Sign up FAST! Login

Food: Make an anti-inflammatory smoothie


Many spins on this recipe, you're bound to like one.

IMG_7100.jpg

Are you looking for something to help with joint pain? Some people are making the switch from glucosamine to turmeric capsules to help with this pain. I’m not qualified to say if one works better than the other, but it certainly won’t hurt to boost your turmeric intake.

This smoothie is loaded with health-promoting nutrients. Turmeric and ginger contain anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds, while ginger helps with digestion and fighting the common cold. Feel free to get creative with the ingredients below by swapping out the banana for Greek yogurt, or using only coconut water or coconut milk for the liquid. You can double the ginger if you like a little kick in your smoothie. You’ll find raw turmeric in most produce departments, near the raw ginger, but if you’re unable to find it you can substitute 1 teaspoon of dried turmeric (found in the spice aisle). Enjoy!

TURMERIC CITRUS SMOOTHIE

Makes 2 smoothies

Ingredients

1-inch piece of raw ginger

1-inch piece of raw turmeric

2 carrots

1 banana

1 large navel orange, peeled

1 cup frozen pineapple

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

1 cup coconut water

Directions

Peel and roughly chop the ginger, turmeric, banana and carrots. Place the almond milk and coconut water into a blender followed by the ginger, turmeric, carrots, banana, orange and pineapple (in that order). Blend, adding more liquid if needed, until desired smoothness is reached. Bottoms up!

Chef Arica Davis is owner/operator of Yummy Fixins, Personal Chef Services and Pasta Parties. Visit www.yummyfixins.com

Stashed in: Nutrition!, Inflammation, Inflammation, Recipes, Spice

To save this post, select a stash from drop-down menu or type in a new one:

Sunshine Smoothie with Coconut, Clementine and Turmeric

Serves 1

1/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

1 cup chilled unsweetened coconut water

2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut milk

Fresh or frozen segments from 2 clementines (about 1 1/2 cups)

1/2-inch fresh turmeric, peeled and roughly chopped (or 1/2 teaspoon ground), more if desired

1/2-inch fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon honey or agave nectar (optional)

1 tablespoon maca powder (optional)

Place the oatmeal in a blender and process until finely ground. Add the remaining ingredients to the blender and process until smooth. For a thicker smoothie, let it stand for about 5 minutes before serving.

Carrot Ginger Turmeric Smoothie

 

Carrot-Ginger-Turmeric-SMOOTHIE-SQUARE.j

Serves: 2

Ingredients

CARROT JUICE

  • 2 cups (~275 g) carrots
  • 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) filtered water

SMOOTHIE

  • 1 large ripe banana, previously peeled, sliced and frozen (more for a sweeter smoothie)
  • 1 cup (140 g) frozen or fresh pineapple
  • 1/2 Tbsp fresh ginger (1 small knob, peeled)
  • 1/4 tsp ground turmeric (or sub cinnamon)
  • 1/2 cup (120 ml) carrot juice
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice (~1/2 small lemon)
  • 1 cup (240 ml) unsweetened almond milk

Instructions

  1. Make carrot juice by adding carrots and filtered water to a high speed blender and blending on high until completely pureed and smooth. Add more water if it has trouble blending / scrape down sides as needed.
  2. Drape a large, thin dish towel over a mixing bowl and pour over the juice. Then lift up on the corners of the towel and begin twisting and squeezing the juice out until all of the liquid is extracted. Set aside pulp for smoothies, or baked goods (such as carrot muffins).
  3. Transfer carrot juice to a mason jar - will keep for several days, though best when fresh.
  4. To the blender add smoothie ingredients and blend on high until creamy and smooth. Add more carrot juice or almond milk if it has trouble blending. Scrape down sides as needed.
  5. Taste and adjust flavors as needed, adding more banana or pineapple for sweetness, lemon for acidity, ginger for bite, and turmeric for warmth.
  6. Divide between two glasses and serve. Best when fresh.

Notes

*Nutrition information is a rough estimate for 1 of 2 smoothies using 1/2 cup carrot juice (leftovers reserved for future smoothies).

