Ah papayas. A glorious perfect fruit. And when in season its flesh is filled with flavor and so sweet, it tastes like cotton candy! Healthy cotton candy that is : ) Add your favorite toppings and you’ve got the best breakfast or healthy snack!
It’s hard to believe I once hated this fruit. In fact I couldn’t understand why anyone liked it. It turns out each time I had it in the past it wasn’t in season and that makes all the difference. Like ALL the difference!! So instead of going into a long story about hating this fruit, I’ll tell you when I first fell in love with it instead.
I was in Puerto Rico with the family back in 2013 celebrating my step – grandmother’s 75th birthday. It was the rainiest weekend on the planet. Like really, really monsoon rain season. It was a stay under the umbrella kind of vacation.
Anyways, every morning we would head to the breakfast buffet where they always had a running stream of fresh papaya juice. I always walked by it. I was like “bye Felicia”!. I just genuinely thought it would be gross. I was so wrong. The juice was so sweet but at the same time ridiculously refreshing. It tasted so pure I couldn’t get enough of it. So there I was sitting by the pool sipping on Papaya juice, a fruit I swore I would never touch again and double fisting this glorious juice over a glass of bubbly. Who was I?! What had I become?!
Not only did it taste good but It felt good to drink. I noticed that my acid reflux was well maintained that weekend and I was surprised to learn that the papaya fruit {also known as the Angel Fruit} had LOTS of healing benefits. In fact the waiter printed out an 8 page document on the benefits of this fruit and I was blown away! To name a few…
Benefits of Papaya:
- Loaded with vitamin C, beta carotene, potassium, folate, fiber, vitamin A, vitamin E and Lycopene
- Papayas are known for their enzyme papain which helps in aiding digestion
- Soothes acid reflux, indigestion and symptoms associated with reflux
- Helps calm nausea
- High in fiber and water content so it can prevent constipation and promotes regularity
- Used in skin face masks because it hydrates the skin, refreshes the skin
- Reduces acne, fades skin spots and more!
After that trip I was changed forever, well at least in the papaya department. I no longer regarded this fruit as gross, in fact a total 180. Such a 180 that anytime I heard someone say they hated this fruit {and trust me, many did and still do} I went into that mode where I became a total papaya promoter pushing the benefits and goodness of this fruit onto others.
I soon found it delicious in salads, with frozen desserts, as an ice pop, as a juice, in smoothies and topped with all kinds of superfoods and especially paired with coconut yogurt! P.S. Eating it ripe and fresh is number 1! But if you need to keep it in the fridge longer and want to bring out its beautiful flavor, simply sprinkle some lime juice on it and store it for a day.
It’s an awesome breakfast or a super sweet snack. It’s filling because of all the toppings and it curbs your brain from running towards something filled with artificial sugars, additives and processed foods. It’s totally healthy, but tastes so good you don’t feel like you’re eating healthy. Did I mention this sweet has no added sugar at all? Yup! And you’d never know it! I personally love eating whole foods. In fact I try and incorporate as many whole, unprocessed foods as possible into my diet.
And whenever I have indigestion, reflux or any kind of nausea my natural go-to’s are Papaya and Aloe. {As a disclaimer, this does not mean get off your reflux meds, this is simply something that can aid in your healing in a natural way. Anytime you want to get off your meds please consult your doctor, and do it with your doctor’s supervision and guidance}.
Are you ready to make beautiful music together?
WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
1 large ripe papaya
Dairy-free coconut yogurt {I use Anita’s Coconut Creamline Vegan Yogurt}
Chia seeds
Hemp seeds
Peeled and sliced TigerNuts { I used Organic Gemini}
DIRECTIONS:
Cut the each end of the papaya and cut in half using a large sharp knife
Scoop out the seeds with a spoon and discard seeds
Fill each half with coconut yogurt or yogurt of choice and all toppings. Use as much as you want, and add whatever you want like dried fruit, seeds, nuts, other superfoods, gluten-free oats and even fresh fruit.
TIPS:
For the nuts and seeds I use Nuts.com gluten-free section because they are measured at 5ppm and are certified gluten-free.
- 1 ripe papaya
- Dairy-free coconut yogurt {I use Anita's Coconut Creamline Vegan Yogurt}
- Chia seeds
- Hemp seeds
- Peeled and sliced TigerNuts { I used Organic Gemini}
- Cut the each end of the papaya and cut in half using a large sharp knife
- Scoop out the seeds with a spoon and discard seeds
- Fill each half with coconut yogurt or yogurt of choice and all toppings. Use as much as you want, and add whatever you want like dried fruit, seeds, nuts, other superfoods, gluten-free oats and even fresh fruit.
Love & Whole Foods,
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