Mango Turmeric Smoothie

This mango turmeric smoothie also goes by the name of “the coldbuster”. It’s our “kick this cold to the curb” smoothie. It’s a mango smoothie without yogurt that’s packed with turmeric, ginger, lime juice and other ingredients designed to keep colds at bay. Yup, it’s a smoothie for colds. It’s definitely a go-to recipe in our house during the cold season so read on for all the cold-busting details.

It’s the time of year when many families are in recovery mode, trying to bounce back from (or avoid) the many colds and viruses that get passed around during the winter holidays. And there’s little doubt that your recovery will be tied to how you fuel your body.

Poor eating choices during the holidays weaken our immune systems. A return to healthy eating is needed if we want our full defenses up against winter colds and illness. For this reason, our house tries to remain committed to consuming healthy soups and beverages like our swiss chard lentil soup, our curried vegan asparagus soup, our tropical kale green tea smoothie,  our peach almond milk smoothie, and our strawberry banana spinach smoothie. They are good allies in the battle to stay healthy!

The Houdini Act of Staying Healthy

We almost made it through the holidays without someone getting sick. Almost. But darn if those pesky germs didn’t get us again! They are at their strongest this time of year. Sometimes making it through the holiday season with our health intact feels like an escape act of Houdini-like proportions.

We were close this year. We had unshackled from the chains and were mostly out of the straight jacket when our escape effort was finally thwarted; our youngest picked up some sort of cold and woke up with croup, coughing like a seal the night after New Years. So I guess technically we did make it through the holidays without the onset of sickness, but there’s little doubt that her croup cough was the result of holiday germs. Germs! Oh, how I hate them!

Luckily, no one else in our household seems to be sick (knock on wood), other than a small cough or a slight sore throat. But we know we are teetering on the edge so we’ve been doing everything possible to keep our health; We’ve been drinking vitamin water and smoothies, eating healthy, and reminding the kids to cover (into the elbow) when coughing or sneezing and to wash their hands frequently.  But you know kids…they aren’t always perfect about covering or washing their hands. So we’re really hoping our cold-buster mango turmeric smoothie helps us bolster our immunity and keeps the germs at bay.

The holiday season, although a great time of year, really is the perfect storm for cold and germs. You spend more time indoors. You get together with large groups who bring together all the latest strains of the various bugs and germs going around. It’s tough.  I can’t remember a holiday since having kids that didn’t include someone being sick.

There was the one year of the 12 straight nights of puking (not to be confused with the 12 days of Christmas).  Or, the one year we nearly escaped unscathed only to go back to work and catch something from someone who was sick but “too bored” to stay home any longer. Seriously people, what’s wrong with you? If you’re sick, stay home!  Said person had no young kids at home and so had plenty of chance to rest and recover quickly,  meanwhile I was exhausted and breastfeeding and our family ended up spreading around the new illness for an entire month!  Not that I hold grudges or anything (okay, maybe a little). Grrr.

The morale of the story is this: It’s a germ war out there and you have to be prepared to battle for your health! We all will probably indulge some during the holidays, but balancing that with some healthy eating habits along with some coldbuster recipes like this mango turmeric smoothie might be the thing that saves you from a month of agony.

Mango Turmeric Smoothie Coldbusting Properties

This mango turmeric smoothie is bursting with healthy ingredients designs to help alleviate a cold and keep it at bay.

• This is a mango smoothie without yogurt. Dairy can trigger excess mucus production. The last thing you need when you have a cold is MORE phlegm so for this smoothie we replace yogurt with water.
• This smoothie contains turmeric, an ingredient often hailed for its many health benefits. Check out Dr. Axe’s list of turmeric benefits.
• We load it with chard leaves which contain an impressive list of vitamins (Source).
• We add grated ginger. Ginger has long been used as an alternative medicine because of its long list of medicinal properties including anti-inflammatory effects.
• Citrus (lemon, lime, or tangerine juice)  included.  While there may not be evidence that Vitamin C will prevent the common cold, several studies suggest it may reduce the length and severity of colds and bolster the immune system (source)
• Includes bananas which are rich in potassium and can help replenish electrolytes

So is this mango turmeric smoothie a cure for the common cold? Of course not, there isn’t a cure for the common cold. But during the cold and flu season, we do whatever we can to adopt healthy eating habits and bolster our immune systems. So yes, we keep this healthy smoothie on speed dial!

Here’s to hoping you and yours have successfully navigated the holidays. But if not, and if you want some added protection going forward then check out this mango turmeric smoothie. Recipe below.