2014 Golden Wellness Smoothie

Wellness trend for 2014: Gold. Calling it now.

While everyone is sipping on green smoothies today (and cheers to that) I just blended up a different sort of smoothie to start this new year. My Golden Wellness Smoothie is a mellow, spiced, sweet citrus blend. A new fave recipe I hope you try! Lets share a golden smoothie toast to start a healthy, happy 2014..

Green was very in last year. Green juice. Green smoothies and more. And yes, green will always be “in” because leafy greens are rich in nutrients and wellness-infused properties. Kale, spinach, chard, arugula, broccoli, celery and more are all superfoods last year and this year. But I have a new trend for 2014, a prediction, lets start it going right now!..

GOLD. Golden wellness flavors and colors for this new year.

Golden carrots rich in vitamin A.
Golden oranges rich in vitamin C, potassium, folate and fiber.
Golden pineapple rich in bromelain, fiber and vitamin C.
Golden sweet potatoes rich in vitamins A and C, fiber and potassium.

And my new favorite gold of mine.. the spice turmeric. Also the secret wellness ingredient in today’s smoothie recipe. I have been using turmeric a lot lately in savory dishes and now my smoothies and even hot beverages. Today’s sweet and delicious citrus smoothie has healthy turmeric infused in each frosty golden sip.

And if you have any hesitation about a turmeric-filled smoothie, just give it a try! The sweetness and spices balance out the savory turmeric flavor in a unique and cravable way. This is one of my favorite new smoothie recipes and I hope you love it too.

Turmeric contains manganese, iron and vitamin B6 – and more. How much? Well, one tablespoon of turmeric has 16% RDA or iron, which is pretty good but I am more interested in the off-label properties of turmeric. Much of the wellness benefit to turmeric, for me, is the healing and anti inflammatory properties – variables that do not come up on a nutrient label.

Healing turmeric via ABC News: “Turmeric has been used for centuries to treat wounds, infections and other ailments. It’s long been believed that curcumin — the main ingredient in turmeric — is responsible for its healing power, but it hasn’t been known how curcumin works inside the body, explained researcher Ayyalusamy Ramamoorthy and colleagues. They used solid-state NMR spectroscopy to examine molecules of curcumin and found that they act like a “biochemical disciplinarian.” The molecules insert themselves into cell membranes and make the membranes more stable and orderly in a way that boosts cells’ resistance to infection by disease-causing microbes.”

And this: 25 Reasons Why Turmeric Can Heal You – MindBodyGreen.

Cheers to a year filled with dreams, goals, love and light. Stop wondering what 2014 will bring to you and start dreaming about what you want to bring to it. Write down your wishes, keep them in a place you see them everyday, and who knows, they just may come true.

Golden New Year Smoothie
1 serving

1 large orange, frozen*
1 cup almond milk, vanilla (homemade)
1 banana, fresh or frozen**
1/2 tsp maple or agave syrup (optional)
1 tsp turmeric powder***
a few pinches of cinnamon
a pinch of cayenne

Directions: Blend from low to high until smooth and frosty. A high-speed blender is needed to obtain a smooth blend with the fibrous orange. Adjust flavor: Add in more turmeric for a brighter yellow blend. Add in more banana, maple or agave syrup if you want things sweeter. If you do not have a high speed blender, you can substitute the whole orange with 1/3 cup orange juice and a handful or ice – but the texture will be thinned.

Notes:
* You will need to freeze your orange ahead of time. I peel a bunch of very ripe and juicy oranges, quarter into large segments and freeze. Then I add them to citrus smoothies for some sweet frosty flavor – WITH the fiber – unlike straight up orange juice would provide.
** For a thicker, frostier shake-like blend use a frozen banana, for a thinner blend, use fresh. Just make sure it is very ripe! Smoothies need very ripe bananas, an under ripe banana can ruin a smoothie.
*** Build up to adding even more turmeric per smoothie! Start with 3/4-1 tsp if you are new to the flavor. Then try one full teaspoon, then eventually two if you’d like!