Lifeguard Smoothie
I know it takes special talent to get a cold in the middle of the summer (July 4th to be exact) in the heat of Hot-lanta, but I'm just talented like that.
Unfortunately for the cold, I really dislike being sick as it interrupts my plans of taking over the world. So I thought I'd do something about it.
What I made was this smoothie, which I blame for allowing me to have a rocking July 4th with hot yoga, hiking, shopping, eating out and watching fireworks from the top of the mountain.
This is now my go-to anytime I feel like my immune system is getting weaker for any real or imaginary reason.
Note: I did NOT use all of that ginger, nor all that pepper:).
Ingredients:
- 3 large carrots
- 2 cups of fresh (or frozen) cut pineapple
- 1 large grapefruit (peeled)
- 1 lemon
- thumb-size chunk of ginger root
- dash of cayenne pepper
Equipment needed:
- Juicer
- Blender
- Knife
- Little bit of motivation
What to do:
- Prep your juicing ingredients: peel grapefruit, clean and peel ginger, wash carrots, wash and cut lemon.
- Juice carrots, grapefruit, lemon, ginger.
- Put your pineapple in a blender, pour over the juice, add a dash of cayenne pepper and blend.
- Enjoy! You may add more cayenne pepper if you can handle it.
The science behind it...
Pineapple is one of the best anti-inflammatory foods due to a protein digesting enzyme bromelain. It is great for UTIs, arthritis pain and swelling, aids with digestion and is loaded with vitamin C.
Grapefruit is here mostly for its vitamin C load, but is has tons of other benefits as well. Lycopene, potassium and choline among other nutrients help maintain healthy heart, have been shown to help prevent various types of cancer and aid your metabolism.
Beta carotene in carrots will help improve your immune system and fight free radicals, while vitamins A, C, D, E will also help reduce inflammation and cleanse your kidneys.
Ginger being one of the most powerful foods deserves its own book, but specific to our purposes here it has major anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting effects.
Cayenne pepper clears congestions, is a natural pain killer, helps metabolism and is a general detox among many other things.
And lemons are just good in everything!
So drink up and be merry!
Love, Krystyna
