PINEAPPLE SMOOTHIE

You don’t need to be on a tropical island to enjoy the taste of the tropics. With a few simple ingredients, you can recreate those beloved island flavors. Add a fun drink umbrella, close your eyes and imagine the sound of the wind and waves while sipping on your pineapple smoothie! This smoothie recreates all of the yummy flavors of a pina colada but without the alcohol. I’ll give you some suggestions below if you want to add alcohol and have the whole pina colada experience.

I always avoid using ice in my smoothies. Ice makes your smoothie cold, but as it melts, it waters down your smoothie without adding any flavor. Using frozen fruit gives you an ice-cold smoothie while also adding loads of flavor.

You can use either fresh pineapple or buy frozen pineapple. If you are using fresh pineapple, you will need to cut it up into cubes and allow time for it to freeze. To freeze a fresh pineapple, remove the skin and cut it into uniform chunks. Place them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet in a single layer. Make sure the pieces are not touching each other. Allow the pineapple to freeze for 6 hours or overnight. Once they are frozen, you can toss them into a freezer bag until you are ready to use them. I have made the mistake of placing all of my pineapple pieces in a container to freeze them. I ended up with one large chunk of pineapple with all the pieces frozen together, and I had to chip them apart to use them for my smoothie…Don’t make my mistake.

If you want to make these more true to a pina colada and add alcohol, go for it; just don’t forget the drink umbrella! I would recommend starting with 3 ounces of white rum or coconut rum, about ⅓ cup. Then, of course, you can always add more if you like.