Papaya Smoothie for Weight Loss
Overview
Papaya, known as pawpaw across most of anglophone West and East Africa, grows in nearly every tropical African country and in a great many household compounds. It is not a market luxury. A pawpaw tree fruits within a year of planting and keeps fruiting, which is why it turns up at the edge of yards from Lagos to Mombasa and why the fruit is understood as something you have rather than something you buy. Ripe pawpaw is eaten fresh and cold, most often at breakfast, cut into halves or wedges with a squeeze of lime. The lime is not decoration; it sharpens a fruit whose sweetness is soft and slightly musky and which can read as flat without acid. That pairing is the reference point this drink is built on. This particular recipe is a contemporary blended drink rather than a dish with a documented lineage. It belongs to the global category of fruit smoothies made for a health purpose, and it uses pawpaw as its base because pawpaw blends to an unusually smooth, thick texture without any thickener at all. The fruit is African by cultivation and by everyday use rather than by origin.
AFN Heritage Note
Papaya originates in Central America and southern Mexico and was carried into Africa through Portuguese and Spanish maritime trade from the 16th century, after which it naturalised widely across the continent's tropical belt and became a common compound and smallholder crop.
Ingredients
Dietary tags are provided by contributors as a guide, not verified by AFN, and they depend on the products you buy. If you have a serious allergy, check every ingredient yourself. Cooking, allergies and your own judgement
Directions
- 1
Put the papaya, banana, Greek yogurt, milk, chia seeds and lime juice into a blender.
- 2
Blend until smooth. Add ice cubes for a colder, thicker consistency.
Africook’s Notes
Personal notes from Deborah Olayiwola- Choose a papaya that gives slightly under the thumb and smells sweet at the stem end. Hard fruit is underripe and will taste green; fruit with a strong fermented smell has gone too far.
- The lime is doing real work. Papaya on its own is flat and slightly musky, and a small amount of acid lifts the whole drink. Add it last and taste before adding more.
- Chia seeds thicken over time. Drink it within about 20 minutes for a smoothie texture, or leave it 2 hours in the fridge for something closer to a pudding.
- Use coconut milk in place of the yogurt and dairy milk to make it vegan. The texture stays close because papaya carries the body itself.
Questions cooks ask
Can I use frozen papaya in a smoothie?
Yes, and it makes for a thicker drink without ice diluting it. Frozen papaya is sold in cubes in most large supermarkets. If using frozen, you can drop the ice entirely and may want a little extra milk to get the blender moving. The flavour is slightly less bright than fresh, so add a touch more lime.
What can I use instead of Greek yogurt?
Coconut yogurt or coconut milk both work and keep the drink dairy free. Plain unsweetened yogurt of any kind will do the same job. If you drop the yogurt entirely, add half a banana more to keep the body, because the yogurt is providing thickness as well as tang.
Why does my papaya smoothie taste bitter?
Almost always seeds or skin that went into the blender. Papaya seeds are peppery and sharply bitter, and even a few will carry through the whole drink. Scrape the cavity clean and peel generously, because the layer immediately under the skin is also bitter in an underripe fruit.
Can I make this smoothie the night before?
You can, but expect it to separate and to thicken considerably as the chia seeds hydrate. Store it sealed in the fridge, shake or stir it hard before drinking, and use it within 24 hours. If you want it made ahead, freeze the fruit in portions and blend in the morning instead.
Reviews
2 reviews
Chale the squeeze of lime juice at the end really changes everything paa. I thought the papaya and greek yogurt would be too heavy together, but it is so smooth. Very refreshing in the morning oo.
Used coconut milk instead of low fat because we had some leftover from sauce for the braai. Baie lekker taste, but make sure you toss in plenty ice cubes or the blender warms it up too much.