Anti-Inflammatory Tropical Turmeric Smoothie Bowls

It’s nearly Summer (can you believe it?!), so it’s a great time of year to check back in with your New Years resolutions and see how you’re progressing. For most of us, getting healthy is always pretty high on the list, but for me, being healthy is more of a lifestyle rather than something to tick off your list of goals. One way I’m trying to get even healthier this year is to introduce more anti-inflammatory foods into my diet. Today I’ll talk about why inflammation is such an issue for our health, and also show you a recipe for tropical turmeric smoothie bowls that are both anti-inflammatory and dee-lish.

What Is Inflammation?
So what is inflammation, and why is it bad? I first heard about inflammation from my acupuncturist, shortly before getting pregnant with Honor. I learned that while we need the inflammatory response to help us fight illness and injury, sometimes our bodies produce a faulty inflammatory response that can cause chronic disease. Many scientists and people in the medical field consider inflammation to be the culprit of many ailments and even plays a factor in autoimmune diseases. So in recent years, many in the wellness community are embracing anti-inflammatory diets or specific foods that can help to decrease this faulty response and promote overall health. It’s believed that an anti-inflammatory diet can help many conditions like psoriasis (which I have), rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, IBS, lupus, and more.

Foods To Avoid
In order to decrease inflammation in the body, many doctors and dietitians recommend avoiding or cutting down on the following foods:
-Processed meats
-Sugar
-White grains like pasta and rice
-Gluten
-Trans fats
-Soybean and vegetable oil
-Excess alcohol
-Excess carbs

Anti-Inflammatory Foods
On the flipside, many healthy foods and spices are recommended to decrease inflammation, and can be easily introduced into your diet today:
-Turmeric
-Cinnamon
-Green tea
-Black pepper
-Apple cider vinegar
-Whole grains
-Honey
-Dark leafy greens
-Blueberries
-Beans and lentils

Want to try a delicious anti-inflammatory recipe today? Make one of these tropical turmeric smoothie bowls! The kiddos will love them too.

Anti-Inflammatory Tropical Turmeric Smoothie Bowls
Makes 2 servings

Ingredients:
-1 cup non-dairy milk
-2 cups frozen mango chunks
-1 cup fresh or frozen pineapple chunks
-1 banana
-1.5 tbsp turmeric
-Handful of ice
-Gluten-free granola and fresh fruit for garnish (can use berries, pomegranates, banana, kiwi, mango slices, etc)
-Optional: pinch of cinnamon

Steps:
-Combine all ingredients and blend until desired consistency. Add more ice or frozen fruit for a thicker puree. Garnish with granola, fresh fruit, pinch of cinnamon and turmeric on top. Enjoy!

xx,