Smoothie for Immune Boosting
Children often don’t feel like eating following a cold or illness. Their nutrition suffers and their immune system suffers. This accounts for the common occurrence of getting one infection after another. It’s best to keep so well nourished that the nutritional reserves can withstand several days of poor eating. Drink this smoothie daily upon school entry in September, upon beginning daycare, upon exposure to a contagious illness, or when you or your child feels a cold coming on.
Smoothie Instructions
Select items from each of the five food categories below. Start with a few ingredients that you already know you like. Gradually add more. Be sure to add protein and healthy fats – your smoothie will taste better and keep you fuller longer than a carb-only drink. Aim for about 25% proteins, 40% to 50% healthy fats, and 25% plant-based carbs.
Combine chosen ingredients and blend until smooth. Serve immediately after blending while the mixture still has a bubbly milkshake-like consistency. This recipe is for several servings. Either pass it around to your family or save it for sipping throughout the day.
Smoothie Ingredients
1. Healthy Fluids
- Kefir, organic, plain
- Coconut milk, unsweetened
- Almond or cashew milk, unsweetened
- Goat milk
- Green tea
- Organic juice: green, vegetable, pomegranate
- Milk, whole, organic, 100% grass-fed
2. Healthy Fats
- Avocado
- Nut butters
- Coconut oil, virgin
- Coconut chunks
- Ground flaxseeds, hemp, or chia seeds
3. Healthy Proteins
- Greek yogurt, organic, plain
- Nut butters
- Juice Plus+ Complete or other multinutrient protein powder; 16 grams of protein per serving
4. Healthy Fruits and Greens (organic whenever possible)
- Blueberries
- Strawberries
- Açai berries
- Pomegranates
- Papaya
- Kiwi
- Banana
- Greens: kale, spinach, chard, celery
5. Special Additions: Flavors and Nutrients
- Figs (for more fiber and sweetness)
- Cinnamon
- Hawaiian spirulina
- Wheat germ
- Cacao powder
- Grated organic orange peel
- Shredded coconut
- Mint
- Ginger root (for a spicy perk-up)
- Half lemon or lime (for a tart taste)
6. Enjoy
Dr. Sears, or Dr. Bill as his “little patients” call him, has been advising busy parents on how to raise healthier families for over 40 years. He received his medical training at Harvard Medical School’s Children’s Hospital in Boston and The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, the world’s largest children’s hospital, where he was associate ward chief of the newborn intensive care unit before serving as the chief of pediatrics at Toronto Western Hospital, a teaching hospital of the University of Toronto. He has served as a professor of pediatrics at the University of Toronto, University of South Carolina, University of Southern California School of Medicine, and University of California: Irvine. As a father of 8 children, he coached Little League sports for 20 years, and together with his wife Martha has written more than 40 best-selling books and countless articles on nutrition, parenting, and healthy aging. He serves as a health consultant for magazines, TV, radio and other media, and his AskDrSears.com website is one of the most popular health and parenting sites. Dr. Sears has appeared on over 100 television programs, including 20/20, Good Morning America, Oprah, Today, The View, and Dr. Phil, and was featured on the cover of TIME Magazine in May 2012. He is noted for his science-made-simple-and-fun approach to family health.