I am not sure if I have mentioned this before, but I LOVE a good smoothie (*snickers*). Well, I am not the only one, both of my kids love a good smoothie too. So sometimes, instead of lollipops after getting vaccinations at the pediatrician’s office, we go to our local smoothie place, which happens to be a Jamba Juice, for our after-doctor-treat. They have started to make a lot more fruit and veggie blends, and most recently whole-food-nutrition smoothies. The kids and I tried their Kale-ribbean Breeze smoothie, and we were hooked! It’s a simple smoothie of passion fruit-mango juice blend, kale, mangos, non-fat Greek yogurt, chia seeds.
As the big do-it-yourselfer that I am, I readily began the work to recreate this delicious smoothie at home. Because we don’t visit the doctor very often, we don’t make frequent trips to Jamba Juice. AND it’s much cheaper to make your own at home. Also, by making it at home, you are able to control the quality of the ingredients that go into this smoothie. It took some effort, but I think I have nailed it. Here is the recipe for my version of Jamba Juice’s Kale-ribbean Breeze Smoothie.
I asked the Jamba Juicers what kind of kale and mangos were used for their smoothies, but they didn’t know for sure. The ingredients come frozen, in predetermined amounts. And the Jamba Juice website didn’t list specifics. So, off to the store I went. Amazingly, organic kale and organic mangos were both on sale! Score! BUT I was not able to find a passion fruit-mango juice blend. I did find just a passion fruit juice blended with pear juice (see above photo) and a separate mango nectar. The nectar had lots of added sugars and fructose syrups and colors! So I decided to just use extra fresh mango.
The Tommy Atkins mango is the most widely grown commercial variety coming into the United States, and these were the ones that were available to me. I peeled, diced up the mangos, and froze them. I chose Lacinato Kale over the Curly Kale because it is slightly sweeter and more delicate that the curly variety. I coarse chopped 2 washed kale leaves, and added it to my yogurt, chia seeds, and the passion fruit juice. Everything went into my Vitamix and was blended until super smooth. Yummy!
- 1 large mango, peeled & diced, then frozen
- 2 kale leaves
- 1 cup of passion fruit juice
- 1/4 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1 Tbsp chia seeds
- Add all ingredients to blender and blend until you get a smooth consistency. 1 to 2 mins
Tina says
Any idea how much kale to use if you substitute fresh kale with frozen?
iheartmealtime says
Hi Tina,
I would start with 1/4 cup frozen-chopped kale. Then adjust the amount, up or down, to your liking. Thanks!
Traci says
Where were you able to find the passion fruit juice? I’ve been searching for some.
iheartmealtime says
Traci, Sorry for the delayed response! I have not been working on this blog lately due to life, lol. I found the Ceres Brand of juice at my local grocery store, I think it was “Raley’s”. I hope this helps. Thank you for the question.
Michelle says
Where did you find the passion fruit juice?
iheartmealtime says
Michelle, sorry for the delayed response! I have not been working on this blog lately due to life, lol. I found the Ceres Brand of juice at my local grocery store, I think it was “Raley’s”. I hope this helps. Thank you for the question.
marissa says
YES THANK YOU!
iheartmealtime says
You are welcome! Sorry for the delayed response!
Monse says
Any substitution for passion fruit juice?
iheartmealtime says
Sorry for the delayed response! I have not been working on this blog lately due to life, lol. As far as a substitution for passion fruit juice, I suppose you could use any “tropical” juice you would like. Passion fruit juice is the ingredient that the original Jamba Juice recipe calls for, but I am sure that it would still taste amazing with a fruit juice of your liking. Thanks for the question.