Photos by Rikki Snyder.
A spicy smoothie?! Have I gone mad? Yes. Yes, I have. Like nearly everyone else, I am starting out the year with a goal of losing weight. My fridge is stocked with fruit, I’m letting Chris finish all of my Christmas candy, we bought a treadmill, and “Eye of the Tiger” is playing in a constant loop in my head. (In a week, I’ll probably be demanding that Chris give me back my Christmas candy and using the treadmill for cat racing, but let’s focus on the present!) I always feel like I have to work twice as hard at this whole weight loss thing because my metabolism is jacked up–eleven years ago, I lost 100 pounds (yes, really!) and while I kept most of it off, it’s been hard because once you gain and lose that much weight, your metabolism is never the same. Enter: cayenne pepper.
I once read that cayenne pepper is good for the ol’ metabolism and I totally latched onto that idea. Let’s put cayenne pepper in everything! I’m a big fan of the whole spicy lemonade thing and even if it does nothing for my metabolism, I like that little kick of heat. So I thought I’d try adding it to a smoothie. I was going to try to do a spicy lemonade smoothie, but a lemon smoothie would need heaps of sweetener, which kind of defeats the purpose of a healthy smoothie, so I used frozen mango chunks and mandarin oranges instead.
No, not the canned mandarin oranges you get at salad bars! The fresh kind! It’s citrus season now and you can find all kinds of oranges and tangerines and tangelos and whatnot at the grocery store and mandarins are one of my favorites. But any kind of sweet citrus will work here—tangerines, satsumas, clementines, or just plain oranges will do.
This smoothie is creamy and smooth and each sip ends with a punch of cayenne to the taste buds. (If you don’t like spicy, you can use less or omit it altogether though!) It’s a great base for adding other ingredients too. Need some more greens in your diet? Toss a handful or two of spinach into the blender! Want to add some protein to make it a meal smoothie? Vanilla protein powder would be perfect in this.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 large Mandarin orange peeled and seeded
- 1 cup frozen mango chunks
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne optional, or use less for a more mild smoothie
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Add more milk for a thinner smoothie, if desired.
48 Comments
Grace @ FoodFitnessFreshAir
January 9, 2014 at 8:59 amI love the sound of the cayenne in this recipe with the mango. And 100 pounds – you go girl! I have no doubt you’ll be able to keep it up well into 2014.
Kiersten Frase
January 9, 2014 at 8:08 pmThank you! 😀
Shelley @ Two Healthy Kitchens
January 9, 2014 at 9:17 amWhat a great and totally intriguing idea – cayenne for a spicy smoothie! Love it! If I introduce this idea (and especially the spicy lemonade) to my husband, I’m afraid he’ll have me spiking everything with cayenne – he already loves spicy coffee! Also, I am so, so impressed that you lost 100 pounds – that is an amazing accomplishment and I’m just in awe of the dedication and discipline that must have required! Don’t give up on that treadmill – I love mine for times like this (-20F – gahhhhhhh!!!) when it’s just too cold to run outside! But, seriously – if you do try some cat racing – please, please post video! 😀
Shelley @ Two Healthy Kitchens
January 9, 2014 at 8:06 pmHello, coincidence! Ummmmm … really … my poor little dog just came running desperately up the basement stairs. Why? To escape my husband who was trying to teach him to run on the treadmill! I can hear my husband gleefully cheering him on with positive reinforcements at this very moment! Not kidding – those cat races might be really workable! Lol for sure! 😀
Kiersten Frase
January 9, 2014 at 8:15 pmI think we both replied to your comment at the SAME EXACT TIME. Crazy! If your husband figures out how to get your dog to run on the treadmill, let me know the secret. 😉
Kiersten Frase
January 9, 2014 at 8:06 pmSpicy coffee is a thing?! Wow, I’ve never heard of that! I think my husband would love that too. Our cats are pretty much terrified of the treadmill (whenever we use it, they stare at it with suspicion), except for Mochi who will walk on it like it’s no thang. We really need to take video!
Julia Mueller
January 9, 2014 at 9:20 amSo much FLAVA!!!! There are so many good things in that smoothie, I can barely stand it! I love cayenne and didn’t realize it was helpful for metabolism. I’m imagining this smoothie to be so very tropical with the most wonderful kick. I need to slurp it down, ASAP!
Kiersten Frase
January 9, 2014 at 8:04 pmYeah, I think I heard about the cayenne thing in conjunction with the whole master cleanse thing, so I suppose it should be taken with a grain of salt. 🙂 But I WANT to believe.
