I recently came across this recipe for Green Kale Fruit Cinnamon Smoothie on YogaPeach.com as I was looking for some new food options as we enter the warmer months.
- Small bunch of kale, approx 1 cups, remove stems (superfood)
- Handful of frozen or fresh mixed berries, approximately 1/2 cup (I like just one berry per smoothie, blueberries or raspberries)
- 1 ripe banana
- Juice 1/2 lemon
- 1/2 cup almond milk or water
- 1/2 TBSP Vanilla
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon (superfood)
Directions: Wash and chop the kale, removing any hard stalks. Put into blender. Add ingredients and blend.
Chinese Medicine traditionally places emphasis on mindful eating, and the properties of the foods we eat as the season’s change. The principle behind seasonal eating is to balance the external climate with our internal one, which is achieved by maintaining a healthy spleen and stomach function. In order to successfully do this, we must ultimately balance the proper amount of yin and yang with each meal.
The focal point in the spring and summer is that we generally seek foods that are colder in nature to help us cool off from the heat. At this time of year fresh fruits, salads, and lighter foods are appealing. Why is this? Foods that are cooler generally tend to cool the body by directing qi inward and downward. Colder foods are great for heat patterns but too much cold can be difficult to digest, slowing down the metabolic process, weakening yang and generating stagnation. As we all know, there is no single food or diet that is appropriate for any single person. So before you make this smoothie, talk to your practitioner, and make sure that consuming cold foods is appropriate for your constitution.
For your interest, I have included some of the beneficial properties of the foods included in the smoothie:
Kale – both cooling and warming. It strengthens the stomach, stops pain, and eases lung congestion. It is considered a cruciferous superfood and is one of the highest antioxidant power leafy greens. It contains the following: sulforaphanes – a cancer-fighting compound, vitamin k- to protect the heart, stop clotting, and encourage strong bones by anchoring calcium, and beta-carotene.
Banana – sweet, cool, and astringent. It benefits the stomach, and increases fluids in the intestines and body, and moistens dryness. It helps with constipation, dryness in the lungs, and helps to alleviate a cough.
Blueberries – a part of the Vaccinium Species providing antibacterial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties. They have helped alleviate many conditions primarily age-related ones.
Strawberries – sweet, sour, and cooling. It helps to moisten the lungs for dry sore throats and difficulty with urination.
Lemon – sour, astringent, cooling. It benefits the stomach and liver, helping to alleviate nausea, increased thirst, morning sickness, and indigestion.
Cinnamon – warming. It improves energy and circulation. In Chinese Medicine, it helps to fight colds, improves digestion and ameliorates diarrhea and painful menstruation. In Arvada medicine, it not only fights colds and aids in digestion but also helps in managing diabetes. Western Medicine has seen a link between Cinnamon in reducing blood glucose and triglycerides.
Enjoy!!!
