How to Make a Delicious Dragon Fruit Smoothie at Home

The pitaya, more commonly known as the dragon fruit, is a tropical fruit that happens to have striking beauty and an individual taste. Its flesh, either in bright pink or white, flecked with tiny black seeds, presents a dish of unforgettable display in smoothies. Tasty and wholesome, dragon fruit is also chock-full of vitamins, antioxidants, and fiber. This Dragon Fruit Smoothie is a refreshing and easy way to savor this exotic fruit.

What is Dragon Fruit?

This is a tropical fruit native to southern Mexico and Central America. and father, mother-in-law, and strawberries and pears. It has a distinctive taste reminiscent of melon or kiwi.

The outside of the fruit is bright pink with a light green tinge (hence hence the dragon name). The fruit usually has a white flesh with black seeds, but other times it will be a bright pink flesh. It is rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Depending on the time of year, I could sometimes find fresh dragon fruit at the grocery store, but most of the time I buy frozen dragon fruit, especially for smoothies

Dragon Fruit Health Benefits

As a healthy snack, dragon fruits have low calories but are rich in so many essential vitamins and minerals. Here follow some amazing health benefits of dragon fruit:

• Rich in fiber, dragon fruit can also give the feeling of fullness and regulate blood sugar levels.
• It also contains vitamin C, vitamin E, calcium, potassium, magnesium, and iron. Other nutrition-valuable phytochemicals that can be added include polyphenols, carotenoids, and betacyanins.
• It is rich in antioxidants that will help with lessening inflammation and protecting your cells from damage.
• This is because it also houses prebiotics, which provide for the growth of gut-friendly bacteria in your body.
• This is rich in Vitamin C, while carotenoids have antioxidant properties.

Ingredients

• 1 cup dragon fruit-fresh or frozen, peeled and cubed
• 1 banana, peeled and sliced
• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup coconut water or almond milk
• 1 tbsp honey or maple syrup
• 1/2 cup ice cubes
• 1 tbsp chia seeds or flaxseeds Fresh mint leaves or a slice of dragon fruit for garnish

Instructions

1. Prepare the dragon fruit by peeling and cutting into small pieces in case it’s fresh. By using frozen dragon fruit, you can skip the complicated peeling step. Both work well for this smoothie.
2. In a blender, combine dragon fruit, banana, Greek yogurt, and orange juice (or almond milk). Add honey or maple syrup if you like a sweeter smoothie. Blend until smooth and creamy.
3. Add the ice to a blender with your choice of chia seeds or flax seeds. Mix again until the ice is melted and the seeds are well blended.
4. If the smoothie is too thick, add a little more orange juice or almond milk to taste. Mix for a few more moments and keep mixing.
5. Pour the smoothie into a glass. Decorate the rim of the glass with fresh mint leaves or dragon fruit slices for added elegance.
6. Serve immediately and enjoy your fresh dragon fruit smoothie!

Other Ways of Adding Protein

If you don’t have protein powder on hand or just want to use it, here are some other ways to add protein to your smoothies.

• Greek Yogurt: Add to your smoothie 1/2 cup of plain full-fat Greek yogurt. This will add about 10-15 grams of protein depending on which brand you use.
• Cottage Cheese: Add to your blender 1/4-1/2 cup cottage cheese. That’s about 7-14 grams of protein.
• Fruits/seeds and nut butters: Adding more chopped fruits or seeds and/or more nut butters to your smoothies is a great way to add extra protein. You can choose from chia seeds, hemp seeds, almonds, walnuts, pecans and cashews. If you have any nut allergies, you can swap that nut butter for sunflower seed butter or seed butter like tahini.

Tips

• Frozen fruit is great, as it will yield thick and moist smoothies from the frozen dragon fruits and bananas. This will also save you from adding any ice.
• Customize your smoothie: Other fruits you may try are mango and pineapple for tropical heat or a handful of spinach, kale for extra nutritional value without affecting the flavor that much.
• For vegan purposes, you will need to replace this with dairy-free yogurt. Instead of honey, you can use maple syrup or agave nectar.

This dragon fruit smoothie recipe is the perfect way to enjoy the incredible taste and health benefits of dragon fruit. Its vibrant color and rich flavor make it a favorite for breakfast, lunch snacks, or light snacks. It’s sure to brighten up your day by making this smoothie a refreshing and healthy treat. enjoy!

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