This anti-inflammatory pineapple turmeric smoothie is wonderfully creamy and delicious, with the sweet, tropical flavour of the pineapple plus the amazing health benefits of the added turmeric.
I love this smoothie because it is incredibly healthy with powerful anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory ingredients, yet it tastes like a sweet and refreshing pina colada dream!
How to Make a Pineapple Turmeric Smoothie
Step 1: Gather ingredients
The main ingredient is, of course, pineapple. I like to use frozen pineapple, but you can use fresh instead if you’d like.
Pineapple gives this smoothie a delightful tropical and refreshing flavour. It is also quite naturally sweet, so no need to add any sugar!
The other fruit in this smoothie is banana. Banana is added again for some natural sweetness as well as some creaminess to improve the texture.
I usually use frozen pineapple and fresh banana (or vice versa) and find that this gives an excellent texture and consistency. Using only frozen fruits will make the smoothie thicker; using only fresh fruits will make it thinner.
This recipe calls for coconut milk as the liquid base. You can always use any other milk of your choice if you don’t prefer coconut milk, but I think the coconut milk goes so well with the pineapple and turmeric flavours. It turns the smoothie into a lovely creamy and pina-colada-y tropical drink!
Another star ingredient in this smoothie is turmeric. The turmeric is added mostly for the health benefits (at least in my opinion), but if you really love the flavour of turmeric you can always add more/as much as you want!
In addition to turmeric, this recipe also calls for a sprinkle of black pepper. This may seem a bit odd, but it really helps enhance the health benefits of this smoothie (see below)…and don’t worry, you don’t taste it at all!
Lastly we have a bit of ginger, for a bit of a kick and for the health benefits. Again, you can put as much ginger as you want.
Pro tip: leave the skin on the ginger for maximum health benefits. Just be sure to wash it well beforehand.
Step 2: Blend!
Pineapple Turmeric Smoothie Benefits
The wholesome ingredients of this smoothie offer so many natural health benefits…
Pineapple is packed full of nutrients, and has a particularly high vitamin C content.
Pineapple also contains many important antioxidants which help reduce harmful oxidation and inflammation in the body.
One very important component of pineapple is an enzyme called bromelain. Bromelian has many important beneficial functions – it has anti-inflammatory properties, it helps break down dietary protein which helps with digestion, it helps with blood coagulation, and may even help reduce tumor growth, among other functions.
The other main ingredient, turmeric, is a spice well-known for its many medicinal properties and uses. Turmeric contains a compound called curcumin, which has powerful anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
This recipe includes a bit of black pepper because black pepper has been shown to drastically increase the absorption of curcumin in the body.
The ginger is another anti-inflammatory bonus ingredient. Like turmeric, ginger has also long been used as a medicinal root. It contains many antioxidant compounds such as gingerol.
Give this super healthy, anti-inflammatory, pineapple turmeric smoothie a try and let me know in the comments below how you like it!
Pineapple Turmeric Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups frozen pineapple
- 1 banana
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 tsp turmeric
- Sprinkle of black pepper
- 1/2 inch knob of ginger root, or to taste
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a blender (frozen ingredients added last).
- Blend until smooth (about 30-60 seconds).
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- If you use all frozen fruits, this smoothie will be very thick, more like a smoothie bowl.