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Anti-Inflammatory Breakfast Smoothie

February 20, 2017

I feel like it’s a rarity when all the stars align and everything just happens perfectly. And when it does I’m so darn grateful.

To kick things off, I had a phenomenal appointment with my rheumatologist recently. First, she’s a runner. Plus, she’s super easy to talk to. We chatted about everything: running, my running-related injuries, my sugar addiction and how fantastic I’ve felt since giving up trying to avoid the sweet stuff, and she tested all my joints and said they all feel fantastic. Afterward, I unfortunately had to sit for 10 vials worth of blood work. That part was not awesome. After the blood work, I went for X-rays and I was lucky enough to have an X-ray tech who happened to be a competitive runner in her younger days. I left the office feeling empowered and well-cared for.

If you’ve been a Running on Happy reader for a little while, you’ll know that I’ve been making a conscious effort to really clean up my eating. I was very health-conscious before but after my diagnosis of arthritis I’ve stepped it up a notch. Yes, I’ve had slip-ups every now and again (ahem, Valentine’s Day) but for the most part I’ve been doing really well. I’ve been avoiding known inflammatories — namely sugar — and reaching for foods and beverages with known anti-inflammatory properties instead. Now that I’m in marathon training again, not only do I want to keep inflammation down as it pertains to arthritis, but I also want to keep it in check in all areas of my body.

Try this Anti-Inflammatory Breakfast Smoothie. It's full of tart cherry juice, blueberries, and turmeric -- all incredible things to fight inflammation! Perfect for athletes, as well as sufferers of RA, PsA and other inflammatory diseases.

One of my very favorite anti-inflammatory foods (and beverages) are cherries and tart cherry juice. Cherries are very easy to snack on and I add the cherry juice to almost all my smoothies. Some mornings, however, I want something with a little more oomph in the anti-inflammatory department.

I created a breakfast smoothie to take care of those extra little cravings — the sweet, the wanting to eat well, and the desire to keep inflammation at bay. It’s full of tart cherry juice, turmeric, kale, and blueberries so it definitely offers a big bang for your buck. Enjoy it with your avocado toast or some eggs!

Anti-Inflammatory Breakfast Smoothie

makes one serving

Ingredients
  • 1 banana OR 1/2 avocado, pitted and sliced
  • 1/2 C kale, torn into bite-sized pieces
  • 1/4 C frozen blueberries
  • 1 C tart cherry juice
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric
Directions

Combine all ingredients in a single-serve blender cup. Pulse until well blended. Sip and enjoy!

Try this Anti-Inflammatory Breakfast Smoothie. It's full of tart cherry juice, blueberries, and turmeric -- all incredible things to fight inflammation! Perfect for athletes, as well as sufferers of RA, PsA and other inflammatory diseases.

This simple recipe will start your day on the right foot. Plenty of energy, good fuel, and delicious ingredients to keep your inflammation down. It’s easy to make so you literally have no excuses but to fuel your body well. 🙂

Start your day on the right foot with an #inflammation fighting breakfast smoothie! #eatclean
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Have a fantastic week!

xo

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What’s your favorite anti-inflammatory food?

Do you add turmeric to your meals or recipes?

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Linking up with Confessions of a Mother Runner and A Whisk and Two Wands for Meatless Monday, and Marathons and Motivation for Fitness & Food.

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Breakfast  / Healthy Snacks and Smoothies

58 Comments


Lisa @ Mile by Mile
February 20, 2017 at 5:34 am
Reply

This looks so good! I never thought to use cherry juice in a smoothie but thats a great idea. I need to give this a try!



    Rachel
    February 20, 2017 at 7:03 am
    Reply

    I love cherry juice. I feel like it’s a treat but it’s actually really good for you 😉

Wendy@Taking the Long Way Home
February 20, 2017 at 7:12 am
Reply

I’ve been drinking anti-inflammatory smoothies every morning for the past month or so. It’s been fun experimenting with ingredients! I wish they were more magical, tho. I’m flaring again…back on high dose steroids.



    Rachel
    February 20, 2017 at 8:05 am
    Reply

    I wish they were more magical, too. Have you cut out all the sugar? It’s helped me tremendously. And I just started a new med that’s giving me headaches. 🤦‍♀️

Coco
February 20, 2017 at 7:34 am
Reply

Oh, wow, I would not have thought to add tumeric. Sounds delicious!



    Rachel
    February 20, 2017 at 8:06 am
    Reply

    It is and you can’t really taste the spiciness of the turmeric.

Kimberly Hatting
February 20, 2017 at 7:38 am
Reply

I don’t have turmetic on hand to add to foods, but I take a supplement everyday. And, I do have tart cherry juice…but forget to drink it LOL It is so tart, I’m always tempted to add sugar to it….



