Immune Boosting Smoothie

No matter how you're feeling, you can mix up this green immune boosting smoothie, full of nourishing ingredients, to give you the extra boost you need.

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Immune Boosting Smoothie

I won't start by saying something silly like smoothies are underrated because I don't think they are. Who doesn't love a good smoothie?

Or maybe an even better question: who doesn't love a smoothie that tastes amazing and uses ingredients proven to provide health benefits?

If you can find that person, well... you should make them this immune boosting smoothie and show them what's possible. Even better, you can actually prepare these smoothies in advance by gathering the ingredients in bags and freezing them for use when you need them.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's find out more about what goes into one of these delicious smoothies.

Immune Boosting Smoothie Ingredients

Much to the disdain of the imaginary person in the previous section, it is possible to have a smoothie that tastes really, really good but also uses health-promoting ingredients. This immune boosting smoothie provides one very good example:

• frozen mango
• frozen pineapple
• spinach
• chia seeds
• honey
• ginger
• turmeric
• coconut water
• optional: vanilla protein powder

Benefits of the ingredients

I'll start by saying this: I'm not a doctor, nor a dietitian, or another professional that might claim expertise about nutrition. That said, I care about what I eat, and I pay attention to the research about the positive effects of foods I consume.

With the understanding that this list is limited, here are just a few of the benefits of the ingredients found in this immune boosting smoothie (with some sources for further reading):

Pineapple - Disease fighting antioxidants & management of digestion/inflammation
Mango - Disease fighting antioxidants, aids digestion, heart health, & delicious taste
Spinach - Super food with folate (which helps your body make new cells), contains anti-inflammatory properties, & reduces blood sugar
Ginger - Anti-inflammatory & antioxidant properties, provides nausea relief, reduces menstrual pain, & helps fight infections
Chia seeds - Rich in minerals, antioxidants, fiber, & omega-3 fats
Turmeric - Anti-inflammatory & antioxidants properties, lower cholesterol
Coconut water - Aids in hydration, high in potassium, contains antioxidants

Not to mention the benefits of local honey and the potential of other ingredients you bring to the mix. There's plenty of great stuff here in this smoothie!

How to make an immune boosting smoothie

This is the part where I share instructions on how to make an immune boosting smoothie.

In case you've never tried to make a smoothie before, it basically goes like this:

• Get a blender
• Get all the ingredients together
• Put the ingredients in the blender
• Press the button that blends them
• Wait a bit
• Pour your smoothie out
• Enjoy your smoothie!

Even that's more steps than it probably needs to take. However, I should also specify that my blender takes about a minute to get these ingredients to a smooth consistency. Some things (the chia seeds, for example) don't just turn into liquid out of nowhere.

How long a smoothie takes and how it ends up looking is going to be affected by the ingredients, but it's also going to be affected by the blender. Keep that in mind when dialing this one in.

If blending from frozen

One more thing in the instructions: if you prepped this immune boosting smoothie ahead of time and are pulling it from the freezer, you may need to use more liquid than usual to get the same results as when the ingredients were a mix of fresh and frozen.

Why is that? Well, when you freeze the ingredients together, they will lose moisture in the freezing and thawing process, even if you go straight from the freezer to the blender. So keep that in mind and make sure to keep enough of your desired liquid on hand to make these.

Smoothie substitutions

Here are a few substitution options for this immune boosting smoothie:

• Swap the liquid: You can use almond or oat milk for liquid (but if you haven't tried it, you should consider trying coconut water at least once. It brings out the flavor of the other ingredients in a great way!)
• Choose your fruit: You can use any other fruits you desire, and you may even get some new nutritional benefits from it!
• If you don't have frozen fruit and want to use fresh fruit, add a few ice cubes to keep things chilly.
• Swap the greens: can use kale instead of spinach (or both!)
• As I mentioned in the ingredients list, you can also add protein powder if you'd like (I find vanilla works with this flavor combo).

How to meal prep smoothies

As I've already suggested above, it's possible to make this immune boosting smoothie ahead of time, store in single-serving containers, and add to the blender whenever you're craving it! It saves that much more time, and it's really great to have this ready to go in the freezer.

Simply measure out all of the ingredients (except the liquid) and place them into an airtight storage bag. Make sure to let out all the air before you seal!

Tips on how to make a creamy smoothie

• Use frozen fruit: no need to play around with ice for the texture—frozen fruit will help you get what you need!
• Ramp it up: Start on low power mode and then go to high power mode
• Adjust the liquid: Depending on the type and amount of liquid you use in this, you may need to tinker a bit before you reach the perfect texture!

Do green smoothies help when sick?

It's true that the immune system benefits from many of the ingredients in this smoothie. However, something like this isn't intended to cure sickness.

That said, a smoothie can be easy on the stomach and help you to stay hydrated when it's important. Further, consuming the ingredients in the immune boosting smoothie while you're feeling healthy can potentially help stave off illnesses going forward. Drink to your health!

Want more recipes?

Why not try one of these Jordo's World staples:

• Cowboy Caviar Recipe
• Rice Cake Snacks
• Lemon Yogurt Parfait