Kid-Friendly Piña Colada Ice Cream Smoothie

Janine is a published author in Only Trollops Shave Above the Knees, appears on The Huffington Post and at Confessions of A Mommyaholic.

Non-Alcoholic Piña Coladas

Growing up, I loved virgin piña coladas. I remember going to Red Lobster with my parents, and my dad ordered a piña colada for himself, but his drink contained alcohol. It looked so good, and I so wanted to taste it. When the waiter came back over, my dad asked if they could make me a non-alcoholic version. They did, and right then and there, an addiction was born! Of course, once I was an adult, I was able to try the alcoholic version—and believe me, I drank quite a few on my honeymoon. Well, it was in the Bahamas, in paradis. So when in Rome, do as the Romans do, right?

When we got home from our honeymoon, it was still summertime, and I was still craving that tasty drink but did not want to consume large quantities of alcohol all day long, all summer long. Lo and behold, one of our relatives gave us a smoothie maker for my bridal shower, and so I decided to try to find the right recipe (fairly simple) and the right ingredients (fairly inexpensive, if possible) to make a virgin smoothie version.

So this recipe was born about six years ago, back when my husband and I were newlyweds. We still love this one and so now do my young kids. It has fruit and ice cream, so what little kid wouldn't like it? Plus, it was fairly simple, easy, and inexpensive to make. I have said this before, but with children and living on a budget, both are truly a blessing.

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 5 tablespoons coconut milk (I use Goya)
• 2 1/2 cups pineapple juice (I use Dole)
• 1/2 cup vanilla ice cream (we prefer Breyers or Friendly's)
• 1 1/2 cups frozen pineapple chunks (again, I use Dole)

Instructions

1. Pour all liquid ingredients into the smoothie maker.
2. Add all frozen ingredients too.
3. Blend at Low/Dispense setting for 30 seconds, then blend at High setting until smooth.
4. While the machine is running, move the stir stick around counterclockwise to aid mixing.
5. Serve immediately in glasses. I use chilled glasses from the freezer whenever possible.

© 2012 Janine Huldie