A super-simple turmeric smoothie to cool you off in the swelter

The summertime heat weighs down upon us, in late September, and we think that surely there is relief on the way. Without air conditioning (shudder), we sweat and wait for relief, feeling inflammation form deep in our cells until we end up balloon-like, with fingers that feel like giant sausage links. Refreshment is in order, particularly the kind of refreshment that takes just a bit of relief off those sausage fingers. If scorching heat is building inflammation from the outside, we can try to fight it from the inside. This is a power-drink for just such times. In fact, turmeric may help you with a lot more than summer swelter. The anti-inflammatory properties may help you fight many ailments (as I outline here on turmeric uses and research).

I’ve written about iced turmeric tea (here) and keep a strong turmeric tea base in the refrigerator and frozen fruit in the freezer that makes this drink almost instant.

Start with a strong turmeric infusion like I outline in the iced golden tea post (here). Add fruit and a bit of water to achieve the texture you’re seeking. Tropical fruit is exceptional in this drink. My favorite is a combination of mango and pineapple. The flavors blend very well with the tea base.

Tea Base Ingredients from Powder or Fresh Root

• 2 cups of water
• 8 teaspoons (or 2 heaping tablespoons) of dried turmeric (or four inches of fresh turmeric, thin sliced or chopped)
• 8 teaspoons (or 2 heaping tablespoons) of dried ginger (or four inches of fresh ginger, thin sliced or chopped)
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4-1/2 cup of honey

Feel free to skip the honey and add more fruit. I keep a sweetened base around just for flexibility purposes.

Tea Base Steps

With either dried or fresh root, your process is basically the same:

1. Add the turmeric, ginger, and pepper to a saucepan. Cover with two cups of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer for a few minutes. Turn off the heat.
2. Cover your pan and allow it to steep for an hour or even overnight.
3. Add the honey in the heating stage to help it dissolve. If it is high-quality raw honey, allow the mixture to cool a bit before adding it.
4. Strain out the root. If you are using fresh root, you can save your root and make more tea. If you are using powder, I recommend straining your mixture through cheesecloth or a tight-weave strainer just to remove some of the gritty powder. The texture of your drink will be far better.
5. You now have a concentrate for your smoothie beverage. Cool it in your refrigerator .

The Smoothie

• One cup tea base
• One cup fruit (pineapple plus mango is our top choice)
• 1/2-1 cup of water

Blend well. (Garnish with mint to be fancy.)

Enjoy.

This is one that the kids ask for repeatedly. It also works on the sausage fingers. 😉