Healing and Hormone Balancing Bok Choy Smoothie

In this smoothie recipe, I have focused specifically on hormone balance, wound healing, and anti-inflammation.

I want to support my body with the right nutrients while I am recovering from a recent laparoscopy, which was necessary to remove an ovarian cyst.

Ovarian cysts are usually influenced by hormones, therefore I use ingredients like flax seeds and pumpkin seeds to apply seed-cycling for hormone balance. Check out this article if you want to learn more about how to balance hormones with whole foods.

Collagen powder is great to increase the protein content in a smoothie but it is also a great wound healer. It stimulates new tissue growth and encourages the deposition and organization of newly formed collagen fibers. Vitamin C is a mandatory co-factor in collagen synthesis. It’s responsible for holding cells together during the creation of collagen.

Bok Choy, amla powder, lemon are part of this smoothie and an excellent source of vitamin C to support new tissue growth and healing.

Instead of anti-inflammatory in pill-form, I opt for whole foods.

Baby Bok Choy for mild flavor but mega nutrients!

As one of my favorite vegetables, I like bok choy in a mixed salad or like here in a smoothie. I can say, most of my family members are picky with food, but never has anyone complained about bok choy. Super healthy vegetable + no complaints = win-win for me.

In terms of hormone balancing benefits, cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, kale, cabbage, bok choy, and collard greens, have a compound called indole-3-carbinol that helps promote the production of less potent forms of estrogen.

Packed with phytonutrients such as phenols it offers a unique composition to prevent unwanted oxygen damage to cells and body systems. Different types of antioxidants work in different ways, and it is the combination of these types in cruciferous vegetables—including bok choy—that make them so valuable in terms of their antioxidant support. It is also a key reason why whole, natural foods like fresh bok choy provide benefits that antioxidant supplements cannot.

I love the combination of lemon, ginger, and greens with a touch of sweetness from low-sugar fruits such as green apple. For more sweetness, I add a piece of frozen pineapple, which is anti-inflammatory and helps to reduce the swelling after surgery.

Don’t throw away the pineapple stem!

Bromelain, a protein-digesting enzyme, is primarily concentrated within the stem and is beneficial for health conditions such as inflammation, cancer, immune disorders, irritable bowel disease, osteoarthritis, tendon injury, and many more. The health industry uses bromelain in many supplements.

The almighty ginger root

has been shown to be more effective against bacterial staph infections than antibiotics. It is a strong anti-inflammatory and is also known for its gastrointestinal soothing effects. There must be whole books just about the health benefits and medical application spectrum of ginger.

Lemon peel to balance gut bacteria

Lemon has evidence-based healing properties such as lowering blood pressure, lessen constipation, dissolving kidney stones, reducing inflammation, lifting depression, inducing weight loss, and many more. Don’t cut off the peel from organic lemons! Polyphenol in lemon peel has a lot to offer. Polyphenols can balance the gut flora by increasing good bacteria and decreasing bad bacteria. It is crucial to care about our gut bugs because their existence and balance determine how well our immune system functions.

Amla, a whole fruit vitamin C source

Amla berry or Amalaki is commonly known as Indian Gooseberry, is a small, greenish fruit with a tart, sour taste. It is a source of whole food Vitamin C and Fiber. One teaspoon of powder provides 42 mg of whole food Vitamin C. Amla berry powder has a naturally tart, citrus-like taste. While it can be used as an everyday tonic, it is particularly beneficial during cold and flu season and in times of stress due to its high content of Vitamin C.

Healing Hydrolyzed Collagen Peptide

is the collagen powder which you can find in every health food store because it has caught the public’s attention for its superior healing benefits and protein content. It can be used as a protein powder because it contains many amino acids which are the building blocks of our body. Furthermore, amino acids are important for a large number of metabolic pathways.

Hydrolyzed collagen peptide skip the normal protein digestion pathway and get immediately absorbed which speeds up the body’s natural ability to repair connective tissue such as bone, tendons, ligaments, cartilage, skin, hair and nails.

Enjoy!

Healing and Hormone Balancing Bok Choy Smoothie

Serves: 1

Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 whole baby bok choy
• half a green apple
• half of an organic lemon with peel
• a piece of frozen pineapple, about 60g
• fresh ginger root, about 3cm
• 1 tsp Amla powder
• 1 tbsp flax seed
• 1 tbsp pumpkin seed
• 1 1/4 cup water
• 1 tbsp hydrolized collagen peptide
• 1 tsp MCT oil, optional

Instructions

1

Wash apple, lemon, and bok choy.

2

Cut the apple in half, core, but leave the peel on.

3

Cut the lemon in half and leave the peel on.

4

Peel ginger

5

I like to peel, cut, and freeze fresh pineapple to have it ready for smoothies when I need it. It also helps to create a nicely cooled smoothie.

6

Add all ingredients into a high-speed blender, except the collagen powder.

7

After blending for at least one minute add the collagen powder and blend on low until mixed.

8

Enjoy!

Notes

Sometimes I add MCT oil to my smoothies for instant energy supply and to support the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins.