Fight Flu Season with Immune-Boosting Wild Blueberry Smoothies

Cold and flu season arrived early this year and it has already been a bad one. Experts are calling it the worst flu season in years. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), all U.S. states except for Hawaii are under siege and reporting widespread flu activity. And relief doesn’t appear to be in site yet with the CDC anticipating another 11 to 13 weeks of it

If you’re like me, you want to fend off the flu and nasty winter colds for your family. At my house that means adding more immune-boosting recipes to my meal plan, making sure everyone gets plenty of rest, stays hydrated and washes their hands frequently. To help your family stay healthy this cold and flu season, try these three delicious Wild Blueberry immune-boosting smoothies packed full of antioxidants and Vitamin C. Plus, smoothies are an easy way to get a nutrient rich meal or snack even during the winter months.

This Wild Blueberry Beet Smoothie is loaded with antioxidants and other anti-inflammatory properties, that will boost your immune system and help you fight many of the pesky germs that come with cold and flu season. The immune-boosting ingredients in this smoothie include frozen Wild Blueberries, which have double the antioxidants of regular blueberries; beets and ginger root, which also provide an antioxidant punch and anti-inflammatory compounds. Combined with 100% real orange juice with all its Vitamin C power and Greek yogurt that provides healthy bacteria for your gut, you’ll feel like a superhero fighting against whatever mother nature throws your way.

Here’s another delicious Wild Blueberry Smoothie recipe to add to your daily routine, especially during cold and flu season. We call it our Cold Fighting Wild Blueberry Smoothie because its ingredients — fresh ginger, green tea matcha powder, cinnamon, and frozen Wild Blueberries — are packed full of antioxidants, which help reduce inflammation and fight off pathogens, making them great immune boosters. Additionally, this smoothie includes vanilla protein powder to deliver a protein boost. In case you didn’t know getting too little protein in your diet can weaken your immune system, making you more susceptible to colds and flu.

This Wild Blueberry Tropical Immune-Boosting Smoothie is packed with antioxidant-rich Wild Blueberries, vitamin C-boasting citrus, sweet, refreshing pineapple, warming, soothing ginger, and electrolyte-loaded coconut water. Wild Blueberries have twice the antioxidant capacity of larger, regular blueberries. Antioxidants are important not only to immune health but also for boosting brain, heart and gut health and may prevent diabetes and some forms of cancer. With their anti-inflammatory properties and disease fighting compounds, antioxidants keep your body strong and can give you an edge when you need to fight off bacteria and viruses. Wake each morning and enjoy this delicious smoothie. The citrus flavor pairs wonderfully with the Wild Blueberries, which have a more intense blueberry flavor. It’s totally refreshing and sweet with a hint of spiciness from the ginger!

Stay Well!

Top 5 Trending Smoothie Immune Boosters for Winter

It’s the start of a New Year, which means everyone is getting their smoothie on to improve nutrition and eat healthier. It’s also the dead of winter, which means that cold and flu season is rearing its ugly head. Over the holidays, my Mom, Dad and sister all came down with a cold. Lucky for me, I fought off whatever it was that ailed them. My secret to avoiding the cold and flu like the plague? Well besides adequate sleep, regular movement and keeping stress at bay, it’s SMOOTHIES! I try to stockpile immune-boosting ingredients in my pantry during the winter so that I can load up on them regularly for prevention, especially when I feel those first signs of a cold coming on.

The immune system is a complex system with cells, tissues and organs, each with a specific role in fighting against harmful bacteria and viruses. Because it’s so complex, researchers are constantly trying to figure it out, which is why much of the research on diet to support immunity is preliminary. But as I talk about in my e-book, Nourish Your Namaste: How Nutrition and Yoga Can Support Digestion, Immunity, Energy and Relaxation, I’ll take preliminary research over catching a cold any day!

For example, research shows that various nutrient deficiencies – vitamins A, C, E, B, D, selenium, zinc, iron, copper and folic acid – can compromise your immune system and increase your susceptibility to cold and flu. So, when it comes to boosting your immunity, focus on choosing foods high in these vitamins and minerals, like oranges (vitamin C), sweet potatoes (vitamin A), kale (vitamin E), mushrooms (selenium and vitamin D) and garbanzo beans (zinc).

Smoothies are the perfect vehicle to load up on immune-boosting ingredients. While you probably wouldn’t sit down to a meal to eat a sweet potato, an orange, some kale, ginger root and kefir, you could throw all those things into a smoothie and easily drink it before work (or better yet, take it to the office with you)! Smoothies are an easy way to get in a lot of immune-boosting foods at once.

Wondering what some of my favorite immune boosting smoothie ingredients  are for the winter? Add these to any smoothie for a boost!

