EASY Papaya Smoothie Recipe for Gut Health

Author's Bio: Jessie Gutsue, MA, RDN, IFNCP

Are you looking for a new and fun way to have your morning smoothie?

I know I am. I get in a route with a regular old smoothie, but we are showing you today a easy papaya smoothie for gut health and you're going to love it.

Hey, I'm Jessie Gutsue. I'm a registered dietitian with Oswald Digestive Clinic, and we love to show you how to create different foods that are really colorful and taste great, but that fit into your everyday routine.

If you're looking for Five Tips For Quicker, Gut Healthy Cooking, then check out the link here.

Okay, without further ado, let's get into our topic EASY Papaya Smoothie Recipe for Gut Health.

[Video Transcript Below Video - it is the same information]

Why Papaya Is a Gut Health Powerhouse

Now, papaya contains a proteolytic enzyme or a couple of these brolin and pepane, and these are also found in pineapple as well actually. But these enzymes help to break down protein and gut health is really about getting enough fiber, and oddly enough, or at least an under-researched area, is getting enough protein. One interesting fact is that our microbes actually need protein and our digestive lining needs protein all to work well, and they actually need up to about 18 grams of protein a day. So that means if you are not getting that protein or you are not digesting it more importantly, and that's where the papaya comes in, well then it's going to pull from your stores, which are your muscles or your tissues, or the lining of your digestive tract. So today we are going to show you how to make this easy smoothie, and we are going to show you some fun little twists from the traditional recipe.

How to Cut and Prep Fresh Papaya Like a Pro

So we have, of course, our papaya. Now I have a couple here. The recipe calls for using iced or frozen papaya cubes. My store didn't sell those. I have the whole papaya here, and you're really looking for one that is a little orangey yellow. Now this gives a little to the touch. It's a little under ripe. I couldn't find a good ripe one. Actually. They should be an orangey yellow color with maybe a tinge of green and feel a lot like a ripe avocado, actually. So there's that little bit of give with your thumb. So we are going to first start off by cutting this. Now, you're welcome to use a bag of frozen papaya if your store sells it, of course. But like I said, this will be a fun little way to show you how to cut papaya as well.

So we're going to start here, slice off the ends, and then slice it right down the center. And then we are left with these beautiful little seeds here, and they're actually edible. They're a little bit peppery, and so we're not going to add 'em to our smoothie, but you're welcome to save 'em for something else. We'll just scoop these out. Okay, now that we have the seeds scooped out, we are going to take the skin off, and you can do this with a pairing knife and just cut close, just pulling the skin off and exposing that pinkish, reddish, sort of see any beautiful color.

Now, papaya are also loaded with vitamin C and fiber in addition to their proteolytic enzymes that they're really well known for. Now, an important thing to remember is that these enzymes should be consumed at mealtime. So the way to get the best benefit is to have these enzymes three times a day with meals. This is just a built-in way of having those enzymes with your meal and not have to take the extra supplement.

Okay, I'm just going to chunk these up and do a handful of rough chunks and toss 'em in the blender. Now, if you really want to cold smoothie, you could do this ahead of time and put this in the freezer and so that they're nice and cold. Obviously, that will add to the creamy coolness and a little bit of thickness because they're ice. So if you're not familiar with papaya, they come from, they're a tropical fruit. So they can come from places like Brazil or Mexico, and they are a lot like any melon. I would put 'em, the texture very similar to a cantaloupe, but the flavor's a lot less sweet to me. They can actually even be bitter if they're under ripe.

So as I was saying, these papaya are really good for the proteolytic enzymes. They'll break down protein because a lot of people will maybe eat adequate protein, but if they can't break it down into the amino acids that the body needs, well then they'll be fermented. And that's where digestive issues come from. So thus, the benefit of these enzymes that really help with gut health. And it's great when you can get 'em from foods rather than supplements. Okay, now that we have those chopped up and tossed in, now we're going to move on to the rest of our ingredients.

Papaya Smoothie Recipe: A Tropical Gut-Friendly Blend

So this recipe calls for a frozen banana. Another great way to get benefit from banana is to get an under riped banana. Now, as the banana goes from green to yellow, its starches will sort of convert to sugar. You can taste that in the way that the banana is more sweet as the ripening goes on. And you can also feel the texture as well. What I like to do is I buy green bananas and I just peel them right there versus waiting for them to ripen, and I will freeze those ones.

They actually have a type of starch called a resistant starch that also feeds your microbiome great for your gut health. So here we have a frozen banana, and what I do is I just peel it in half it, or maybe third it depending on how easy it peeled, and then just toss it into a bag. And I constantly have a rotation of frozen bananas because I think they're so helpful in creating smoothies. Now, one of the ways that I like to create smoothies is to combine colors that will blend nicely together. You certainly don't want to eat a smoothie that is brown or dingy green or something that just doesn't look pretty.