Marcia
February 20, 2017 at 8:21 am
Reply

Tart cherry juice is the bomb! I love turmeric as well but I haven’t tried it in smoothies yet. I actually bought a bag of dried tart cherries from Trader Joe’s that I use in my protein bites. Very tasty.



Sarah
February 20, 2017 at 8:25 am
Reply

I love blueberry smoothies and that you added tart cherry juice and turmeric! What’s better than a delicious smoothie with anti-inflammatory benefits? Happy Meatless Monday!



Deborah @ Confessions of a mother runner
February 20, 2017 at 8:30 am
Reply

I could probably do well to add in some cherry juice into my life. Thanks for the reminder! This looks perfect for spring thanks for joining us today



    Rachel
    February 20, 2017 at 5:21 pm
    Reply

    Cherry juice is delicious AND nutritious. 🙂

Judy @ Chocolaterunsjudy
February 20, 2017 at 8:34 am
Reply

I love turmeric & probably don’t eat it often enough. I can’t do smoothies for breakfast in winter though! I can for snacks, OTOH.

Sugar is definitely a tough one. And bloodwork — ugh!



    Rachel
    February 20, 2017 at 5:21 pm
    Reply

    Omg, so much blood work. Lol! When she kept pulling all the vials out of the drawer my jaw kept dropping further and further to the floor.

    Isn’t that funny — I can’t do smoothies in the summer! But I can in winter. Which is strange because I’m a freeze baby. How does that even make sense.

Annmarie
February 20, 2017 at 8:55 am
Reply

YUM! This is my kinda smoothie!



    Rachel
    February 20, 2017 at 5:17 pm
    Reply

    Definitely!

The Accidental Marathoner
February 20, 2017 at 9:06 am
Reply

Glad you had such a great weekend! That smoothie looks delish! I don’t have arthritis, but an anti-inflammatory diet is good for everyone!



    Rachel
    February 20, 2017 at 5:17 pm
    Reply

    Truth. And it’s great for runners and CrossFitters, too!

Barrie
February 20, 2017 at 9:23 am
Reply

This is such a great recipe to have on hand for recovery in the mornings! Pretty too!



    Rachel
    February 20, 2017 at 5:16 pm
    Reply

    It’s GREAT for recovery for sure!

jen
February 20, 2017 at 9:27 am
Reply

This sounds great, I need it in super-size! I have chronic pain / inflammation in my hands, mainly thumb joints, that needs all the preventative TLC available!



    Rachel
    February 20, 2017 at 5:15 pm
    Reply

    Oh no! Quadruple the recipe and then just leave it in your fridge for easy smoothie enjoyment.

Michelle @ Running with Attitude
February 20, 2017 at 10:28 am
Reply

I’ve gotten away from adding frozen cherries to my smoothies, which I use to do all the time. Thanks for the reminder to go buy some cherry juice! I’ll definitely be giving this smoothie a try 🙂



    Rachel
    February 20, 2017 at 5:15 pm
    Reply

    I’ve never done frozen cherries, but that sounds amazing!!

Gina @runningaroundtheboyz
February 20, 2017 at 10:52 am
Reply

That smoothie really does look fantastic! 🙂 Yummy – I wish I had it in me to give up more sugar. I”m terrible with sugar! You are running grandma’s right? Looking forward to meeting you! Should be a great couple of days!



    Rachel
    February 20, 2017 at 5:13 pm
    Reply

    YES to Grandma’s! I look forward to meeting you as well!

    I’m terrible with sugar. It’s been really tough to give it up and I haven’t given it up completely. But boy do I feel better without it!

vicki
February 20, 2017 at 12:25 pm
Reply

I love tart cherry juice… I try to remember to take a swig of the concentrate daily.



    Rachel
    February 20, 2017 at 5:09 pm
    Reply

    Same here! It’s so good. I usually end up drinking a glassful if I’m not adding it to a smoothie.

Elle
February 20, 2017 at 1:25 pm
Reply

I have been using tumeric a lot more often lately too and doing research learned that it should be accompanied by black pepper to make it very effective. Your smoothie sounds delicious!



    Rachel
    February 20, 2017 at 5:09 pm
    Reply

    I’ve heard that, too. But black pepper in a smoothie… eh… maybe not. 🙂

Tony
February 20, 2017 at 3:00 pm
Reply

We’ve recently started using turmeric a lot – this smoothie sounds right up our alley.



    Rachel
    February 20, 2017 at 5:08 pm
    Reply

    I love cooking with turmeric. It was a bit of a gamble in the smoothie but it worked really well so I rolled with it. 🙂

Nicole @ Fitful Focus
February 20, 2017 at 3:28 pm
Reply

I never would have thought to add turmeric to this. Great idea!