  1. Wild Blueberries: The tiny delicious berries are packed with antioxidants, in fact they contain 2x the antioxidants of regular (cultivated) blueberries. Every day, our cells wage a battle against free radicals – unstable oxygen molecules that are a normal byproduct of metabolism. When you aren’t getting enough antioxidants in your diet, free radicals can build up in your body, causing oxidative stress, which is associated with cancer, heart disease, diabetes and other diseases of aging. Dietary antioxidants such as anthocyanins, flavonoids found in the blue pigments of Wild Blueberries, have the ability to neutralize free radicals and help prevent cell damage. Antioxidants can also protect against inflammation, which may play a role in supporting our immune system. And these special little Wild Blueberries are found in the freezer aisle of your grocery store and available all year long and perfect for smoothies.
  2. Turmeric. Spice up your immune system with curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric that gives it its vibrant orange/yellow color. Curcumin has been shown to enhance antibodies and immune cells, which help protect us from viruses and bacteria. Sprinkle a dash of turmeric in your next smoothie for a functional boost and mild peppery flavor.
  3. Ginger. This spice is known for a host of health benefits, especially its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.. Sprinkle ground ginger or grate fresh ginger root into your next smoothie for a warm, spicy bite!
  4. Apple Cider Vinegar. Vinegar inhibits the enzymes that help you digest starch. This undigested starch acts as a prebiotic as it passes through your digestive system. You can think of prebiotics as food for your probiotics, supporting the growth of good-gut bacteria. Prebiotics and probiotics (and a healthy gut) help to support our immune systems. This doesn’t mean you should start drinking vinegar out of the bottle; however. A tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in your daily smoothie is plenty.
  5. Kefir. Including adequate amounts of probiotics (found in fermented foods like sauerkraut, yogurt and miso) in your diet is important to restore healthy bacteria in your gut to protect you from infections. Kefir, an ancient fermented milk beverage, packs in 12 different types of probiotics, which is 3x the amount yogurt contains! Add kefir to your smoothie for its probiotic punch as well as its creamy, rich consistency.
  6. Green Tea. Antioxidants found in green tea (specifically the polyphenols, catechins) have been shown to have antiviral and antimicrobial effects, especially against the flu. Next time you’re adding liquid to your smoothie, swap out coconut water or milk for green tea for an antioxidant boost!

For an immune-boost this winter, try my Wild Blueberry Turmeric Zinger Smoothie, complete with turmeric, ginger, apple cider vinegar, mango and citrus.

8 Tips to Build the Perfect Smoothie + Wild Blueberry Immune-Boosting Smoothie Recipe

Now that we’re well into January, we’re all holding on tightly to those New Year’s resolutions we set at the beginning of the month. And if your resolution was to eat healthier, you’re probably searching for easy ways to pack more nutrition into your day.

Search no more, my friends. Grab yourself a smoothie.

Kara Lydon

Smoothies are a simple way to add more healthy foods like fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and probiotic-rich dairy into your diet. They’re no fuss, require minimal prep and are ready to drink in less than five minutes. A nutritious meal that takes no time to make? Sign me up! Plus, you can drink a smoothie morning, noon, or night with no judgments. There’s a smoothie for every occasion whether it be breakfast, a snack, or even dessert (yes, you can totally add cocoa powder to your smoothies)!

While smoothie making is a fun, creative process in which pretty much anything goes, there is some rhyme and reason to it. There are some tricks of the smoothie-making trade to make sure you’re sipping on the tastiest, creamiest, healthiest, most refreshing smoothie. And it all comes down to ingredients. Making sure you have the right balance and the right order. Have you ever added all your smoothie ingredients to a blender only to press pulse and nothing happens except for an awfully loud noise indicating your blender is not amused? Yep, we’ve all been there (the blender struggle is real). Not to worry, those blender woes can be remedied by a simple tutorial on how to build the perfect smoothie.

  1. Liquid First: Adding liquid first makes things easier on the blender and you’ll find your ingredients blend faster and more efficiently. Try milk, kefir, coconut milk, or almond milk for a creamier consistency. Use coconut water, herbal or green tea, iced coffee, juice, or water for a refreshing twist. Not sure how much to add? Typically ¾ cup liquid for 2 cups of ingredients is a good starting point. Remember, you can always add more liquid later but you can’t remove it once it’s blended in.
  2. Sprinkles Come Next. No, not rainbow sprinkles. But the sprinkles of powders, seeds, sweeteners, spices, extracts, zests, etc. that add flavor and nutrition boosts to your smoothie. This way they’ll blend seamlessly with the liquid and the rest of your beverage.
  3. Hail the Hard Stuff. After your sprinkles come your hard foods – think frozen fruits like Wild Blueberries, vegetables and nuts and The stuff your blender is going to work extra hard on. You want to position these close to the bottom so they can easily come in contact with the blade.
  4. Be a Softie. Now it’s time to embrace your inner softie and add your softer foods like fresh fruits and vegetables.
  5. Crazy for Creamy. In my opinion, there’s nothing better than a creamy, rich tasting smoothie. Side by side with your soft produce, add in any creamy ingredients that will impart a thicker texture to your drink. Not sure what add-ins create creamy? Try avocados, Greek yogurt, kefir, canned coconut milk, silken tofu, nuts and nut butters, bananas and oatmeal.
  6. Get Your Green On. Trying on green smoothies for size? Green smoothies are an easy way to get your greens on and the fruit masks their bitterness so you won’t even taste them! Add leafy greens like kale, chard, spinach, or arugula for a one-two nutritional punch!
  7. Ice, Ice, Baby. Last but not least, top it off with a little ice, if needed. I only add ice if I’m using fresh fruits and not frozen. This is one of the reasons why I love using Wild Blueberries. They are the perfect smoothie ingredient to keep your smoothies cold because 99% of the Wild Blueberry crop is frozen within 24 hours of harvest, which locks in their nutrition and taste. If you use frozen fruits and your smoothie still isn’t cold enough for your liking, you can always add ice after you blend all the ingredients together.
  8. Blend Away! Start your blender on the lowest setting and wait until those big pieces of frozen produce start to break up before you gradually increase to the highest speed. This will help your blender blend more efficiently and will prevent your blender from spinning its blades on nothing but air!
Wild Blueberry Immune-Boosting Tropical Smoothie

Now that you’re a blender pro, how about putting these tips into practice with a refreshing smoothie recipe that’s perfect for the winter months. My Wild Blueberry Tropical Immune-Boosting Smoothie is packed with vitamin C-boasting citrus, sweet, refreshing pineapple, warming, soothing ginger, and electrolyte-loaded coconut water. It’s totally refreshing and sweet with a hint of spiciness from the ginger! Wild your smoothie with this delicious recipe and at the same time ward off the cold and flu this season.