Hannah Pickering is a 23 years young fitness and food enthusiast trying to make her followers the best version of themselves through a healthy lifestyle. She runs her own blog, ‘The Fit Pear’ (which we think is super cool). We asked her what kind of a drink she would make on a hot summer day and here is what we learned.

She told us that this drink is apt if we, like her, live in a hot and humid country. If not, don’t worry, there are tons of benefits as to why you should be drinking this.

Also, the drink isn’t strictly limited to vegan diet opting persons. Go ahead and slurp this up, you meat lover, vegetarian and vegan (we’re all in this together!)

This is how her recipe goes.

Makes: 1 large serving (600ml)

Time: 10 minutes – so little time, so many benefits!

Ingredients: *Vegan-friendly!

-4 bananas
-1 Chinese cucumber

-1 large ripe mango

-1 tbsp. coconut powder
-300ml luke warm water
-6 ice cubes (optional)

-1 tbsp. chia seeds (Kasa Kasa)

Tools:

-Blender

-Sieve

1. Start by weighing out the chia seeds (Kasa Kasa), coconut powder and warm water. Peel the banana, cucumber and mango and chop up only* the cucumber and mango and keep aside.

2. The next step is to blend the banana and cucumber for a few seconds and then add in the mango – while this is mixing in the blender, add the coconut powder to the luke-warm water and stir until combined well. Add this to the blender and blitz for a few seconds, and then add in the ice cubes and blitz again until smooth.

3. ‘Sieve your mixture to get rid of any hairs. Add in the chia seeds (Kasa Kasa) to the bowl with the -now-smooth-mixture as the final step.

4. Stir well and pour out into mugs/cups/bowls

A tip on thickening the smoothie - add 1 tbsp. of greek yoghurt (curd).

Hannah warned us saying, ‘’this may not be the yummiest smoothie in town, but it’s so good and refreshing!’’

BLEND N’ DEVOUR ME!

SO, WHAT CAN THIS SMOOTHIE DO FOR YOUR BODY?

1. This smoothie makes you HAPPY! Yes, happy. Vitamin B9 in bananas is an anti-depressant, it has a nutrient that boosts your happiness, lowers depression and de-stresses you – woohoo!

2. It can reduce bloating and weight – both mangoes and bananas can make you feel full longer, which means you eat a little less than normal. With the added fact that cucumber is mostly water (and flushes out toxins), and that bananas increase your body’s ability to fight off the bacteria that make you bloat, I think this smoothie is starting to look pretty good!

3. All three main ingredients stabilize your blood-sugar levels and lowers your risk of getting diabetes.

4. Vitamin C in mangoes, ‘photo sterols’ in cucumbers and bananas make sure your cholesterol levels stay in check.

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Text by- Madushi Rajapaksha                                                                                                                     Picture and recipe credits- Hannah pickering