Spring Green Smoothie
Spring is in full swing now, and I love to add dandelion greens to my salad, snip fresh chives over my soup, and gather tender lettuces for a meal. I love, too, that this Gut Healing Green Smoothie is a lovely vibrant color to match what I see outside.
This smoothie is packed with anti-inflammatory, gut healing ingredients. Learn about how each ingredient plays a role in optimizing your health, and check out my new Gut Healing Meal Plan at the end! Keep reading, my friends.
A Healthy Gut
Without getting too science-y, a healthy gut means a healthy you. If you have an inflamed gut, then the rest of your body is likely to be inflamed. If the lining of your gut is impaired and allows toxins to break through and circulate throughout your body, or if there is an imbalance of good to bad bacteria, then you will have symptoms. These symptoms can range all over the map, but they can include:
- Headaches/Fatigue
- Rosacea/Psoriasis
- Bloating/Gas
- Diarrhea/Constipation
- Challenges with your weight
- Mental health struggles
- Autoimmune diseases
- Food intolerances
As you can see, having a healthy gut is paramount to having a healthy body, mind, and spirit.
Pre-, Pro-, and Postbiotics
According to Food Revolution, our guts like prebiotics, probiotics, which then produce postbiotics.
Prebiotics are certain fibers that feed the good bacteria in your gut. Things like onions, asparagus, chicory, bananas, oats, apples, and chocolate are all prebiotic foods.
Probiotics are the living beneficial bacteria we consume in food. Examples of probiotics include fermented foods such as kefir, yogurt, kimchi, low-sugar kombucha, and sauerkraut.
Probiotics need to be replenished daily, since they die out quickly. For this reason, prebiotics are necessary to feed them so they multiply.
The final step in this process is postbiotics. According to Harvard Health:
[Postbiotics] refer to the waste left behind after your body digests both prebiotics and probiotics. Healthy postbiotics include nutrients such as vitamins B and K, amino acids, and substances called antimicrobial peptides that help to slow down the growth of harmful bacteria. Other postbiotic substances called short-chain fatty acids help healthy bacteria flourish.
Harvard Health Publishing
So to recap, we ingest prebiotics in the form of fiber to feed our gut bacteria. We also ingest probiotics in the form of fermented foods to replenish lost bacteria. And the result is an increase in postbiotics, which have beneficial effects on our health.
Gut Healing Ingredients
For this Gut Healing Green Smoothie, I’ve focused on the following ingredients.
Prebiotic
- Green apple OR Banana
- Kale
- Chia seeds
Probiotic
- Kefir
Additional Gut Healing Ingredients
- Bone Broth Powder (builds and restores gut lining)
- Collagen Powder (builds and restores gut lining)
- Ginger root (anti-inflammatory)
- Moringa powder (promotes healthy digestion, anti-inflammatory)
- Spirulina (helps reduce inflammation)
So then, will consuming this Gut Healing Green Smoothie heal your gut? Yes, but. There are many other factors that go into a healthy body, and those include:
- Adequate sleep
- Minimize stress
- Eat mostly whole, unprocessed foods
- Exercise
- Consider intermittent fasting
The bottom line is that by drinking this smoothie regularly, you are doing something to heal your body. Just don’t forget about the other factors at play when it comes to healing your body. You only get one body, so live wisely! Work with a practitioner if necessary to get back on track with your gut health.
NEW Gut Healing Meal Plan
I started a little shop on Etsy called Real Meal Ritual. There you can download my brand new Gut Healing Meal Plan. As I just mentioned above, healing your gut involves more than just food, but food is a huge part of it. So head over today to download my new meal plan, and you’ll be on your way to optimizing not only your gut health, but your total health.
Don’t Forget About These Other Gut Healing Recipes…
Thanks for stopping by, my friends. See you next time!
Rebekah
Gut Healing Green Smoothie
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 1 cup kefir
- 1 cup water
- 1 peeled green apple or banana
- 1 cup kale I steam it, then freeze it, before adding it to smoothies
- 1/4 cup chia seeds
- 2 scoops bone broth protein powder or plant protein powder
- 2 scoops collagen powder
- 1 inch piece peeled ginger root
- 2 teaspoons spirulina powder optional
- 2 teaspoons moringa powder optiona
Instructions
- Add kefir and water to blender, followed by fruit, ginger, chia seeds, and powders. Blend, pausing to scrape down the sides if needed. Divide between two glasses and serve.
