I was initially disappointed with the selection of new and exotic fruits on my recent trip to Maui. Perhaps I was looking in the wrong places. The fruit stands I stopped at seemed to have an endless supply of pineapples, bananas and limes.
The limes are great for drinks, I am sure, but I am a teetotaler. Pineapples probably taste different closer to the source but I wasn’t excited to eat a fruit I eat all the time. I wanted lychee, breadfruit or some other variety that doesn’t often grace the shelves of my local grocery story. I did have an awesome papaya on the road to Hana. I ate it straight from the shell, like a creamy sorbet. Sadly the stand was out of lychee that day.
It was only after many days of searching did I learn that the endless supply of bananas I saw by the side of the road and in the grocery store was actually apple bananas. Apple bananas are a smaller and firmer variety of banana with a taste that is part banana part Granny Smith apple. I purchased a small bunch of these perfectly portioned fruits.
I also made an early morning trek to the fruit stand around the corner from the little condo we rented. I found lots of apple bananas and pineapples as well as vegetables but nothing that looked good for my beach snack bag. Then the fruit stand proprietor unpacked a bin of fruit that I had never tried. My find? Passion fruit.
My only experience with passion fruit until that point had been in the form of shower gel from The Body Shop. I bought a couple and placed them on the kitchen counter. Unsure what to do with them, I did what we all do in this day and age when we don’t know how to prepare a food, do a minor home repair or try a new craft project. I consulted YouTube. I learned that it’s actually the gel like seeds inside that are edible, not the hard outer shell. Perfect, the gentleman on the video said, for a smoothie.
With my apple bananas, passion fruit and protein powder I had the perfect ingredients for an island fresh fruit smoothie. This is the exact recipe I concocted that morning. If you don’t have access to apple bananas (and who does on the mainland?) substitute half a regular one that isn’t too ripe.
Island Smoothie
- 1 apple banana
- 1 passion fruit
- 1 scoop strawberry protein powder (I used Optimum Nutrition Platinum Hydro Whey)
- 8 oz. unsweetened almond milk
- 7-8 ice cubes
Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend till smooth. Enjoy immediately in a big glass. Makes one serving.
Yield: Serves 1
Prep Time: 5 Minutes
Cook Time: 0 Minutes
Per Serving: Calories 242; Total Fat 4.9g; (Sat Fat 0.5g, Poly Fat 0g, Mono Fat 0g); Protein 31.9g; Carb 20g; Fiber 4g; Sugars 8g; Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 350mg
