Pineapple Mango Lassi - Smoothie Recipe

So, my final exams still aren't over -- I have my last one tomorrow --but my husband informed me that my self imposed "1 week break" from my blog has expired! lol : ) Thus, I've decided to take a quick break from sociolinguistics to put one of my latest creations up.


On Friday I had minor oral surgery (bit of bone and gum tissue removed - exciting stuff!) and unfortunately that means I've been taking antibiotics. Although I prefer natural remedies, I do feel like conventional medicine also has its place, in my life at least. With that in mind, I like to combat the bad effects of taking said antibiotics with some pro-active treatment. What bad effects you ask? Well, anti-biotics, while good at fending off infection, can wreak  havoc on your intestinal flora, destroying the good bacteria that helps keep our tummies healthy. Antibiotics have also been known to cause recurrent yeast infections in some women. So what can you do about it, if you plan on downing your penicillin? I, personally, ALWAYS make sure to take probiotics -- 4 hours before or four hours after -- each time I take antibiotics --for the duration of my treatment...and for a few days after. Probiotics help by restoring the good bacteria, giving us "healthy guts."  And for those skeptics of alternative medicine out there, recently, even main stream docs have been recommending probiotic therapy for when their patients take antibiotics.(Note: Antibiotics will destroy the probiotics if taken too close together.)


As for this tasty beverage, I normally don't like putting dairy in my smoothies (I'm not vegan, but I just don't prefer it). But seeing as I've been chewing-challenged, I've made an exception. Though, the real reason why I opted for yogurt (i.e., dairy) in this smoothie is because yogurt contains the probiotic acidophilus (among others)...Check out the side of a yogurt container. They should all say something like "contains live and active cultures" followed by which strains of good bacteria are present. These live and active cultures are super beneficial in maintaining digestive and intestinal health. So although I take my probiotics in pill form, for good measure I like to ingest mass quantities of yogurt during this time as well. 

Although I may be using the term "lassi" somewhat loosely, I take full advantage of creative license here. I love mango lassis ( a tasty Indian beverage), thus mangos made it into this drink. The pineapple made it for another reason. Although there's only a small amount in this, I love pineapple because it contains the enzyme bromelain. Bromelain is great for indigestion (it's also the active agent in most meat tenderizing seasonings) and it also is an anti-inflammatory. Since my face and mouth have been a bit swollen, I figured a little food-grade anti-inflammatory medicine wouldn't hurt any.

Well, enough of the background info. Here's my contribution to all you yogurt-filled smoothie lovers out there! Hope you enjoy it!


Pineapple Mango Lassi - Smoothie Recipe - serves 2


1 1/3 cup yogurt
3/4 cup pineapple
1 cup mango (I used frozen)
1 Tbs honey
2-3 pieces ice
freshly grated nutmeg, to taste - optional


Place all ingredients in blender. Blend until smooth and serve!




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