*Ad/Werbung. This post is not sponsored by any of the mentioned brands. I simply thought you would want to know which brands I love and trust.

You guys, I have a confession to make. Up until last week, I probably didn’t have a smoothie for three months! Or maybe even more. I realized that I need it to be warm and sunny outside in order to really „feel“ the smoothie vibe. I guess this has to do with me getting into the whole smoothie-world back when I lived in North Carolina. It’s really always sunny in North Carolina, and so I literally made myself a smoothie every day for lunch during the last year of my bachelor’s degree. Given that temperatures and humidity can reach extreme highs in this place of the world, drinking a smoothie packed with nutrients was so much for appealing to my sweat-drenched body than eating a huge lunch most days. Of course, I would not only have a smoothie for lunch, but the smoothie was the part I was most excited about.

But I realized over the years, that I am such a summer-time smoothie person and that I forget about my blender all from October through March. Totally stupid, I know, but I am just always cold (due to my blood pressure meds) that I really prefer warm meals and hot drinks in the winter. I am not saying that this is a smart idea, it’s just how I feel.

So now that we’re basically experiencing summer in May this year here in Northern Germany, I am totally back at my smoothie game. So back, you guys. So back. For the past week, I have had this craving for blueberries, and so I have been making this blueberry zucchini smoothie every single day. Like every day. And you will, too, once you have tried it!

This smoothie is packed with so much goodness, I don’t even know where to begin. Let’s have a quick reign check:

• Blueberries: major source of antioxidants, which protect your cells from damage, aka: protect from UV radiation, protect your skin from getting early wrinkles and other signs of age. Amazing! Also, the dark pigments in blueberries, called anthoyanes, have shown to protect the body from cancer!
• Zucchini: Mainly in this for the volume, but zucchini are also packed with minerals such as magnesium and calcium.
• Cucumber: mostly water infused with delicious enzymes.
• Banana: high in potassium, which is important for a healthy heart function.
• Avocado: high in heart-healthy fats, avocado is one of the best healthy fat sources available. It is also a real skin-food!

Are you ready for more goodness?

• Turmeric: The root is one of the best anti-inflammatory foods out there. If you can, use the fresh root.
• Spinach: one of the best sources of Vitamin K, a bone-strengthening vitamin! But spinach also contains a good amount of iron, loads of vitamin A (think eye health!) and folate, which is especially important for pregnant women and their unborn children.
• Lemon: probably the most well-known antioxidant out there. The vitamin C in the lemon also helps make the iron of the spinach better available for absorption.
• Lineseed oil: first of all, every vegetable-containing smoothie needs some sort of fat in order for the fat-soluble vitamins (ADEK) to be absorbed. And Lineseed oil is one of the best sources of omega-3-fatty acids, which fight inflammation in the body and strengthen the cell membranes and the skin barrier for one. Omega-3 fatty acids are also vital for a healthy brain function.

Enjoy this blueberry power smoothie!

The post The ultimate blueberry power smoothie appeared first on Heavenlynn Healthy.

*This post was created in partnership with the Kooperationsgemeinschaft Mammografie.

Recently, I realized that my blog was missing a couple of smoothie recipes. I love smoothies and I make them all the time, but for some reason, I forgot to actually add my favorite smoothie-creations to the blog. That’s why today, I am going to change that. Here’s your new smoothie recipe: it’s a pink antioxidant-smoothie for breast cancer awareness month October. When I received an email a couple of weeks ago, asking if I wanted to support this month with a blog post, of course I said yes! I believe that bloggers have such a wide reach and with that comes the responsibility to talk about what matters. And breast cancer awareness matters to me.

However, since this blog is supposed to be a happy place, this post won’t include one of those breast cancer stories. We probably all know someone who was diagnosed; hence, we know how such a diagnosis changes lives.

Today I would like to talk about mammography. When I talked to my mother about the topic a few weeks ago, she told me that she hasn’t been to a mammography screening in two years. In Germany, every woman over the age of 50 can go to mammography once a year, paid by the health insurances. So of course I got really angry at her. How can she miss such an important appointment? But then I quickly realized that I had absolutely no right to be angry with her.

