This sour mango smoothie is inspired by the flavors of the tropical baobab fruit. It’s a bright way to start your morning, or bring a little sunshine to your afternoon.

This smoothie is part of our Family Dinner Book Club menu to accompany the children’s book One Plastic Bag by Miranda Paul. This book is about the recycling women of the Gambia, which is in West Africa. Baobab juice is very common in this area, and is mentioned in the book.

Baobab powder is widely available throughout the US, so you can make your own baobab juice at home. I wanted to make a fresh smoothie to accompany our menu, and since I don’t have access to actual baobab fruit that is not in powder form, I recreated the flavors instead.

They say baobab tastes like sunshine, and so does this sour mango smoothie! Baobab is supposed to taste like a sour mango with a consistency similar to coconut, so those are the flavors I went with. Mango makes up the base of this smoothie, unsweetened coconut milk adds creaminess and another tropical flavor, and honey vanilla lemonade rounds out the flavor profile and adds some extra sweetness.

I really enjoyed the contrasting flavors here, and Katie gulped down an entire smoothie before dinner! You know it’s a win when the kids don’t hesitate to ask for more.