Very excited to share today’s post with you all. The wonderful Cecelia Yu, an incredible nutrition coach + founder of Vitamin L, sent me four immune boosting smoothie recipes to help me stay healthy during this crazy time. It’d be selfish not to share so I’ll be copying and pasting info for you guys. She also included a detailed explanation regarding ingredients so that’ll be included as well.
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup unsweetened Almond Milk
- 1 1/2 tsps Ground Flax Seed
- 1 1/2 tsps Hemp Seeds
- 1/2 Navel Orange (peeled and sectioned)
- 3/4 cup Frozen Berries
- 1 cup Baby Spinach
Calories: 168
- 1 cup Water
- 1 1/2 cups Baby Spinach
- 1/4 Avocado
- 1/4 Zucchini (diced, frozen)
- 1/2 Banana (frozen)
- 1 tbsp Tahini
- 1 tsp Ginger (fresh)
- 1 tbsp Chia Seeds
Calories: 302
For additional protein, add a scoop of protein powder or collagen. This can also be enjoyed as a smoothie bowl with toppings like shredded coconut, granola, sliced banana or berries.
Regarding ingredients, if you don’t have frozen zucchini on hand, use fresh zucchini and if you’re unable to find fresh ginger, you can use a pinch of dried ginger instead. Don’t have chia seeds at home? No worries. You can omit them entirely or use flax seeds instead. And if you like you smoothies extra creamy, use fresh avocado rather than cubed, frozen avocado.
- 2 cups Kale Leaves
- 1/2 Cucumber (chopped)
- 1/2 Lemon (juiced)
- 1 Pear (peeled and chopped)
- 1 1/2 tsps Ginger (grated)
- 1 1/2 tsps Ground Flax Seed
- 3/4 cup Water
- 2 1/2 Ice Cubes
Calories: 164
Easy substitutions are as follows: No kale? Use spinach instead. Missing pear? Feel free to sub apples. For an extra metabolic boost, add 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper; for extra protein, add a scoop of protein powder or hemp seeds. Looking to sweeten this concoction? Add 1/2 cup frozen pineapple or mango to the mix.
- 1 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk
- 1 cup Pineapple (diced into chunks)
- 1 1/2 tsps Ginger (peeled and grated)
- 1 tbsp Chia Seeds
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric (powder)
- 1 cup Baby Spinach
Calories: 186
Store it in your fridge in a sealed jar overnight to enjoy it the next day – just remember to shake before consuming. Also, if you’re missing pineapple, feel free to use mango, peaches or banana instead.
Spinach & Kale: two of the most nutrient dense vegetables, high on magnesium & vitamins C and A which are crucial for your immune system.
Berries: the flavonoids in berries can amp up your immune system by decreasing inflamation and free radicals in one’s body.
Pineapple: its enzyme, bromelain, literally hunts and zaps away free radicals in your body.
Turmeric: the GOLDEN medicine provided by nature. It’s active ingredient, curcumin, fights viruses and bacteria as well as subsides pain & cellular inflammations, which is crucial when our body is constantly in an inflammatory state (by stress, eating out too much, not sleeping enough, etc.) and its ability to fight off viruses and bacteria is severely compromised.
Tahini: a paste made from sesame seeds and is extremely detoxifying. A “cleansed” body is better fit to fight off pathogens.
Hemp Seeds: they have the perfect balance of omega 3 and omega 6. They are a quality fat that absorbs the fat soluable (also immune fighting) vitamins such as A, C, D and E. Our body needs omega 3 to be in an anti-inflammatory state, but it also needs some (but not in over-abundance) omega 6 to be just inflammatory enough to fight of pathogens like fevers. The ideal ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 is 4:1. Currently, the average western diet has that ratio at 10:1.
Flax Seeds: these are extremely high in fiber, and they’ll help keep you full. They’re a rich source of omega 3, and it’ll help keep your body in an anti-inflammatory state.
Ginger: when used in its fresh form, this everyday culinary herb is lauded for its anti-inflammatory, anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties.
Almond Milk: Extremely high in zinc, almonds are a great side kick for the immune system. When you’re feeling ill or under the weather, many doctors recommend zinc supplements to supercharge the immune system. It’s best to make your own at home with soaked raw almonds (1 cup of almonds: 4 cups of water), but you can purchase the organic kind vs heavily sprayed with pesticides and products that don’t contain preservatives or added sugar.
Alright friends, I hope you enjoyed today’s post. A huge thanks to the incredible Cece Yu for sharing her knowledge with us. For more info on how to stay healthy during this insane pandemic, follow her on facebook and stay tuned for more on Sensible Stylista. Sending you guys lots of love! See you Monday.