I am not yet old enough to go to mammography appointments. I do not have children. I do not have such big responsibilities in my life that I simply forget doctor’s appointments. Nor am I particularly afraid of breast cancer (yet). After all, I’m still young.

Going to a mammography appointment sounds anything but fun. I completely understand why some women chose not to go. After all, it’s not like you get the test results right away. No, you have to go home and wait for a couple of days or even weeks until you receive your results. Hence, you’ll remain in the dark even after you’ve taken the courage to go to your appointment.

In addition, I recently read an article in the Sueddeutsche Zeitung about women who have their breasts removed after benign tumor cells had been discovered in their lacteal glands. According to the article, such cells increase the risk of breast cancer, but changes of them developing into harmful tumor cells are very slim. And then women with a genetic predisposition have their breast removed prophylactically. If this is the right decision, I don’t know. I guess everyone has to make such decisions themselves.

Still, I would want my mother and my friends to go their mammography appointment every year or at least to have their gynecologist check their breasts periodically. 95 % of screenings are negative and the earlier breast cancer is diagnosed, the higher the changes of a complete recovery.

Just as I would love to see people taking care of their bodies before signs of illnesses appear. That’s why I’m sharing this pink antioxidant smoothie today. Of course healthy eating cannot cure or be the only preventative measure against cancer. But healthy eating can help protect our body from free radicals, which have been shown to cause cell damage and in some cases perhaps even cancer. Free radicals are molecules that lack an electron. That’s why they preferably „steal“ electrons from our cells, which become damaged as a result. But worry not, because there are nutritional knights called antioxidants, which have a spare electron that they happily give to free radicals. This way, they protect our cells from free radical-caused damage. Berries such as raspberries are amongst the riches foods in antioxidants that’s why I called this smoothie antioxidant-smoothie.

Again, healthy eating is not the cure for everything, but it helps strengthen our body from the inside. And pink smoothie bowls can brighten up any day. So if you’ll receive the breast-screening letter when you turn 50, then get informed so you can make this decision for yourself. And if you’re younger than 50, then try to be supportive of your mother, your sister, aunt or your friends. No matter what they decide to do.

Enjoy!

*This post was created in cooperation with Kooperationsgemeinschaft Mammografie. All opinions are my own. Always.

Merken

Merken

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The post Pink Antioxidants-Smoothie for Breastcancer Awareness Month appeared first on Heavenlynn Healthy.

With rising summer temperatures, I could literally just drink this pineapple turmeric smoothie all day. It’s just so refreshing and delicious, and obviously filled with ingredients that nourish and fuel your body. I have already declared my love for turmeric in various posts before, such as in my turmeric latte (golden milk), so it was only a matter of time until I started adding it to my smoothies too. This pineapple turmeric smoothie has been the best turmeric-based smoothie creation yet, so I am excited to share it with you today.

The combination of pineapple and turmeric has been a totally new taste experience for me. Even though turmeric is a warm spice, the smoothie is nevertheless very refreshing due to the mild acidity of the pineapple and the freshness of the cucumber and ginger. Pineapple is not only a juicy summer fruit, it’s also bursting with goodness, too. It’s an excellent source of manganese, which is important for the production of energy and antioxidant activity. It also adds a good vitamin C boost to this smoothie, making it a complete health bomb.

Turmeric is becoming more and more popular in the Western world, mainly because of it’s anti-inflammatory and cancer-preventing properties. If you’re not sure about the turmeric in this smoothie, then start slowly and increase the amount of turmeric gradually with time as you get accustomed to the taste. Try to find a fresh turmeric root, it will make a huge difference in taste. You could also swap the almond milk for coconut milk to make the smoothie taste like a good old pina colada. Since I have never been the biggest fan of cream-based cocktails, I did not feel like turning this smoothie into a healthy pina colada smoothie, but if you love the taste, go for it.

