Immune Boosting Smoothie
Our Immune Boosting Smoothie is packed with superfoods that are known for their immune boosting properties. The flavor from the berries, mango and pomegranate make it a hit for even your pickiest eaters. Boost your immune system this winter with our anti-flu super smoothie!
The Superfoods Behind our Immune Boosting Smoothie
Superior nutrition can keep your kids from catching every bug that goes around this winter. Sometimes however, super bugs invade their lives, and even with the best nutrition, they can get sick. We have a smoothie with the super foods that can not only boost their protection, but also help recover faster if they do get sick!
Spinach
Green, flowering vegetables that include kale, cabbage, and broccoli are considered cruciferous vegetables. Blending cruciferous veggies in a blender for a smoothie breaks the cell walls that cause a chemical reaction which has been proven to have powerful immune boosting effects. Studies have shown they actually attack microbes, such as viruses.
We used spinach for our smoothie (because who wants a cabbage smoothie).
Pomegranate
We used pomegranate juice for this smoothie, and while pricy, the protection it provides is unmatched!
The juice and seeds of pomegranates have antioxidant AND anticancer properties, including interference with tumor cell proliferation, life cycle invasion and angiogenesis. Studies just this past decade showed pomegranate benefits in the treatment and prevention of cancer, cardiovascular disease, bacterial infections, and UV induced skin damage.
Berries
Brightly colored berries like raspberries, blackberries and blueberries have benefits similar to pomegranates. There are many studies that show the ability of dark berries to inhibit tumor growth in cancer patients. However, while further study is needed, dark berries may also be able to block viruses!
Flax Seed
We used flax seeds for our smoothie. Flax seeds have amazing benefits with the omega 3 fatty acids alone, but they also contain a powerful immune booster called lignans. These bind to estrogen receptors and interfere with cancer and have strong antioxidant effects.
Mango
Mangos contain over 20 different vitamins and minerals, clearly qualifying them for superfood status! The are an excellent source of vitamin C which is known for supporting a healthy immune system.
The other super foods that we did NOT include in our smoothie (for obvious reasons) are the mushrooms, garlic, and onion. So, make sure to get these foods into your kids at dinner, and they’ll benefit from the whole array of immune boosting super foods!
Ingredients for Immune Boosting Smoothie:
- Spinach– You can also use kale here, but not all kids love the taste! Nutritionally, they are very similar.
- Pomegranate Juice– Pomegranate juice offers great nutritional benefits, but it is very tangy. If your kids don’t love it, you can substitute any juice.
- Frozen Mixed Berries– We used a mix of strawberries, blackberries, blueberries and raspberries.
- Frozen Mango– Frozen mango adds sweetness and a great creamy texture to the smoothie.
- Flax Meal– make sure you use flax meal and not flax seeds- the body doesn’t absorb the seeds well and they don’t always blend well in the blender.
How to Make our Immune Boosting Smoothie
- Put all of the ingredients in a high powered blender, starting with the spinach.
- Blend on high until smooth and the spinach is completely pureed.
- Serve!
More Smoothie Recipes You’ll Love:
- Green Peach Smoothie
- Strawberry Cheesecake Smoothie
- Chocolate Banana Smoothie
- Freezer Smoothie Packs
Immune Boosting Smoothie
Ingredients
- 2 cups spinach
- 2 cup pomegranate juice
- 1 cup mixed berries, frozen
- 1 cup mango, frozen
- 2 tablespoon flaxseed, ground
Instructions
- Blend all ingredients in a high powered blender until smooth. Serve!
Nutrition
www.superhealthykids.com
Natalie Monson
I'm a registered dietitian, mom of 4, avid lover of food and strong promoter of healthy habits. Here you will find lots of delicious recipes full of fruits and veggies, tips for getting your kids to eat better and become intuitive eaters and lots of resources for feeding your family.
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It’s always a great idea to have your kids eat healthy–and super foods with many antioxidants and other health-beneficial properties are certainly included! ….Now I just want a smoothie.
It’s always nice when you come across something that tastes good and is good for you as well. Usually it’s one or the other it seems like.
Great Smoothie! I found it a little bit gritty but it was very good! My kids loved it!
I use mushroom and all types of greens and veggies in my smoothies but i also add cocoa powder to color everything pretty. I have a vitamix so you can tell pieces .
Love it Sam!
is the kale raw or cooked??
Kale is raw
Would this be good as a popsicle?
I would definitely make the leftovers into a popsicle! My kids devour them with the other smoothies I have made…
Yes, delicious!
Love it! I’ve been known to stick some elderberry syrup in too.
My son is on antibiotics right now–only his 2nd time in his 11 years and it’s causing diarrhea. So now I’m mixing it up in a smoothie with some nice tummy-calming homemade yogurt and banana. Seems to be working!
And to make it even more potent – use organic vegies
I recently read that eating Kale raw is NOT healthy, if eaten daily like this suggests. I can’t recall the site, but it is something to consider—maybe cook some ahead of time, and portion into ice cube trays to add to the smoothies as needed.
Sounds delicious! Don’t forget to grind or crack the flax seeds; otherwise they just pass undigested through the gut. Or you can use chia seeds – slightly less lignan content but more protein and fibre and they don’t need to be ground. And remember that commercially-available pomegranate juice has lost most of its antioxidants (and gained some preservatives) so it’s better to use fresh!
Does anyone know of any berries or anything at all that is good to eat/drink for SEVERE ALLERGIES & migrainesThanks!
Raelene- I don’t know about berries, but I would recommend reading some of the work of Dr. Joel Fuhrman. He’s had great success in treating migrains and allergies with a very high, nutrient dense diet. Check him out here:
http://www.drfuhrman.com/
Where do we fine pomegranate juice which brand n how to make pomegranate juice without a blender.
Avaan, I actually find it by the chilled orange juice – sort of by the dairy case. I don’t know how you would make your own.
How often would you recommend drinking these in order to keep colds & flu away?
Erin, we drink green smoothies every day in the winter!
THANK YOU! 🙂
You can smash the pomegranate grains with the bottom of a glass, of use the entre grains in the smoothies but it left tiny little seeds
I know it sounds weird, but I use frozen broccoli in my smoothies and I find it to be less noticeable than kale. I use a Vitamix and don’t actually even taste the broccoli.
Perfect for getting lots of vitamins and minerals in one go!
Hi
If we don’t use pomegranate juice can fresh pomegranate sreds be used instead? If so does it equal to 1 whole pomegranite?
Family approved! This will be a new staple in the house.
Amazing whole family loved it!
Loved it but the seeds get annoying
The kids loved it!
Does anything happen to super foods when cooked/heated? Or should that matter? Our family does eat mushrooms onions and garlic with a majority of our meals. Especially onions and garlic!
Very yummy!
I didn’t try yet yet , I was wondering if I have to make the pomegranate juice or I buy from store, which one is better
No spirulina? Spirulina has been shown to inhibit viruses.