Oct 15
Immune boosting wellness smoothie packed with nourishing ingredients: fresh ginger, turmeric root, spinach, raw or manuka honey, pineapple, banana and black pepper. Sounds crazy, but this smoothie is absolutely delicious, great for digestion and a boost for your immune system! I love drinking this daily.
My best friend Callie is always coming to me with the latest and greatest wellness ideas. It’s probably because she lives in LA, where health food is no longer a trend, but a way of life. AND I FREAKING LOVE IT, you can check out my guide to LA here. If I wasn’t so obsessed with Chicago, I’d definitely be in California. (Still haven’t made it to Portland, so who knows, that could be my true crunchy calling.)
Callie came to visit me in Chicago a few months ago and made me this green smoothie a few times. I was skeptical at first, because I wasn’t used to using real turmeric root in anything except my famous chicken soup. However, upon my first sip I realized what a game-changer this recipe was.
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In fact, a few weeks ago when Abra and I were both feeling under the weather, I made this smoothie for us to help our healing process.
Now it’s fully incorporated into my life; I make it every other day for breakfast and can’t get enough.
Not only does this smoothie taste fantastic with hints of pineapple, banana and ginger — but it also includes ingredients that boast some pretty incredible health benefits:
Banana: I love using frozen banana to add creaminess to this recipe. It’s packed with healthy carbs and potassium. That being said, if you are sensitive to banana, you could sub it for extra ¾ cup of pineapple or even apple.
Pineapple: Pineapple includes a natural enzyme called bromelain, which is wonderful for preventing inflammation and helping poor digestive issues. It also sweetens the recipe nicely.
Spinach: I always encourage using spinach in smoothies to get your greens in, because you can’t taste it at all! You can add 2-3 cups to this recipe and get an extra dose of fiber, vitamin and nutrients in all before lunch time.
Ginger root: Fresh ginger makes all the difference in flavoring this dish; it also helps with digestive issues, reducing inflammation and even pain.
Turmeric root: This is the magic! It’s earthy, incredibly flavorful, and has been used for thousands of years as a medicinal herb. There are numerous benefits of turmeric, which range from increasing antioxidant absorption to even preventing cancer. Turmeric also happens to contain a compound called curcumin, which has powerful anti-inflammatory effects. To get a good dose of curcumin, you’ll need to add black pepper in with the turmeric, which enhances your body’s ability to absorb the compound. More on that below!
Black pepper: You won’t need much, just a few shakes to help the turmeric work it’s anti-inflammatory magic. And no, you can’t taste it thanks to everything else going on in this smoothie.
Manuka or raw honey: I LOVE using a little honey, but make sure it’s raw or manuka honey to get additional benefits and higher antioxidant levels. I love keeping a jar of raw/manuka honey in my cupboard just in case I come down with a sore throat during the cold season.
Coconut milk or almond milk: Either of these will work well in this recipe. I love coconut milk because then the smoothie tastes a little like a pina colada. Oh la la!
WATCH ME MAKE THIS WELLNESS SMOOTHIE:
I hope you get a chance to try this smoothie out very soon! I think you’ll absolutely love it and the health benefits it brings to your life. If you make it, be sure to rate the recipe below and leave a comment to let me know how you liked it.
And don’t forget to follow #ambitiouskitchen on Instagram to keep up with all of my recipes!
- Serves: 2 smoothies
- Serving size: 1 smoothie (1/2 of recipe)
- Calories: 139.2
- Fat: 2.7g
- Saturated fat: 0.2g
- Carbohydrates: 32.6g
- Sugar: 19.4g
- Fiber: 4.0g
- Protein: 2.8g
- 1 banana
- 1 cup frozen pineapple
- 2-3 cups organic spinach
- 1 knob fresh ginger, peeled (about 2 inches of ginger)
- 1 knob turmeric root (about 2 inches fresh turmeric)
- 1/2 tablespoon manuka or raw honey
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (or a just couple grinds)
- 1/2-3/4 cup almond milk or coconut milk
- In a large high-powered blender, add in all ingredients and blend on high for 1-2 minutes or until all ingredients are well combined. If necessary, add in more almond milk to thin the smoothie. Makes 2 smoothies.
If you don't like bananas, feel free to sub a cored apple.
Other Ambitious Kitchen smoothie recipes you might like:
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I can hardly wait to try this! Does the pineapple have to be frozen? I love your site and have shared it, too. So glad you share such great recipes that are healthy and delicious!
You can use fresh pineapple too! Thanks so much 🙂 I’m glad you found AK!
Green smoothies are my favorite!
They’re the best!
Delish! Healthy and smooth tasting! Perfect green smoothie! Will make this again!!!
I’m glad you liked it!!
This looks amazing! Question about smoothies, can I make them and keep them in the fridge for a day?( ie make one for lunch and save the other portion for breakfast next day?)
I’d recommend storing them in the freezer! They should be great the next day – you’ll just want to blend them up with a bit more liquid 🙂