Skinny Pina Colada Smoothie

Do you like Pina Coladas? Gettin’ caught in the rain? I love the song Escape. I always smile when I hear it. It makes me think of a wonderful vacation on a secluded, white sand beach. Of course there would be a delicious beverage with some fruit and a little umbrella as I’m walking on the beach, soaking up the sun with my handsome hubby.

It’s always the skinny version of me in these dreams. According to this Forbes article, a Pina Colada has 644 calories – YIKES! Pina Colada Smoothies come in at 600 calories for a 20-oz Smoothie King beverage (that’s 360 calories for 12 ounces). You can get a “skinny” version for 400 calories for a 20-oz Smoothie King beverages (that’s 240 calories for 12 ounces).

I saw this pin for a Skinny Pina Colada Smoothie by Averie from her blog Averie Cooks. Her recipe came in at just under 200 calories for 12-oz. The song started playing in my head, and I needed to make one of these. Thankfully I had most of the ingredients on hand So after a quick trip to the store, I pulled out the blender that would render a delicious frozen concoction…wait, that’s the wrong song and drink. I want a Pina Colada… so let’s get on with the Pintesting!

I decided to go with coconut milk to get as authentic as possible. The banana was about a day away from being banana bread fodder, so the day before this test I peeled and froze it. I think that was helpful in keeping the smoothie texture. Maybe.

Combine everything except the maraschino cherries in a blender.

Blend until smooth.

Pour into a glass and garnish with the cherries.

The only thing missing from this recipe was the beach, steel drum music playing in the background, and a paper umbrella in my drink. I didn’t have any toothpicks or little umbrellas on hand , so my cherry sunk to the bottom floated prettily on top (when balancing on the sinking cherry).

So here’s the Pintesting Results:

Overall Results: 5 Pins

Accuracy: The smoothie had the nice consistency of a smoothie; thick but not too thick so that it could still pass through a straw. The pineapple and banana blended smoothly. I used flaked coconut so there was still a bit of the texture there; it’s what I would have expected. The smoothie was sweet enough without being not too sweet. It had the tropical pina colada flavor with the pineapple and coconut without the mega calories that usually accompany the beverage… and it was yummy without guilt. 5 Pins

Difficulty: By using the canned pineapple, this recipe was a matter of dumping everything into the blender and run until smooth. It doesn’t get much easier than that. 5 Pins

Time: From start to finish (including running some soapy water through the blender to make clean-up easy) was 8 minutes. 5 Pins

Cost: I had most of the ingredients on hand, but went to pick up some coconut milk for this ($3.85). I figured I might as well get the whole effect and bought the maraschino cherries, too. The total cost (using canned pineapple, since fresh is more expensive) was ~$3.00 on the outside (including the splash of rum that I added). The local Smoothie King Skinny Pina Colada Smoothie was $4.87 with tax for a 20-oz. – $2.92 adjusted for 12-oz. – and they didn’t offer rum. The cost is pretty spot on, but because coconut milk and agave aren’t found in the average household, 4 Pins.

Practicality: This would be a yummy breakfast (sans the rum), or a healthy twist on a cocktail (with the rum). It took only minutes to make, and I didn’t have to drive anywhere to pick one up. 5 Pins