Pineapple Mint Cilantro Smoothie

Pineapple Mint Cilantro Smoothie

The first time I had ever heard of a cilantro smoothie was from Megan at Living Whole. I was disgusted shocked at the thought of putting cilantro into a smoothie!

Well, that was years ago and I never could bring myself to add any cilantro to my smoothies. Last week I had a friend tell me about how she was drinking cilantro smoothies and I HAD to ask, “Does that even taste good?!” And she said that it was good and gave me her recipe.

So WHY would you even want to increase your cilantro intake in the first place? Cilantro has a ton of amazing health benefits, including:

• Rids the body of heavy metals
• Good source of vitamin C, magnesium, folate, vitamin A, vitamin K, potassium, folate, calcium, and iron
• May help improve your sleep cycle
• Lowers blood sugar (is known as the antidiabetic plant in some parts of Europe)
• Prevents UTIs
• Helps fight against cardiovascular disease
• Settles an upset stomach and fights against food poisoning
• Can prevent menstrual cramping and help regulate your cycle
• Improve healthy skin

For more information and even more health benefits of cilantro click here.

Oh yeah, this smoothie is also gluten-free, dairy free, paleo, Whole30, and vegan!

So I made the smoothie… and I was surprised that I LOVED this. It was surprisingly refreshing. And now I’ve had one for breakfast every day since! Looks like Megan knew what she was talking about all those years ago after all

Normally, I am a big cilantro fan when it comes to Mexican food. I just had a difficult time trying to think of cilantro tasting good in a smoothie!

Disclaimer: If you normally hate cilantro then I would not recommend making this.

Okay, ready for this recipe yet? (printer friendly version at the bottom of the post)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 a frozen banana
• 1/3 cup frozen pineapple chunks
• 3 large mint leaves
• a handful of cilantro
• 8 ounces coconut water
• a handful of spinach
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (optional, totally omit this is if you need to be dairy free/vegan/Whole30) I add this for extra protein.

So while cilantro gets all the credit for this smoothie it is really the banana, pineapple, mint, and coconut water that makes this perfectly creamy, refreshing, and absolutely delicious! Not to mention a whole lot of other health benefits that those things bring to this smoothie!

FYI: the cilantro is not overpowering in this smoothie. If you find that it is overpowering then add less the next time you make it.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup frozen pineapple chunks
• a handful of cilantro
• 8 ounces coconut water
• a handful of spinach
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (optional, totally omit this is if you need to be dairy free)

Instructions

1. Add everything to a blender and blend until smooth.

Enjoy!

Anna

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Original article and pictures take i2.wp.com site