Name: Vegan Virus Smasher Smoothie
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 3/4 of a cup of organic lemonade; Juice from one whole lemon; 1 cup of fresh pineapple; 2 cups of spinach; 1 teaspoon of fresh ginger; 1/2 of and organic red apple with the skin on – cored; 1 scoop of vegan protein powder (optional); 2 tablespoons of hemp seeds

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An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Ramp up your health by adding ginger, pineapple, spinach and lemons and you've got yourself an immune strengthening antioxidant loaded smoothie!

Let's get our Happy Hour on early today. No alcohol, just something healthy, bright, and cheery to help us start our day.

It’s been really gray and cold in the Chicago area this week, and it’s been getting dark at 4:30pm. It’s enough to drive a woman to drink. Thankfully, the sun made a spectacularly bright appearance today. Granted, it’s cold, like 19° as I write this, but the sun looks so nice from the inside of my house. However, I’m not going to let that bright yellow ball of energy fool me, because winter is here my friends. Just ask those poor souls who live in upstate New York. Ouch!

As you know, this is also the beginning of cold and flu season; and being the healthy people that we are, we will do whatever we can to stave off those nasty germs. And, as you also know, good health starts on the inside, which means, we need to eat foods with lots of antioxidants, vitamins, and things that will fight any virus that is bold enough to try and penetrate our immune systems!

To make sure that you get your daily intake of all things healthy, start a morning ritual, and drink this virus smasher smoothie. It's packed full of powerful nutrients that will help your body fight off disease. Check these out.

Lemons – One of these pretty little fruits will give you a whopping 51% of your daily allowance of vitamin C! Why is that important? Vitamin C helps increase the production of white blood cells, which is key to fighting infections. You should eat citrus every day, because our bodies don’t store or make vitamin C.

Pineapple – These lovely plants contain bromelain, an enzyme with anti-inflammatory properties. Pineapple fights infections and kills bacteria, and the juice from fresh pineapples can be five times more effective than over the counter cough syrup. Um, yeah, gross tasting cough syrup, or pineapple juice? A no brainer. And, one cup provides you with a staggering 131% of vitamin C!!! Who knew that this tropical fruit could do so much?

Ginger – This powerful root not only tastes good, it’s really good for you. It has anti-inflammatory properties, it helps to prevent nausea, and, if despite all of your hard work you still get a cold, it acts as an antihistamine and decongestant.

Spinach – Another good source of vitamin C, and vitamin A. It’s also loaded with antioxidants and beta-carotene, which have been proven to increase the infection-fighting cells in our bodies. Our mothers were right when they told us to eat our spinach.

Apple – An apple a day keeps the doctor away, especially if you leave the skin on! The skin is loaded with phytonutrients, which strengthen the immune system and help to fight off disease. They are also another source of vitamin C.

This smoothie not only tastes amazing, it will help protect your immune system. Is it 100% fool proof? Nothing is. But it's certainly worth trying, especially since this drink is delicious!

I also add some vegan protein powder to my morning smoothie, especially after a rigorous workout. Disclaimer, it does make the smoothie a little gritty, but that doesn’t bother me. If you add some to yours I would advise starting off with a half of a scoop, just to get used to the taste and feeling it gives the drink.

Now go make that smoothie and take on the day my fellow virus smashing smoothie drinkers!

I use Garden of Life protein powder.

You can buy Garden of Life Raw Protein Powder and have it delivered to your door just by clicking on the link.&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

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Vegan Virus Smasher Smoothie

An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Ramp it up by adding ginger, pineapple, spinach and lemons and you've got yourself an immune strengthening antioxidant loaded smoothie!