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 1/2 recipe Calories: 144 Fat: 2.3g Carbohydrates: 32g Sugar: 17.5g Sodium: 112mg Fiber: 5g Protein: 2.4g

 

Orange Tropical Turmeric Smoothie

Ingredients

  1. 2 1/2 cups frozen organic pineapple
  2. 1 frozen organic banana
  3. 1 cup fresh organic orange juice* - approx. 3 large oranges
  4. Zest from oranges
  5. 1/2 cup raw, organic or grass-fed whole milk or full-fat coconut milk
  6. 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
  7. 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
  8. 1 teaspoon organic vanilla extract
  9. 1-2 tablespoons light colored raw honey or sweetener of choice - optional
  10. 2 tablespoons cold water soluble grass-fed collagen hydrolysate - optional

Instructions

  1. Add all ingredients into the blender. Blend until smooth and combined.
  2. Serve immediately.

Notes

  1. Serves 2.
  2. Note: If you are new to turmeric, I would recommend using a smaller amount and see how you like it. You can always add more. Turmeric has a very bold flavor and too much can be very bitter.
  3. *This would be delicious with blood oranges, tangelos, tangerines or mandarines too.
  4. Vegan-Option: Replace honey with organic maple syrup. Use coconut milk or extra orange juice instead of milk. Omit the collagen hydrolysate.

coconut citrus sunshine smoothie (gf + v)

usually when i make smoothies i add as i go, which is really what i did here - there's no real math to it, so feel free to start with less and add more as you go.  the result of the ingredient amounts below is a fairly fluid smoothie that thickens over time as the chia seeds activate, about 10 minutes.  

| makes 4 servings |

  • 1 cup coconut water, cold
  • 1 cup coconut yogurt (or preferred yogurt)
  • 1 navel orange, peeled, cut, and seeds removed
  • 1 ruby red grapefruit, peeled, cut, and seeds removed
  • 1 blood orange, peeled, cut, and seeds removed
  • 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric, extra to top (1 teaspoon fresh turmeric)
  • 1 teaspoon chia seeds, extra to top
  • 1 teaspoon bee pollen, extra to top

Turmeric and Citrus Smoothie

 

Turmeric-and-Citrus-Smoothie-4-266x160.j 

Serves: 2

Ingredients

  • ½ cup So Delicious coconut milk
  • ½ vanilla bean, scraped
  • ½ of a grapefruit, peeled
  • 1 frozen banana
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • ¼ teaspoon dried turmeric
  • 1 tablespoon agave nectar

Instructions

  1. In a blender, combine all of the ingredients and blend until smooth. If banana isn't frozen, add in a few ice cubes to make sure everything gets cold.

These recipes sound good. 

What is it in tumeric and ginger that makes them anti inflammatory?

I don't know, but I've heard turmeric is also good for memory health, preventive against Alzheimer's.

Ginger // stomach soother, immune booster, infection fighter, anti-inflammatory badass (source)

Banana // Digestion aid, potassium-packed, lowers blood pressure, healthy carbs, tastes like candy (source)

Pineapple // Vitamin C-packed, anti-inflammatory, digestion aid, antioxidant-packed, energy boosting, nature’s candy (source)

Turmeric // Anti-inflammatory, antioxidant-rich, battles cystic fibrosis, free radical-fighting, lowers cholesterol (source)

Lemon // Vitamin C-packed, antioxidant-rich, natural antibiotic, skin brightener, tastes like summer (source 1 + 2)

Carrot // Antioxidant- and Vitamin A-rich, beta carotene-packed, vision booster, free radical fighter (source)

http://minimalistbaker.com/carrot-ginger-turmeric-smoothie/

Thank you Janill. 

I'm still unclear what makes something anti inflammatory but I like all of those ingredients' flavors.

The nifty gritty on tumeric: https://authoritynutrition.com/top-10-evidence-based-health-benefits-of-turmeric/

Says you should eat it with pepper, which helps with absorbtion. The writer downs it with a couple of black peppercorns! I've been doing it wrong!

Another page about turmeric:  http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=78

I'm not crazy about pepper in my smoothies!  It's pretty confusing all the food pairing that needs to be correct to get our nutrients, it's a wonder we ever survived, seems pure chance.  I've been trying to focus on bone health, and you need D3 in order to absorb your calcium, and K needs to be combined with fat to be absorbed!  On and on it goes, I feel like I need a nutritionist to plan my diets ;)

Food combinations do seem like pure chance.

I'm not liking the idea of pepper in smoothies, too.

You May Also Like: