My eight month old daughter currently loves papaya. She smashes the tropical fruit with a smile on the face several times a week.
Since her servings are baby size, there's often leftovers for Mum and Dad. We turn that prepped papaya into morning smoothies. It's not a fruit that I normally seek out but it probably should be.
Benefits Of Papaya
You can tell by that bright orange hue that papaya, or paw paw, is full of vitamin C and carotene. That means it supports your immune system, fights disease and prevents degenerative decline in eye sight. It's also full of fiber which helps digestive and heart health.
Papaya is also a natural anti-inflammatory, but it's probably best known for helping your skin. It's why you see it in so many anti-ageing skin care products, as well as Lucas' famous ointment.
Papain, an enzyme in papaya, removes dead cells and purifies the skin. They also fight the free radicals that cause ageing and can be used for sun protection.
A smoothie is such an easy way to benefit from all this goodness. I like to add banana so that it's sweeter, and a touch of honey and cinnamon helps too.
The Papaya Smoothie For Skin
- Takes 4 minutes
- Makes 1 smoothie
Ingredients
- Frozen banana - 1
- Papaya - 1 cup
- Greek yoghurt - 3 tablespoons
- Cinnamon - 1/2 teaspoon
- Raw honey - 1 teaspoon
- Rice milk - 1 1/2 cups
- Ice - 1/2 cup
- Optional - Forever Young - 1 teaspoon
- Optional - Spinach - 2 cups
Method
- Scoop out the papaya seeds and remove skin, adding the
- Blend until creamy
image credit: Ilva Beretta Photography / iStock