Mango Smoothies

Life has been crazy lately – hence, the lack of posts. I am going to try to do better about keeping on schedule, but wow. My work schedule is just crazy this semester as is my school schedule. Yes, I am much busier than I have been, but I think part of the problem is that the schedule is just so different than what I am used to. I really need to come up with a plan – and I am working on it. I promise! All of that work is what brought me to these smoothies though. In addition to the mango, they have turmeric and ginger to help with inflammation – specifically the inflammation in my feet that happens after standing all day.

Turmeric is a trendy ingredient right now due to its possible health benefits, but I don’t know how easy it is to find the fresh root like I used here. But, I bought it from a fairly rural grocery store, so my thought is that it must be pretty common. The black pepper is added because it is supposed to make the turmeric work better. You could substitute some powdered or leave it out altogether. It does have quite a unique flavor, so leaving it out will change the flavor of the smoothie. That being said, while I like the flavor, some of you out there may not. I used a good bit of it here, but you may want to start with a smaller amount if you are not sure you will like it. Ginger is also anti inflammatory, so you will still get some of that effect without it, but obviously not as much as would using both.

I am adding sweetener to taste as an optional ingredient to these smoothies. I did not use any as the mangoes were sweet, and I didn’t want to eat any sort of sweetener, but if you need some, add your favorite. This recipe will give you one large or two small smoothies.