    Rachel
    February 20, 2017 at 5:08 pm
    Reply

    It was on a whim. And it worked! 🙂 Thankfully… lol

Courtney
February 20, 2017 at 5:29 pm
Reply

Yay, smoothies! And anti-inflammatory, too– bonus! 🙂
Thank you for hosting!



    Rachel
    February 20, 2017 at 9:54 pm
    Reply

    Yep! Anti-inflammatory is where it’s at! Thanks for linking up, Courtney!

Edye
February 20, 2017 at 7:22 pm
Reply

I need one of these asap! Thanks for sharing 🙂



    Rachel
    February 20, 2017 at 9:53 pm
    Reply

    Enjoy!

Katie Shepherd
February 20, 2017 at 7:32 pm
Reply

I don’t know much about what foods cause inflammation. Definitely need to do some research! Thank you for sharing! I need to get back to making smoothies again!



    Rachel
    February 20, 2017 at 9:50 pm
    Reply

    There are SO many foods that cause inflammation. The big one for me is sugar, though. Which is unfortunate because I’m a sugar junkie.

Jenn
February 20, 2017 at 8:04 pm
Reply

That purple is so pretty! I’m sure it packs quite a nutritional wallop!

My husband takes a supplement with turmeric for joint strength. He says he can definitely feel a difference.



    Rachel
    February 20, 2017 at 9:50 pm
    Reply

    I’ve seen the supplements but I haven’t gone that route yet. I feel like I already take too many! But turmeric is supposedly wonderful and if your husband can actually feel a difference that speaks volumes.

Mary
February 20, 2017 at 8:34 pm
Reply

Now that looks like an anti-inflammatory powerhouse! I too love smoothies and have been trying to up my game in the anti-inflammatory department. One easy fix I made was to add cacao instead of cocoa to my chocolate-flavored smoothies. Both are healthy but cacao has quite a bit more antioxidants. I’m also taking Meriva which is a turmeric extract supplement that’s supposed to be especially bioavailable.



    Rachel
    February 20, 2017 at 9:49 pm
    Reply

    Meriva, huh? Never heard of it. I shall do some googling!! Anything I can do to stave off inflammation. 🙂

Jennifer @ Fit Nana
February 21, 2017 at 9:03 am
Reply

I really need to start adding turmeric to more of my foods! I guess I’m just afraid. I’ve used it in Indian food but that’s about it.



    Rachel
    February 21, 2017 at 9:47 am
    Reply

    Don’t be afraid! Just add a little bit at a time. You can’t even taste it, really.

Kathryn @ Dancing to Running
February 21, 2017 at 10:23 am
Reply

I started reading up on the benefits of turmeric during my mother-in-law’s battle against breast cancer. Who would have thought that it would be so beneficial to add it to your diet?!?



    Rachel
    February 21, 2017 at 10:26 am
    Reply

    It’s so good for you. And I tend to agree –surprisingly so!

Mary Beth Jackson
February 21, 2017 at 10:41 am
Reply

I have not tried turmeric before but you had me at blueberries! I need to see if I can find it- looks like a great recipe!



    Rachel
    February 21, 2017 at 5:27 pm
    Reply

    Turmeric is one of those spices that you can’t taste when you use a little bit, but you can taste it a lot if you use just a “little more” than a little bit. 🙂 It’s good but try it in small doses first to make sure you like it!

Ilka
February 21, 2017 at 5:59 pm
Reply

The perfect smoothie for all our running aches and pains!! Looks so tasty, too!



    Rachel
    February 21, 2017 at 10:05 pm
    Reply

    The anti-inflammatory ingredients definitely help with the aches and pains!

Amelia
February 21, 2017 at 9:43 pm
Reply

My fav anti inflammatory smoothie is frozen mango, banana, nut milk, greek yogurt, lemon juice, grated lemon skin, fresh ginger, turmeric and honey. Also really good for your immune system 🙂



    Rachel
    February 21, 2017 at 10:07 pm
    Reply

    THIS sounds amazing!!!!! I’m going to make it tomorrow!! Thanks 🙂

Ali
February 21, 2017 at 11:45 pm
Reply

This looks so good! I love tart cherry juice – and love that you’ve also used kale and avocado in this. Definitely need to make this!



Angela @marathonsandmotivation.com
February 26, 2017 at 9:59 am
Reply

This sounds great! Thanks for linking up at Sunday Fitness & Food 🙂



Abbey Sharp
August 22, 2017 at 4:33 pm
Reply

This smoothie looks delicious! Love that it’s packed with a ton of tasty antioxidants!



GiGi Eats
August 23, 2017 at 12:04 am
Reply

Ohhh!! Cherry juice would be an interesting addition to this mix!! But I love it!



    Rachel
    August 23, 2017 at 8:37 pm
    Reply

    Cherry juice is delicious!!

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