiced just right or a mango juice vs. orange juice. Or a tropical green smoothie or morning mango parfait for probiotic gut-health bonus.

The healthy variety of tastes is unlimited!

Mango Parfait

A morning mango parfait is an easy way to bring a smile to your mornings and weekends.

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

mango, pureed
Greek yogurt
blueberries or blackberries (optional)

Instructions

Layer yogurt bottom and add mango puree. Add a layer of contrasting berries if you like. Enjoy!

Frozen Cocoa Cherry Pistachio Beverage

Frozen cocoa beverage…whaattt? Cold cocoa (vs hot cocoa) is probably not what you think of when you think of cozy Christmas-y holiday vibe drinks in December. ❄️

And not a beverage you would hold with mittens around a dreamy outdoor cozy fire.

…But before you turn away the idea, a frozen HYGGE-cozy flavored and FUN layered cocoa variety can be a welcomed chiller! 🧊 Think of it like an unusual frozen smoothie. And that is great for cooling any stress-irritated moods that can sink in.

Like this one I share how to easily make…

…It’s layered, and looking like a sand art glass (yes?). And one you can imagine maybe finding at a Christmas market or art show.

Oh, except this one is deliciously drinkable made with drink slip away ingredients (and not slipping sand)! 🧋

And this frozen cocoa beverage is inspired by dairy-free spumoni ice cream flavors dreamt up from a childhood travel experience in Italy. 🇮🇹

Each layer is frozen and when the drink melts, it’s more fun to watch than a snowman melting. ☃️

You can use anti-inflammatory cocoa like I did with Hershey 100% raw cocoa, and then layer with cherry juice… and then add almond milk with a few drops of Pandan (for natural mint green color) and pistachios.

If you’ve never tasted Pandan 🌱, it’s a plant-based ingredient with a vanilla-nutty vibe that taste mixes well with plant-based milks like almond or cashew milk.

For healthy cocoa, instead of going to the cocoa mix beverage aisle of the grocery store, visit the baking or seasonal aisles instead to find the pure multi-purpose cocoa.

The cocoa can be used to make a drink like hot or cold cocoa, or used to bake with and make desserts like healthy chocolate cake, brownies, and cookies.

You want to find an unsweetened, raw cocoa that is not alkalized (processed or Dutched cocoa) for the healthy tastes. And this is the best kind to bake with too!

Most marketed drinking cocoa coming in packets or pouches with the options of marshmallows are the processed kind often loaded with sugar.

You can always sweet treat yourself with marshmallows (sugar) ontop at the end. Or simply zhugh with coconut chips or pistachio crumbles.

You can also substitute the cocoa with a healthy coffee milkshake or pure cold brew coffee.

And then after you’ve made your frozen cocoa beverage artwork 😁, you can serve with cocoa desserts like this cocoa brownie cake with cashews and dried raspberries.

Which btw, polyphenol-rich cocoa and raspberries are an anti-inflammatory power couple.

…But me-thinks 🧒🏻 that a frozen cocoa beverage is just what these healthy un-iced and faceless molasses gingerbread men ordered. The mystery remains… 😊