A Childhood Snack Made Two Ways

One of my childhood favorite snacks made into a delicious, refreshing drink and/or dessert.  Drink or dessert?  You decide.

The house my siblings and I grew up in was surrounded with fruits trees.  We had papaya, guava, jackfruit, coconut, mango, avocado, star apple, wild mangosteen (santol), and Jamaican cherry (sarisa or aratilis).  We also had apple bananas and Kamias or Pias (Averhoa bilimbi or cucumber tree).  We enjoyed them for many years until we relocated.  The avocado, mango, and papaya were among the favorites.  My mother would use the unripe (green) papayas for her cooking and we enjoyed the papayas somewhat ripe.  We would slice them up and dipped them in vinegar with salt.  As for the very ripe papayas?  Well, we didn’t own a blender, so we would scoop the flesh and  added evaporated and condensed milk to sweetened them and ate them that way. Sometimes we ate them plain; the same with the avocado and mango.  The avocado and mango were to die for.  They were so delicious.

I had a very large ripe papaya. I was debating either to eat it plain or not, but I decided to make it into a refreshing, delicious drink instead; a smoothie.

Papayas are good for you.  According to WebMD, papayas are a rich source of Vitamin A and C.  One half of a small papaya provides 150 percent of the recommended dietary intake of Vitamin C.  It’s low in calories, fat-free, cholesterol free, and a good source of potassium, foliate and fiber. 

What I love about papaya is it’s enzyme called papain and its leaves.  I’ve read that papain helps aids in digestion by  breaking down tough meat fibers.  It also helps prevent constipation and lower cholesterol.  My sister had problems with acne in her teenage years.  So, we used its leaves as a facial rub to exfoliate dead skin cells.  My sister’s problem with acne ceased. Exfoliating with papaya leaves made my face smooth and prevented growth of pimples or acne.  I can’t recall experiencing acne in my youth.  I’m guessing it must be because of the papaya leaves and it’s cleansing properties.

You can use milk of your choice and add protein powder, chia seeds, and flax seeds in this recipe if you prefer, but I want to keep the flavor authentic. 

Ingredients:

• half of extra large papaya (a little over 2 cups)
  
• 1/2 cup Evaporated milk
• 2 spoonfuls of condensed milk
• 10 ice cubes

Directions:

1. Clean the papaya by removing the seeds and veins off the flesh. Wash.
2. Scoop the flesh and place in a blender.
3. Add the milk and ice cubes.
4. Blend until smooth.  Serve immediately.

The other way of enjoying this childhood favorite snack is to make it a frozen drink or dessert topped with whipped cream and mix it to make into a creamy, flavorful slush.

All you have to do is to place the smoothie you made (above) in a container and freeze for 3 hours ( if you can’t wait) or overnight if you want to have it later.  Either way, it’s waiting to be devoured.   The directions to make this frozen drink or dessert are below.

1st batch (half of the papaya)

2nd batch (the other half of the papaya) Scrape it.

Place in a glass or a small bowl topped with whipped cream

You can stir and mix the whipped cream and make this a delicious creamy slush. Enjoy!

1. Remove the container from the freezer. 
2. Using a fork, scrape the frozen smoothie.
3. Scoop with a spoon and transfer into a bowl or a serving cup and top with whipped cream. Garnish with a cherry.
   

You can either eat it without the whipped cream or you can mix the whipped cream to make a creamy slush.  As for me?  I did the latter and I was in heaven. 🙂

That is all for now.  I hope you give them a try. I assure you, they’re delicious! 

If you like this post or my blog, don’t forget to Subscribe or Follow to get the latest recipes.  Please be kind and link back to source when you use or share any of my recipes.  Thank you for stopping by.  Until next time.  Have an awesome day!

©annascuisine.wordpress.com (2014)   Unauthorized use and/or duplication of material herein without expressed and written consent from this blog’s author, Annabelle Bedell, is strictly and completely prohibited.