Banana Papaya Smoothie

The view from my room at Castle Molokai Shores

I woke up to a beautiful view every morning for a week.  I took advantage of this and sat out on my lanai for coffee and breakfast in the morning.  My breakfasts were typically fresh fruit (thanks to a family member and farm), eggs, and sautéed onions and spinach.  I found some lau lau (pork, butterfish, pork fat, and spinach wrapped in ti leaves) at the grocery and added that to a few of my breakfasts.  It kept me full for a long time.

I could have stayed at my grandmother’s house or shared a room with relatives.  I didn’t so I would have a kitchen to myself and not have to worry about gluten getting mixed into my food by accident.

I did not know what small appliances my condo would have since they all differ.  Several relatives that live on Moloka`i offered up their blenders to me before I even left.  Luckily, the condo came with a blender so I could make my smoothies.

The funny part was not being able to find bananas.  I was home!  Where were the bananas?  My second day, Auntie M and I went into town and I looked for them again at two different stores.  THE two stores for groceries.  Kaunakakai is a small town.  The joke is don’t blink or you’ll miss it.  Rural living at its best.  An hour after getting back to my grandparent’s house, a relative who works on a farm walked up to me and handed me a bunch of bananas.  Fresh.  Straight from the farm. He had brought an entire case to the house with him.  The next day, he brought a case of papaya straight from the farm.  Non-GMO papaya.  Oh happy day!  A few days later, someone brought a bag full of fresh mangoes to the house.  That is what I love about home.  You always know several people with fruit trees or gardens and they bring you fresh produce so it doesn’t go to waste.  It still kills me when I pay for mango.

The following is just one of my smoothies.  Each day the ingredients varied depending on the fruit I had available.  I was even taking leftovers with me and sharing it because the bananas are so much bigger than you normally see in a grocery store.  My last full day, I used up all the fruits I had left (mangoes and papaya) to make smoothies and shared it with my family.

Banana Papaya Smoothie

Banana Papaya Smoothie

1 banana (if it is large, use half)

1/4 – 1/2 non-GMO papaya, seeded

1 tablespoon nut or seed butter

1 tablespoon raw local honey (or favorite sweetener), optional

1 teaspoon maca root powder, optional

non-dairy milk (I used unsweetened almond milk)

Place all ingredients into the blender except milk.  Once all ingredients are in the blender, add milk to the 2 cup line.  Blend well, about 3 – 5 minutes depending on your blender.