Tropical fruit

When we were in Vietnam, we couldn't get enough fruit. Every hotel we stayed invariably offered a nice selection of fruit for breakfast and so we gorged ourselves on delicious tropical fruits each day. Of course we were familiar with much of the fruit they had (mangos, pineapple, banana, pear, watermelon, starfruit, longan) but these four were new to us.

Passionfruit:

Dragonfruit:


Mangosteen:


Rambutan:
Aren't these fruits beautiful and photogenic? I can personally attest that, excepting dragonfruit, these fruits are all as delicious as they look. Dragonfruit is all come eat me, I'm so alluring with my pink, black, and white colors! But it kinda tastes like watery kiwi, so not that great.

Honestly, I usually prefer vegetables to fruit (give me a platter of broccoli over a banana any day!) but Mark and I absolutely loved the fruit in Vietnam. One of the best renditions was when our friends took us to get a fruit yogurt dessert. The glass comes with chunks of pineapple, mango, banana, avocado, pineapple, and watermelon mixed in plain lightly sweetened yogurt and a tray of ice. You scoop the ice into the fruit yogurt mixture and enjoy a cold, sweet treat. Yum!

When I get back to Houston, Mark and I plan to take a trip to Hong Kong City Mall to check out the Asian fruit situation. Also, Mark never got around to trying durian while we were in Vietnam so I'm thinking I need to make him try it in a pastry or bubble tea. (Mark's friend Khanh poetically ascribes eating durian to "eating a mango on the toilet." Don't you love that??)

One of my favorite ways to enjoy fruit at breakfast is in a smoothie, but smoothies are delicious anytime of the day or night. My dad likes them because they are cold and soothing for his throat. Tonight I made mango smoothies for myself and my dad.

Mango Smoothie

I love smoothies because you can throw almost any kind of fruit, liquid, and dairy in a blender and it will turn out nice. This isn't a true recipe - just guidelines.

• Frozen mango chunks
  
• Stoneyfield plain organic lowfat yogurt (you could use nonfat or full fat, pick your poison)
• Juice
  

In a blender, add about 1/2 cup frozen mango, a few dollops of yogurt, and a slug of juice. Turn on the blender (don't forget the top!). Check the consistency. If the fruit isn't blending, add more liquid. If it's too runny, add some yogurt or more mango. It's pretty hard to mess this up.

Playing around: I love adding a combination of frozen fruits, such as mango and strawberry, or blueberry and peach. You could add protein powder to add bulk. You can use any kind of juice - I tend to use whatever I have around. Orange juice is good but can take over the flavor of the fruit, so sometimes I add in iced green tea.

Have fun! What are your favorite combinations?