Immune Boosting Smoothie

Do you love a good smoothie in the morning? Smoothies can be a great way to pack in nutrition. There are some pros and cons to smoothies though. Maybe you’re not a fan of those healthy green smoothies. The color can be a real turn off for some people – especially if it contains both strawberries and greens. Red plus green still makes brown. I have hope for you! This immune boosting smoothie can be made without any greens at all. It will be a lovely orange color. It looks and tastes great.

How about carrot cake for breakfast? Not the dessert type. Though this smoothie tastes so much like real carrot cake you’ll want to have it often. Plus, your body will thank you for this immune boosting smoothie start to your day.

First, a little bit about smoothies in general.

Many nutritionists tout smoothies as the perfect way to be healthy and lose weight. I drank a lot of smoothies as I began my journey to health and vitality. Not everyone appreciated my smoothie habit though. I packed every single smoothie with massive amounts of fresh leafy greens. The quart-sized servings were not very appetizing to look at. The jar of thick brownish-green liquid sitting on my desk was a turn off for most people. They generally tasted good though…

I made many gains in my health, but didn’t lose as much weight as I thought I would. I guess the reality of weight loss just doesn’t always match up with the claims. No surprises there.

I learned quite a bit as I did more research. Here is some of what I learned:

health benefits of smoothies

• Easy to get your fruit and vegetable servings
• Work well for sipping on the go, at a desk or while reading
• Children tend to enjoy them
• They pack in a lot of fiber and sometimes protein
• Are easily adaptable to your specific tastes and health needs
• Help with weight loss or gain depending on the ingredients you use
• Easy to add ingredients to make an immune boosting smoothie

Can Smoothies be bad for you?

• Smoothies don’t always produce the promised weight loss.
• Some ingredients in commercially prepared (and highly processed) smoothies are just chemicals that have no value to your health and may be harmful.
• Those chemicals used in processing may sabotage your plan for an immune boosting smoothie and may actually harm your immune system. Be sure you are using unprocessed foods. While I have used plenty of vegan protein powder, I can’t give it a perfect grade. A lot of plant-based protein powder is made by extracting the protein using hexane. Plus, it’s all highly processed and engineered.
• Do you really need all that protein? Do you need more protein than you could ever get from food? Do you need to use a highly processed and engineered protein powder of any kind? Is “high protein” a fad? Something to think about.

promised weight loss

First, Let’s look at all the promised weight loss. Consider the liquid nature of a smoothie. You think the fiber-packed smoothie will keep you full. But, that’s not always true. Liquids empty from the stomach pretty fast. That means you might consume a 400 calorie smoothie and find yourself hungry again in a couple hours.

Then there is the lack of chewing. Humans associate feeling full with chewing. Chewing food helps to send a message to your brain telling it that you are in fact consuming calories. Consider adding another food with your smoothie if you find yourself wanting to eat after drinking a healthy smoothie.

Once you realize these two pitfalls exist you will be on your way to using smoothies to their full weightless potential. Adding some nuts to the top of your smoothie, or just eating a few crackers or some apple slices with it, can give you the chewing you might be craving.

Immune Boosting Smoothies

Smoothies can give your immune system a boost

How exactly do smoothies boost your immune system more than some other foods?

They are loaded with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. All of these are naturally in food. Using the nutrition found in the foods God created for us will give you better health than relying on manufactured supplements.

It’s easy to add foods that are specifically supportive to the immune system or that reduce inflammation. That’s especially true of this immune boosting carrot cake smoothie.

I’m talking about home made smoothies here. Not the junk sold in stores. You can avoid processed ingredients and chemicals.

Immune Boosting Ingredients

This immune boosting carrot cake smoothie contains:

• Carrots: High in vitamin A and fiber. Carrots also support gut health which is important for immunity.
• Cinnamon:  is a rich source of antioxidants like polyphenols and proanthocyanidins that give a boost to the immune system. Cinnamon also has antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal properties that help reduce the chances of respiratory diseases and seasonal infections.
• Ginger: is anti oxidative and anti-inflammatory. Ginger also helps relieve stress and allows the body to adapt to a changing or stressful environment. Ginger is warming and can help your body sweat out and move out toxins. If you would like to know how to grow ginger at home check out this post.
• Astragalus: is a perennial (up to growing zone 6) plant in the legume family. The roots are used to stimulate and support the immune system. You can find powdered astragalus root at most natural health stores or you can order it from Mountain Rose Herbs like I did.
• Turmeric: is an optional ingredient in this immune boosting smoothie. Tumeric is a wonderful anti-inflammatory. Reducing inflammation is important so your body can function properly and use it’s energy to fight off infection.
• Oats: Yes, oats are good for you. Oats provide many micronutrients needed to support immunity building microbes in the gut. Study link here.
• Raw Milk: Here is another little known fact – raw milk is good for you. You might have read advice that claims dairy products are inflammatory and unhealthy. Processed dairy is unhealthy, but raw milk will not only build bones – it will strengthen your immune system. Here is some information on the health benefits of raw milk.

That makes 7 good reasons to try this immune boosting carrot cake smoothie

tips for a really SMOOTH smoothie

• Blend the carrots and ginger first. Get them really smooth and the rest is a breeze. Add the milk to your blender or smoothie cup and then the carrots and ginger. Blend them and then add the rest of the ingredients. The milk will froth up as it blends. If you don’t want the frothing try blending the carrots and ginger in a small amount of water first.
• Use frozen banana. This will give a nice cold smooth product.
• Use whole milk
• The smoothie cup will look full after blending the carrots in the milk. Notice in the photo below it is already at the “maximum fill” line. I did not have any problem adding the rest of the ingredients because it’s mostly air in the cup.

If you are interested in learning how to naturally maximize your health check out The Guide to Self-Care for a Healthy Gut. Discover the connection between your gut and immunity and even your brain and mood. Feeling good doesn’t have to be complicated.

here is the recipe for immune boosting carrot cake smoothie

Let me know how you like this recipe in the comments below.