Brazilian Love Green Smoothie (Vegan)

Ugh, green smoothies. Like what’s new, right? So how about some Brazilian love, exotic fruit and samba grooves to welcome Spring and reboot your green smoothie routine? I just spent a week in Brazil visiting friends and working long-distance, and I had forgotten just how amazing the options of available fresh fruit juices and smoothies was there! Papaya and mango are like currency in this country, and forget about the insane amount of fruit you can squeeze into your happy hour Caipirinhas, from acerola to pineapple, passion fruit and cashew fruit. And man did I drink the life out of all the coconuts while I was there. I used to buy a fresh green coconut every day from a street vendor by my house who would crack it open with an actual machete and sip on it on my way to classes. Ah heaven. And just in general, I realized going back how much I had underestimated Brazil’s level of development when I lived there. I suppose I needed to go live in Peru to actually appreciate the level of comfort and the modernity of services available in Sao Paulo. I almost cried when I jumped into a taxi with a GPS or opened a restaurant menu with an actual salad section. It was really nice to go back for a few days. Now I’m in Lima for a week before going back to Cajamarca, which is cool because I never really got to discover Lima. I have been to Lima a few times but I always passed by for a couple of days or less when travelling to somewhere else and never had time to discover it though I know it’s an amazing city.

Oh and I have to tell you about the most insane, most out of this world, most outrageous thing that happened to me on the flight from Sao Paulo to Lima yesterday. I’ve been telling EVERY living soul about it, even random strangers in the coffee shop where I’m currently working out of. I was on the same plane as Julian Casablancas, the lead singer of the band The Strokes, and his new band (Julian Casablancas + The Voidz) who are touring South America with the Lollapalooza rock festival (featuring major bands like Arcade Fire, Phoenix, Pixies,…). The festival was in Chile, Argentina and in Sao Paulo last Saturday and the band was headed to Lima to play a concert tomorrow night. When I arrived at the airport and saw they were on my flight I wanted to faint, and when I saw I was SEATED right next to some of the band members on the plane I almost fatally choked to my own death. I am never, ever, EVER that lucky. My kind of luck would generally be the sad, pathetic loser kind, like getting to fly on the same plane as a major celebrity rock band but seated 10 rows behind them and getting to stare at the back of their funky hairdos as the highlight of that story. This time I was so close that I actually got to hear Jeff Kite, their keyboards man, snore in my ear for five sweet hours of flight! I hated myself for not having a smartphone to take a billion selfies right then and there. I even got to clink my airplane wine glass with their lead guitarist as he asked the steward to pour me some more. I think I turned a new shade of lobster red and would have been ready to rip up my hard-earned 6 year college degree and promising career to be a cleaning lady on their road bus if they had asked at that moment.

But since they didn’t ask and my only wild perspective of living the rest of my life as a rock band’s groupie has now been shattered into a million pieces, I’ve decided to pursue a healthful life instead, featuring this Brazilian Love Green Smoothie in honor of all that is good and pure in Brazil and that will fit into a blender. I wish my photos for this recipe were a little better but I photographed this a while back and haven’t had time to do a proper setting featuring all the ingredients. You can either blend everything with a couple of ice cubes to chill the smoothie or use frozen fruit which works even better. And because I’m a fair person, I will also do a Peru Love Smoothie soon. After all, Peru is home to the some amazing fruit and superfoods and they deserve a place in the sun on this blog too.

Brazilian Love Green Smoothie

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

1.5 cup coconut water, chilled

1/2 cup fresh squeezed lime juice

1 banana

3/4 cup mango chunks

3/4 cup pineapple chunks

1/2 cup cucumber

2 cups of collard greens

1 Tbsp of Açai powder

Several fresh mint leaves

Ice cubes

Instructions:

1. Place coconut water and lime juice in the blender first. Add the collards and blend for 30 seconds on medium to break up the fibery greens and avoid having chunks in your smoothie.

2. Then add the fruit, mint, Açai powder and ice cubes (if using) and blend on high to obtain a tall, frothy smoothie.

 

Notes:

No sweetener is needed in my opinion as the variety of fruit in the smoothie should be plenty sweet, but you can add some raw honey or stevia to make it even sweeter if you wish.

Use frozen fruit instead of ice cubes if possible for an even frostier result.

Add a tad of chia seeds, coconut oil, spirulina or grass-fed gelatin as healthy boosters!

 

Shared on Gluten Free Wednesdays, Real Food Wednesdays, Fresh Foods Wednesday, Allergy-Free Wednesday, Wellness Wednesday, Get Him Fed, Gluten-Free Fridays, Marvelous Mondays, Let’s Get Real