Pink Pitaya Smoothie

Photo: Kelly Sloan

Bright pink and packed with nutrients, tropical dragon fruit (also known as pitaya) is low in calories and full of antioxidants, vitamin C and fiber.

Dragon fruit is versatile and can be paired with any fruit combination. I've purchased it both fresh (from my local farmers market) and in frozen form (which can be found at many grocery stores, even on the mainland). The fresh kind comes in three colors — white, pink and yellow — and I've found it works best in fruit salads and baked goods.

For smoothies like the recipe here, I prefer the frozen, pink kind. This smoothie recipe is refreshing, delicious and appealing to the eye. I like to keep the tropical theme going by adding pineapple and bananas. Then, I top it off with sunflower seeds, nuts and dried cranberries.


Pitaya Smoothie

Recipe by Kelly Sloan

Ingredients

  • 3½ ounces frozen pitaya
  • 2 large bananas, frozen
  • ½ cup pineapple, frozen
  • ¾ cup vanilla yogurt
  • ½ cup water or juice
  • 2 tablespoons trail mix (a mixture of sunflower seeds, almonds, walnuts and dried cranberries) or granola

Directions

  1. Combine pitaya, bananas, pineapple, yogurt and water or juice in a blender. Blend until smooth. If desired, add more liquid for a thinner consistency.
  2. Top with trail mix or granola and enjoy. Serves 2.
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Kelly Sloan
Kelly Sloan is a dietetics student at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Kelly is a nutrition columnist for her school newspaper, Ka Leo O Hawaii, and her hometown newspaper.