Mood Boosting Green Smoothie
Essential Takeaways:
- A hydrating and detoxifying green smoothie that comes together in minutes to help you reduce stress, balance your emotions, and improve your overall wellness without compromising on taste.
- Created with Elix TCM advisor and chef Zoey Gong, this recipe was crafted with a holistic food therapy approach rooted in Chinese medicinal cuisine.
- Let us know if you recreate this recipe by tagging us @elixhealing and @zoeyxinyigong on Instagram.
Meditation, yoga, and breath-work are all great ways to reduce stress and bring balance back into our lives, but did you know that certain foods can actually help put our minds at ease?
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), If you are feeling particularly stressed or irritable this is often linked to disruptions in your liver, AKA Liver Qi stagnation. This is when our Qi (life force energy) isn’t flowing smoothly through the body, ultimately causing our emotional balance to suffer. To combat this, we need to nourish the liver with the right foods and herbs to help reduce the emotional response that comes with Liver Qi stagnation.
Leafy greens such as celery and spinach are rich in magnesium—a mineral that's effective in helping our bodies maintain a healthy mood—making them a great base for this smoothie. For additional mood, fatigue, and sleep support, Zoey recommends mixing in Elix’s Daily Harmony formula, and balancing out the cold, raw fruits and vegetables with delicious warming spices like tahini and cinnamon.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Benefits:
- Hydrates the body to help with Digestion.
- Cools liver heat and fire to reduce irritability and inflammation.
- Brightens the eyes.
Mood Boosting Green Smoothie Recipe
Ingredients (1 serving):
- ½ cup hemp seed milk
- 1 cup baby spinach
- 1 celery stalk
- 1 tbsp tahini
- 1 banana
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger or 2 slices of fresh ginger
- 1 tbsp goji berries (blended or as garnish)
- 3 squeezes of Elix Daily Harmony
Method:
- In a blender, blend all ingredients until smooth. Drink within 30 minutes.
This article was reviewed by Zoey Gong.
Zoey Gong is a Traditional Chinese Medicine nutritionist, food therapist, and chef. Her recipes have been featured in various publications, including the cover of Food & Wine magazine in the February 2023 issue. She’s the author of The Five Elements Cookbook: A Guide to Traditional Chinese Medicine with Recipes for Everyday Healing, where she guides readers in the basics of TCM through encyclopedic entries on common ingredients and 50 nourishing recipes.