Kare Troughton
January 9, 2014 at 9:24 amMy blog post for today has a very similar introduction. New year, fresh start! We can do it! Holy moly, especially with smoothies like these. This is so gorgeous (more mouth-watering Rikki photos! She’s amazing!) and so, so brilliant. I can’t wait to try it.
Kiersten Frase
January 9, 2014 at 8:03 pmI know, I get so excited whenever I do a collaboration with Rikki! Blogging is a lot less stressful when I don’t have to make something 5 times to get the photos right. 🙂 And yes, we can do it! Smoothies will help!
Deanna Segrave-Daly
January 9, 2014 at 9:28 amLOVE cayenne & mango together – this smoothie looks delish!
Kiersten Frase
January 9, 2014 at 8:01 pmIt’s such a good combination, right?! 🙂
Liz
January 9, 2014 at 9:30 amHoly sh*t, girl, 100 lbs?! Good for YOU! I can’t even get rid of the 10 that have somehow, mysteriously amassed over the past 3 years. . .You’re now my inspiration. 🙂 Good luck, and keep us posted!
PS Hope you’re feeling better and that you’re fully recouped from your post-holiday illness. 🙂
Kiersten Frase
January 9, 2014 at 8:01 pmIt’s WAAAAY harder to lose a small amount of weight than a large amount of weight. It took me about a year to lose that 100 pounds, and what little I gained back, I’ve been struggling to lose for about 4 years. My problem before was that I ate crap food. Now I eat good food, but portion sizes are my downfall. And yes, I am feeling better–thank you! 🙂
Dixya @ Food, Pleasure, and Health
January 9, 2014 at 9:50 ami have been enjoying oranges so much lately..never thought of turning them into smoothies. the touch of cayenne makes it very special.
Kiersten Frase
January 9, 2014 at 7:54 pmI love tossing an orange into my smoothies. I need the extra Vitamin C! 🙂
courtney
January 9, 2014 at 11:14 amLove love love! I have to make this 🙂 I’m absolutely obsessed with Mango.
Kiersten Frase
January 9, 2014 at 7:52 pmMe too! I’m not big on fruit, but I will happily eat mango instead of candy. 🙂
EA-The Spicy RD
January 9, 2014 at 12:00 pmMake mine SPICY of course 🙂 Hmmm…though….I’ve only tried “sweet” spices in smoothie, but I’m going to try this one for sure, especially b/c it has mandarin oranges in it {need to pick some from my parents tree!} Jealous of your treadmill…we bought one a couple of years ago {an incline treadmill} and it worked fabulously until last year when the console went “kaput” just out of warranty 🙁 I’ve been making due with outside exercise {the best}, but with the incline it gives a great workout, plus I can do a light workout while reading e-mails, so I think I need to spend the $$$ {almost the cost of a new one} to get it fixed. Then I can drink this smoothie while I’m getting my workout in 🙂 Cheers!
Kiersten Frase
January 9, 2014 at 7:52 pmYou can be jealous of my treadmill and I’ll be jealous of your parents’ mandarin tree. 🙂 Our treadmill has an incline too–we love it! And it’s pretty sturdy for what we paid for it (not much, at least as far as treadmills go!).
Elisa @ Insalata di Sillabe
January 9, 2014 at 12:24 pmOne of the very few reasons thanks to which I like Winter is that is citrus season! I’m a big fan of oranges and mandarins so this smoothie is perfect for me!
xo, Elisa
Kiersten Frase
January 9, 2014 at 7:50 pmMe too! I love when all the obscure citrus fruits are at the grocery store. 😀
Robyn
January 9, 2014 at 1:19 pmThis looks so yummy! Have you tried barre3 online workouts in addition to your treadmill routine? I love it and have had a lot of success losing weight and inches doing their workouts over the past year. I think they’re doing a free 15-day trial right now: http://blog.barre3.com/2014/01/02/free-trial-to-barre3-online-workouts/. Thanks for the great smoothie recipes this week and Happy New Year!
Kiersten Frase
January 9, 2014 at 7:49 pmThanks for sharing! I’ve heard of that, but I’ve never tried it. You had me at free trial though. 🙂 Happy New Year to you too!
Maria Tadic
January 9, 2014 at 2:18 pmGood luck with your resolutions! This smoothie seems like a yummy way to reach them!
Kiersten Frase
January 9, 2014 at 7:47 pmThank you! 9 days into the New Year, I’ve been sticking to them. So that’s good! 🙂
[email protected]'s Recipes
January 9, 2014 at 2:18 pmFor me, extra pinch of cayenne please. Yum!
