Mango Tango – Recipes for a Healthy Mango Love Affair - Juicing and Plant Based Diet Health Coach Stephanie Leach

My son is in love with mangoes. When it’s time to make the weekly grocery shopping list, he eagerly asks, “Are you going to get some mangoes?”

The answer is an easy “yes.”

Although a whole mango has about 30 grams of natural sugar, it’s low on the glycemic index and provides lots of potassium, vitamin A and beta-carotene as well as vitamins C & K, calcium, phosphorus and magnesium. And because of its high water content, mangoes are a “high-volume” food, giving you quite a bit to savor for only 135 calories.

So mangoes are a naturally delicious, whole-food sweet treat that I can feel good about sharing with my family. And they’re in peak season right now, so I am finding them for 88 cents to around a $1 each. Feels like a steal!

Here are my favorite ways to enjoy mangoes:

Frozen Pineapple-Mango Ice Pops – Puree diced mango with an equal amount of diced fresh pineapple, then pour into freezer ice pop molds. Add sliced fresh strawberries or raspberries to the puree before freezing if desired.

Mango Frozen Yogurt – Puree some mango with a banana and low-sugar Greek yogurt (I use Kroger brand Lowfat Greek Yogurt sweetened with Stevia) until smooth. Pour into a lidded glass dish and place in the freezer until frozen. Use an ice cream scoop to dish it up and enjoy the creamy tropical goodness.

Fresh Diced Mango – Add diced fresh mango to fresh salsas for fish tacos and chicken, and to kale salads for some sweetness. I also toss it into banana green smoothies for some tropical flavor.

Spicy Sliced Mango – Sometimes I will slice open a mango and it is not quite as sweet and ripe as I would like. So I just squeeze on some lime and sprinkle it with a tiny bit of cayenne for a spicy sweet snack.

Looking for something beyond smoothies, freezer pops and salsas? Here are some delicious recipes from around the web to help you get cookin’ with mangoes.