ice cream

This Healthy Pineapple Mango Smoothie is my go-to treat for a week that has been nothing but chaotic. I’ve mentioned in previous posts that we might be moving and as it turns out, we are most definitely moving and very soon. We finally have most details worked out – you know, like if we’ll have a house to live in and that kind of thing. I’m transitioning out of one job and into a new one while also trying to avoid packing anything that’s essential until the last minute. Through all of this, I’ve still wanted to have a healthy lunch. Which made the timing of a sponsored post kind of perfect, especially since I had a chance to work with Halo Top Ice Cream to create this healthy pineapple mango smoothie.

If you aren’t familiar with Halo Top, all I can say is get familiar quickly – it’s so worth it. Halo Top is an all-natural ice cream that’s low-calorie, low-sugar, and high in protein that actually tastes like ice cream. At first I was a bit skeptical, but I promise you, it’s true. We started out with the chocolate mocha chip, and while I’d planned to use it in a recipe, one night, after we’d spent all day packing boxes and moving them to our garage, I needed chocolate too desperately to wait. We devoured it in one sitting, which is ok, because the chocolate mocha chip is only 280 calories.

I went back to Whole Foods and got a second pint of the vanilla bean, which I used to make these healthy mango pineapple smoothies. I never use ice cream in smoothies because of the calories – but Halo Top ice cream makes me feel perfectly ok with it. The Vanilla Bean ice cream is 240 calories so divided out over four smoothies, the calorie impact is minimal. Plus, it’s so creamy and good. I was a kiddo of the eighties, so vividly remember getting Orange Julius at the mall. This smoothie takes me back to those very happy memories. It is tropical tasting and smooth and perfect for what’s shaping up to be an intensely busy few weeks.

On a total side note: since I bought a whole pineapple for this recipe, I couldn’t resist looking to see if I could actually grow another pineapple plant from the top of the one I chopped up for this healthy pineapple mango smoothie. Because, in the midst of a move, what I need is a project that takes some degree of attention and care. Still, I can’t resist sharing what a pineapple top looks like before it gets put in water to grow some roots. I’ll post updates on Instagram about whether or not this actually works.

Disclosure: This post contains sponsored content brought to you by Halo Top Ice Cream. As always, all opinions expressed in this post are 100% my own.