Enjoy!

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE OR HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS, QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?

Feel free to leave a comment below, and don’t forget to tag your creations on social media using #heavenlynnhealthy.

I’d love for this blog to be a dialogue.

The post Pineapple Turmeric Smoothie appeared first on Heavenlynn Healthy.

This recipe brings back great memories from my trips to Florida, where I tried the famous Key Lime Pie for the first time in my life. It’s such a great cake, because it’s not too sweet and has this amazing lime flavor, that makes you want to never stop eating it. Key Lime Pie is originally from the Florida Keys, where they use the so called “key limes” to make this pie, which gives it its famous name. I have yet to try to make my own healthy version of key lime pie, but since I like it so much, it will be hard to find a version that will come close to the original masterpiece. 

Since I don’t have time to bake a lot these days, I simply kept adding lime juice to my smoothies, and realized pretty soon, that it reminded me of the sweet and sour taste of key lime pie. So I tested a few versions and came to like this one the most. The smoothie contains lime juice, obviously, bananas (because they make every smoothie naturally creamy and sweet), coconut flakes and coconut water for the extra touch of holiday feeling, cucumbers (because I add cucumber to all my smoothies), spinach for a vitamin K boost, mint for even more freshness, and avoado, which adds some healthy fats to the whole thing. And there you go, that’s all the magic ingredients in this refreshing smoothie.

I love adding lime juice or any kind of citrus fruit juice to my smoothies, because it contains lots of vitamin C, which is the most well-known antioxidant. Vitamin C strengthens the immune system by protecting our cells from free radical damage. Besides from its health benefits, lime juice simply adds a great touch of freshness to any smoothie, and instantly makes it taste more like a cocktail than a healthy drink. Try it for yourself!

Enjoy!

Did you make this recipe or have any suggestions, questions or comments?

Feel free to leave a comment below, and don’t forget to tag your creations on social media using #heavenlynnhealthy.

I’d love for this blog to be a dialogue.

The post Refreshing Cucumber and Lime Smoothie (Key Lime Smoothie) appeared first on Heavenlynn Healthy.

I love spring and I love fall. I mean, don’t get me wrong, of course I like summer and winter, too, but there is something so magical about spring and fall that I would absolutely declare those two as my favorite seasons. I’m really sorry that I’m talking about the weather, but I needed a smooth transition into this smoothie, which I have declared to be a Spring Smoothie, because the  ingredients are a mix of winter and summer fruits. We have oranges, which are definitely more of a winter fruit, mangos, which I associate with summertime, and then we have bananas, which, well, let’s face it – are in season all year around in almost every country on the planet. What’s really making this smoothie special, however, are the mint and basil leaves that give it an incredibly fresh taste. 

If you’re not a big fan of mint in smoothies, then start out slowly and increase your mint leaves with time. I guarantee you that you will come to like it eventually. Both mint and basil have antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, which means that they help our body fight various diseases. So they literally turn smoothies into deliciously tasting medicine. One cup of basil contains almost 100% of the daily vitamin K intake, which is vital for healthy bones and blood clotting. Mint has been used to cure stomach or throat aches for years, so there’s the reason why people drink peppermint tea when they are fighting a sore throat.

The sweetness in this spring smoothie comes from the banana and mango. Bananas are one of the best sources for potassium, which is vital for a healthy heart and a regulated blood pressure. Mango comes with a good amount of vitamin A, which is important for a healthy vision. I like to use frozen mangos because they are already portioned, and function as ice cubes, but you can totally use fresh mango instead.

For an extra touch of creaminess, I always add a little bit of avocado to my smoothies. Another reason why avocados should be your number one smoothie ingredient is that avocados increase the nutrient intake of the fruits and vegetables that they are taken with by up to 200%. If that’s not the best excuse to have an avocado a day, I don’t know what is.

Enjoy!

The post Green Spring Smoothie with Mint and Basil appeared first on Heavenlynn Healthy.