Anti-inflammatory Cranberry Smoothie

Meal Replacement Green Smoothie

This anti-inflammatory meal replacement cranberry smoothie is so good for you.  Cranberries are high in phytonutrients which are really good for reducing inflammation.

Benefits of cranberries

• You can prevent urinary tract infections by including cranberries in your daily diet.  Cranberries contain proanthocyanidins which prevents bacteria sticking to the uterus walls and bladder.
• Cranberries have been shown to stop cancer cells multiplying.
• Cranberries lower bad cholesterol and help prevent strokes.
• Cranberries help prevent kidney stones and bladder problems.
• Cranberries help prevent plaque build up on the teeth.

So as you can see there are so many benefits of cranberries it’s worth trying to get hold of some fresh or frozen cranberries and use them regularly.

Is Cranberry Juice good for you?

Unfortunately most commercial cranberry juice should be avoided at all costs.  A lot of people down glasses of cranberry juice every day thinking they are getting the health benefits but they are actually doing themselves more harm than good.  This is because most cranberry juices are actually juice drinks meaning they contain more sugar than any other ingredients.  Because cranberries are so bitter, so much sugar is needed to make the juice palatable.  Also once the cranberry juice has been pasteurized, there isn’t a lot of point in drinking it as you’re basically just drinking sugar water.

Anti-inflammatory Cranberry Smoothie

This cranberry smoothie has all the antioxidants still present as all the ingredients are eaten raw.  This smoothie contains all whole foods which are much better for the body than processed foods such as white sugar which has been stripped of it’s nutrients.  This cranberry smoothie still has some tart undertones but is very fresh and tasty and the dates provide some needed sweetness.   You can sweeten this smoothie to your own tastes.

How to re-hydrate dried cranberries

 If you can’t find fresh or frozen cranberries for this recipe, you can use dried cranberries.  These dried cranberries are good because they are only sweetened with apple juice, not sugar.

To re-hydrate dried cranberries you can substitute 3/4 cup of dried cranberries for 1 cup of fresh cranberries.  Put them in a bowl and pour boiling water over the top to cover them.  Cover the bowl and leave them for 10-30 minutes.  You can now either drain the water away or add that to your smoothie too.  You might want to leave it to go cool first unless you are using other frozen ingredients or leaving your green thickie in the fridge for a while before you drink it.

7 Day Challenge update

So how is everyone getting on with their 7 day green thickies challenge?  I hope you’re all doing really well and enjoying replacing some of your meals with Green Thickies.  If you are replacing all of your meals with Green Thickies I hope you’re doing OK especially if you’ve started detoxing.  There are only a couple of days left but the hardest days are the weekends as we’re likely to overindulge.  A strategy is just to eat before you go out and think of something nice (but healthy) that you can eat on Monday when you’ve finished the challenge.  There are some bloggers who are also taking part in the challenge if you want to check out their blogs.  They are: Betsy from Romance on a Dime, Kibby from Kibby’s Blended Life, Joanna, from Green Smoothies Power, and Heather from Sweetly Raw.   They have some great blogs so go and check them out now.

Anti-inflammatory Cranberry Smoothie (Green Smoothie/Green Thickie)

This Cranberry Smoothie is great for reducing inflammation and has all it's antioxidants present, unlike commercial cranberry juice drinks.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 5 minutes mins

Servings 2 servings

Ingredients

  

• 2 Cup Water If you are drinking this straight away substitute one cup of water for ice
• 1 Cup Spinach tightly packed or 2 cups loosely packed. (Or any other mild greens)
• ½ Cup Dates or any other dried fruit which can also be pre-soaked for a smoother blend
• 1 Cup link Oats Or one cup of Quinoa
• ¼ Cup of dried Coconut or any other type of coconut
• 2 Tablespoons of Almonds ground, whole, flaked or almond butter
• 1 Teaspoon of vanilla
• 2 Cups fresh or frozen Cranberries If using dried cranberries, follow the instructions in the post to rehydrate
• 1 Cup Raspberries fresh or frozen
• 1 Banana chopped fresh or frozen
• Juice of 1 Lemon

Instructions

 

• Blend the ingredients in the order listed. Blend the greens and liquid first and then blend the rest of the ingredients. This creates more space in your blender. Add more water if required to thin it out. Substitute any of the ingredients for whatever you already have. If your smoothie is too warm, you can cool it down in the fridge or freeze some of your ingredients before blending.
• NOTE: The calories shown are for half of the ingredients listed as this smoothie serves 2. If you want less calories add less oats.
  

Notes

If you are new to Green Thickies and have more questions about making the perfect green thickie, please read this guide on How to make a Green Thickie .

Suitable for Special Diets:
Gluten free (Use GF Oats or Quinoa), raw (Use raw oats/quinoa), vegetarian, vegan, dairy free, egg free, sugar free, wheat free, soya free (don’t use soya milk), salt free, nut free (replace nuts with any plain seeds)* If you want to check if you can drink green thickies on your special diet please read this first. This will suggest some substitutions so you can still enjoy Green Thickies with ingredients you can tolerate.

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Katherine Kyle @ Green Thickies

Founder at Green Thickies

Katherine lost 56 pounds and recovered from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome with Green Thickies.
Read Katherine's inspiring comeback story, From Fat and Fatigued To Lean and Loving Life In 4 Months.
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