Summer really never goes away for us between our time in Sarasota, FL and Kamalame Cay, Bahamas but that doesn't mean that wherever you may be freezing your fanny off during the winter months, that you can't also benefit from some tropical goodness until the weather breaks. 

Smoothies are my daily ritual. My VitaMix is my BFF. 
I often use young Thai coconuts in many of my smoothie recipes and I've found a couple time and money saving tips when buying them. While opening coconuts can seem time consuming and difficult, it really couldn't be easier. First of all, buy Thai coconuts at your local Asian market. They are literally up to $3.00 cheaper EACH than they are at regular grocers. Second, I like to buy 5 or more each week and open them all at once. I pour the water into mason jars to use in my smoothies and scoop out the coconut meat (jelly) and freeze in single serving baggies for easy use. Here is a video I found that will show you how to safely open a coconut at home with a knife and ice cream scoop. The video is long but you can skip to minute 12:00 and watch through minute 13:30 for the nitty gritty.

Ingredients:

1. Fresh Thai Coconut Meat (1 whole)
2. 1.5 Frozen Banana
3. 1 Cup fresh Thai Coconut Water or Almond Milk
4. Vanilla Protein Powder of choice - I use Sprout Living EPIC Protein powder in Vanilla Lucuma. 
5. 1 scoop of E3Live Blue Majik 

Blend all ingredients until smooth and add toppings and enjoy. 
For mine, I used sliced strawberries, almonds, hemp seed, and fresh chopped mango.