Kiersten Frase
January 9, 2014 at 7:46 pmMe too! 🙂 I love anything that’s sweet and spicy.
marquis @realrawkitchen
January 9, 2014 at 2:34 pmWhat an interesting combo! I regularly have all of these ingredients in my kitchen (and thanks to my past self that froze a bunch of uber ripe mango back when it was mango season here .. rather than selfishly eating it all) so I’ll have to give this a try!
Congrats on the weight loss, too. I’m sure it’s old news but I don’t think it should go without notice, ever! That’s incredible 🙂
Kiersten Frase
January 9, 2014 at 7:46 pmNext time champagne mangoes are in season, I should freeze a bunch! Those are my favorites and it never occurred to me to freeze them until you mentioned it. 🙂 Oh, and thank you–learning to cook real foods vs. eating out of packages can make a huge difference!
Skye
January 9, 2014 at 2:47 pmI’m on a smoothie kick at the moment too… This sounds delicious – and the cayenne pepper is a lovely touch!
Kiersten Frase
January 9, 2014 at 7:44 pmI’ve been having them for lunch a lot lately. I’m a little bit obsessed!
Marta @ What should I eat for breakfast today
January 9, 2014 at 6:22 pmYou make me excited to visit your blog. I love the new 6 posts per week. Each day something new and yummy.
Kiersten Frase
January 9, 2014 at 7:39 pmThank you! I’m excited about 6 posts a week too! 😀
Joanne
January 9, 2014 at 9:21 pmI had NO IDEA you’d lost so much weight!! AMAZING. And so inspirational. But also true. I lost around 50 lb in college and my metabolism is okay but nowhere near what it was then and the year after!! Now every 5 pounds is a battle. I like the hint of spice, though. In all things, but especially with sweets.
Kiersten Frase
January 10, 2014 at 8:31 amThank you! I wrote a post about it once, but I didn’t want this to be, like, a weight loss blog so I don’t talk about it a lot. Congratulations on your weight loss too! Isn’t it completely unfair how your metabolism gets messed up like that? Ugh! I swear, if I even think about eating a slice of cake, I gain weight now.
Kira - HealthAble Old Soul
January 11, 2014 at 4:40 pmAlmond milk is delicious! I love it so much better than regular milk or even soy milk!
Kiersten Frase
January 12, 2014 at 8:08 pmI love it too! The only milk I like more is cashew milk, but unfortunately they don’t sell that in stores!
Shirley
January 11, 2014 at 8:48 pmI want this! Just love mango. But, um… my spice wimp self says minus the cayenne. 😉 100 pounds is quite an accomplishment! I can’t picture that, you look so slender in your photo. I lost 28 total, but gained back 2 stubborn pounds over Christmas that won’t go away. This smoothie might help.
Kiersten Frase
January 12, 2014 at 8:06 pmIt definitely works without the cayenne too. 🙂 2 pounds over the holidays isn’t that bad–and we’re only 12 days into January, so I’m sure you will lose it soon enough!
Laura (Tutti Dolci)
January 12, 2014 at 7:14 pmMango smoothies are my favorite and I love the idea of adding a little spice!
Katrina @ In Katrina's Kitchen
January 13, 2014 at 3:51 pmCayenne for the win! Whoa I’m loving this!
Nichol
January 23, 2014 at 7:30 amI would have never thought to add cayenne to a smoothie. I add cayenne to a lot of foods due to the metabolism boosting powers. Gonna give this a try!
Kiersten Frase
January 24, 2014 at 8:38 pmHave you ever had spicy lemonade? If you like that, you’ll probably like it in a smoothie because it’s the same sweet/spicy thing. 🙂 It’s good on pineapple too!
Mira
August 22, 2014 at 10:05 pmWhen in a “diet” mood, I add cayenne pepper to everything! I even drink water with cayenne and lemon juice. This smoothie seems full of flavor and I must try it since, I’ve never made mandarin orange smoothie, but I love mango and pineapple and all three will be perfect together!
Kiersten Frase
August 27, 2014 at 5:41 pmI love cayenne in lemon water too! 🙂
Anna @ Blender Authority
January 29, 2017 at 12:24 pmYum. This looks a great combo and I would have never thought to try cayenne pepper.
blenderadvisors
September 25, 2018 at 3:27 amI’ve been enjoying oranges so much lately..never an idea of turning them to smoothies. The touch of salt water makes it special. Thanks