Should You Use Carrot Juice or Whole Carrots in Smoothies?

So the next ingredient we have are carrots, and the recipe actually calls for carrot juice. I really like to use the whole veggie or fruit so that you get the intact fiber as well. So here, I'm just going to chop off the end and throw the whole thing in. Now mind you, I do have a great blender and it will cream this up. If you have a blender that's a little less high powered, then you will probably want to lean towards a carrot juice. But the great thing is when you find carrot juice, you can find a hundred percent carrot juice and no other additives. So you do get the benefit of those. And of course, carrots have their fiber and their phytonutrients that help to feed that gut microbiome as well.

Adding Lime Juice and Ginger for Brightness and Digestive Support

And next we have a juice of a lime. This will just add to a little bit of the acidity that'll help brighten the papaya. You can also use a couple tablespoons of citrus juice instead of the whole line. And then I have ginger and I just love whole ginger. I will toss it in my blender hole. I'll just chop off a little inch or so piece and toss it in without doing any, I might cut these hairs off. Sometimes these hairs get stuck a little bit. We'll cut those off. But otherwise I will toss it in whole. You're welcome to skin it if you'd like. But ginger, again has great benefits. One of the best research benefits is that it's an anti nauset, so it's helpful with nausea and it can really help with digestion for that reason as well.

Yogurt vs. Coconut Milk: Which One Is Better for Probiotics?

And then finally, I have a little bit of coconut yogurt. Now this called for light coconut milk. This is coconut yogurt, so you get a little bit more of the probiotics, so that will also help with your gut health. And then I'll just add in liquid as needed because this will need a little bit of liquid, I would guess.

Ice and Liquid: Getting the Right Smoothie Texture

Now, because my papaya was not frozen, I also am going to add a little bit of ice about a cup, and then I'll add a similar amount of liquid as well. Maybe start with a half a cup of liquid, blend it, see what else it needs because you could never take the liquid out. And I like a really thick, creamy smoothie.

Why I Skipped the Honey (and What to Use Instead of Agave)

Now I'm going to hold off on the honey. I do have honey here. The recipe calls for agave, and I do prefer to use honey or maple syrup, partly because we always have that one on hand also because agave is a little bit higher in fructose. So if you do have digestive issues, then I would recommend going towards one of the others that is not as high, and it won't maybe cause quite as much of the bloat and digestive issues that looks nice and thick.

Look at that beautiful color. I'm going to take a taste and see if I need to sweeten it. I think it's good without the honey, I'll be honest. You can always add sweetness. But one of the things I really like is that I still taste the ginger. It's really good, a little bit acidic from the lime, but it's sweet and creamy and I love ginger. So I'm going to hold off on adding additional sweetener.

How to Serve It: Smoothie Bowl or Just a Straw?

One of the great things you could do with this is have it and make it into actually a smoothie bowl and put some nuts over it because it's so rich and thick. That'd be a really great use. Or just pop a straw into it and eat it like that. So I love a good morning smoothie. This is going to be a new rotation of mine, I'll be honest. It's really good. Some other variations you could do. Of course, I love to take a smoothie recipe and alter it to fit my needs.

Optional Add-ins: Nuts, Seeds, and Protein Boosts

Definitely think about adding nuts and seeds to this. Some good ones could be like an almond, a whole almond would work really well, assuming your blender can really whip that up and smooth it out. Or cashews would be really good with this one. Some flax seed, some chia seed, a mixture of all of those, whatever suits your fancy. And then of course, if you wanted to add additional protein, then go ahead and add your choice of protein powder as well.

How Proteolytic Enzymes in Papaya Support Your Gut Lining

Now remember that those enzymes, those proteolytic enzymes found in papaya are really helpful to help break down our protein because our body takes in proteins in these longer chains. And what these enzymes do is they help to break 'em down into smaller building blocks so that our body can actually use them. And that goes for your digestive lining. They're really integral in making sure that your mucosal lining is really healthy.

In fact, it's been found that brolin can actually increase the thickness of our mucosal lining, which is really beneficial in things like a digestion and absorption and making sure that your barrier is really strong so that you don't react to certain things in foods or environment.

So there's a lot of really great benefits to this smoothie, and I hope that you give it a whirl. Please leave in the comments below some alterations that you do or that you've tried this one. And if you're interested in more cooking demos like this one, then

Email us at cookingdemos@oswalddigestiveclinic.com.

And I hope to see you next time. Thanks again.

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