Anti-Inflammatory Smoothie Recipes & Guide

Last updated on March 13th, 2020 at 01:45 pm

If you want to start the anti-inflammatory diet and are looking for anti-inflammatory recipes – smoothies are a great way to start. Here, I’ll share some anti-inflammatory smoothie recipes and you’ll learn how to make an anti-inflammatory smoothie on your own! Because your own creation will always be the best for you!

Reduce Inflammation With Smoothies

Eating to reduce inflammation in the body can be really hard. That is, if you let it be. Because if you let yourself actually believe that it is easy and you can do it, you will be able to change your diet and get rid of that excess inflammation.

You just need to make some small changes in your daily habits.

One great habit you can start today to reduce inflammation is to make yourself an anti-inflammatory smoothie every single morning.

If you don’t like smoothies – make juices.

People will tell you one or the other is better, but the truth is: as long as you drink either one, you’re doing something awesome for your health.

Even if you’re not drinking a smoothie or a juice – make a salad every day based on the guide I’m gonna share below. A smoothie is pretty much a blended salad with some fruit in it and without onion or garlic. Although, the first time my dad made a smoothie he made it with tomatoes and garlic. For breakfast. Some people call it gazpacho my dad said it’s a smoothie.

Anti-Inflammatory Smoothie Benefits

Drinking an anti-inflammatory smoothie daily can help if you want to:

• prevent disease (inflammation is linked to almost every disease out there, including cancer, cardiovascular disease and neurodegenerative disease)
• prevent premature aging (increased inflammation is shown in older adults)
• improved fat loss
• improve your skin (get rid of redness and pimples)
• balance your hormones
• prevent or stop fatigue
• improve allergies or autoimmune disorders (like arthritis, asthma)

The Method: How To Make An Anti-Inflammatory Smoothie

To make an anti-inflammatory smoothie you simply need to take some anti-inflammatory foods and blend them with water or a plant-based milk that doesn’t contain additives. You can make any nut milk using this recipe.

Not complicated and doesn’t take much time. All it takes is some fresh, preferably organic, produce. If you can’t afford organic – choose fruits and vegetables that are in season (do this in any case) or can be peeled. Make sure to wash well before using them. You can also use frozen produce for your smoothie if fresh is unavailable.

Anti-Inflammatory Smoothie Ingredients

1. Omega-3-rich nuts and seeds

Choose one of these options:

• 1 tbs flax seeds (best choice for omega-3’s) or chia seeds
• handful walnuts
• 3tbs hemp seeds
• or the unprocessed oils of these foods

Make sure you soak the seeds and nuts overnight, so they blend well. Also if you’re interested, find out why these foods are anti-inflammatory here.

2. Polyphenol rich foods

Choose 1 or mix 2 of these options:

• 1-2 cups of dark leafy greens – for example spinach or kale
• 1 cup berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, chokeberry…)
• 1-2 medium beets

Also if you’re interested, find out why these foods are anti-inflammatory here.

3. Herbs and Spices

Some of the best anti-inflammatory foods are herbs and spices. Good additions for your smoothie are:

• cinnamon
• turmeric
• fresh grated ginger
• a handful of mint leaves
• parsley
• basil
• cilantro

4. Water Or Plant-Based Milk

Depending on how thick you want the smoothie to be, you can vary the amount of water or plant-based milk. I usually put around 1 cup water – until ingredients are covered halfway. After blending I decide if I need to add more or not.

5. Fruit

• banana or mango for some sweetness and smoother, creamier texture – 1 fruit
• other good additions for sweetness: oranges (juice), kiwi, apple, pineapple, pears, carrots…any fruit.

Using frozen fruit will make your smoothie creamier and colder, so I highly recommend freezing up some bananas or mango (peel, chop in big pieces and freeze in an airtight container).

Don’t Make It Too Sweet!

Note that eating a diet with a low glycemic load is important to reduce inflammation in the body. This means we shouldn’t just stop eating processed foods and sweets, but we also need to keep an eye on how much fruit we eat.

Let’s be clear: I am not saying you shouldn’t eat fruit (that’s stupid), I am just saying to not go crazy and blend 3-4 bananas in one smoothie.

That’s all. Recommendation is 2 servings of sweet fruit (anything not lemon, berries, avocado or tomatoes) per day and more vegetables. 

Anti-Inflammatory Smoothie Recipes

If you don’t know where to start – here are a few recipes you could try:

Strawberry Banana Kale Smoothie

Berry Anti-Inflammatory Green Smoothie

Tropical Green Smoothie With Chia Seeds

The Best Green Smoothie Recipe

4-Ingredient Green Smoothie

(this one might not be everyone’s favorite – it’s not sweet and the texture isn’t best, but you do feel amazing! Add a banana for sweetness and better texture)

Do What You Can

On days when I am really rushing and truly not in the mood to make a smoothie (or drink it) I would just blend ginger with lemon and water.

This works as well because ginger is one of the best anti-inflammatory foods and it’s great to eat it daily.

So just because you don’t have the time or all the ingredients at home: don’t give up! Do whatever you need to do to start and even more importantly: to not stop.

Key is to eat/drink this way until it becomes a habit and you start “craving” this kind of smoothie.

Other Benefits

With an anti-inflammatory smoothie that’s built like this, you get extra benefits (aside from the benefits of omega-3’s and polyphenols).

You get full protection from free radicals because these smoothies are high in vitamin C, E and in beta carotene. Alone these nutrients are great, but together their effects multiply.

For example, it is believed that vitamin C protects the inner part of the cell that is water-soluble and vitamin E protects the cell membrane, which is made out of lipids (fats). So when you get both these vitamins at the same time – you protect your body’s cells as a whole. This makes the combination of the 2 vitamins very effective. As a trio: vitamin C, E and beta carotene can even work as a sunscreen to protect your skin from sun damage. However, this kind of “systemic” sunscreen is not enough, because the sun is just too strong these days. I don’t care what many websites say.

And there you have it! Now go make your own anti-inflammatory smoothie and let me know how you like it and how it makes you feel.

You Might Also Like:

• How To Eat To Reduce Inflammation In The Body
• 5 Anti-Inflammatory Foods To Eat Daily
• 5 “Healthy” Diet Foods That Actually Cause Inflammation
• 3 Steps To Reduce Inflammation With Diet