Mango Parsley Green Smoothie

This simple mango and parsley green smoothie recipe is great any time of the year. My children love the sweet flavor of the mango, and the ingredients are quite inexpensive. The dark green parsley is full of nutrients, making this a great green smoothie for weight loss, weight gain, or just maintaining excellent health!

Parsley sprigs are available in almost every grocery store practically year round. They are some of the cheapest produce I see, at less than $1.00 a bunch any time of the year. Plain old curly parsley and Italian parsley are the most common types you will see.

Summers bring fresh red skinned mangoes to every produce department. I usually find them for about $1.00 each during mango season, sometimes cheaper at the farmers market. Frozen mango chunks can be found in the freezer aisle any time of year. They add an easy ingredient to keep on hand all the time.

This parsley and mango green smoothie recipe is a great one to pull out any time. It is cheap on the budget, a quick healthy treat for anyone, and a perfect toddler green smoothie recipe!

We first fell in love with mangoes when we found golden Champagne mangoes at a local farmers market when we lived in Mesa, AZ. We haven't been able to find them in a few years, and have started to look at regular mangoes.

We have learned how to pick out fresh ones... my youngest says they look sunburned when they are ripe. The green mangoes are only sour because they are not ripe. When they turn red, with bits of sunny yellow peeking through, they are soft and sweet.
We have seen how to cut a mango. You are supposed to slice it away from the pit, which is a thin long length in the middle.

But for whatever reason, we have been afraid of slicing up the regular mango.... maybe it is more of a silent protest of not being able to find the Champagne mango!

At this point we have grown to love the convenience of bags of frozen mangoes. There are always frozen mango chunks to be found in our freezer. They are fabulous for green smoothies, fruit smoothies, and even for making a vegan pudding or sorbet.

This is a simple task, that anyone can do!

I was stumped by how to cut into a mango the first time I brought one home. I had heard that there was a pit in the middle, had cut up Champagne mangoes, and was very familiar with fruit. Yet, when I hit the pit, and mangled my first mango, I was discouraged. The second attempt was no better, so I gave up fresh mangoes. I will admit that every so often we bring a gorgeous mango home from the store, and put it into the fruit basket. A week or so later we throw the mango into our compost pile after having warily avoided it while it silently went way past its prime....

This video shows how simple cutting a mango can actually be,
and encouraged me to try again.

Want to keep your parsley fresh after you get it home from the grocery store? Try treating it like a bouquet! Trim the bottom of the stems, and put the whole bunch into a cup or jar filled with water!

If you are planning to use it up within 3-5 days, keep your jar of parsley in water on the table. if you are saving the other half for next week, you will want to put your jar of parsley back into the fridge. The cooler temperature helps it stay fresh longer.

Did you clean out the fridge and find your fresh parsley in the back... not looking so fresh anymore? This happens to me all the time. If I don't put my parsley into a "vase", it ends up dried up on the shelf , hidden behind something else. Even in this form, it is perfect for a green smoothie! Just add a little bit extra water to the blender to compensate!

Ingredients

1/2 a Mango (or 4-7 frozen chunks)
4-10 Sprigs of Parsley
2-4+ Cups of Water

Mango: Fresh is always best, but not always convenient. Use what you have available, and what you are comfortable with. I keep frozen mango chunks on hand at all times for a back up. Use about half a mango, or 4-7 frozen chunks.

Parsley: Pick any kind you want, and make sure to wash your frilly branches. Pull 4-10 sprigs out of your bunch to use. A bunch of parsley usually makes 3 or more smoothies for my family. You may want tear or cut your parsley sprigs in half or thirds before adding them into your blender.

Water:
2-4 Cups, depending on how thick you like your drinks. Make sure to add some water to facilitate the blender in processing the foods. Again, start where you are. If you want to use filtered water, it is recommended, but not necessary. If what you have available is tap water, than USE it! To keep your green smoothie colder, you may add ice as PART of your water. Ice is not recommended when you are using frozen mango... unless you want it to be a sorbet!

Blending Instructions:
Put all ingredients into a blender, and blend until smooth.
Makes approximately 2-5 cups, depending on how much water you have added.Your willingness to improve your life and health will start you on your journey, but only if you do it.