A banana and pineapple smoothie is the perfect mood-boosting pick-me-up. Bananas are a good source of tryptophan, an amino acid that our bodies convert to serotonin – our mood-boosting neurotransmitter. A handful of oats and milk or almond milk give a further mood-lifting tryptophan boost. Adding a handful of greens to provide plenty of B vitamins, especially folate, important for production of neurotransmitters to keep us feeling happy. A dash of cinnamon helps stabilise blood sugar – important for balancing mood, and the addition of pineapple provides anti-inflammatory bromelain. Reduce the inflammation in your body and you feel better – everything will function better.
We all know the importance of getting our five-a-day and this might just be the easiest and speediest way to do it. Enjoy a Nutribullet (opens in new tab) smoothie once a day and make sure you're getting all that vital nutrients and vitamins you need. You should try and use a fresh pineapple to make this smoothie, but if you can't get your hands on one, you can use the tinned kind, but make sure the pineapple chunks are in their juice, rather than syrup.
If you don't want to use milk or nut milk to this smoothie, you can either use water, or even coconut water. Whatever you choose, make sure you make up the liquid to the line, otherwise it won't reach the right consistency. Enjoy a smoothie once a day for a really easy and lovely way to feel full and get some vital nutrients.
How to make Mood-Boosting Nutribullet Smoothie:
Method
Put the chopped banana, pineapple chunks, oats, coconut oil and cinnamon into the Nutribullet.
Top to the line with almond milk.
Blitz until you reach a smooth consistency.
Ingredients
- 50g banana, chopped
- 100g pineapple chunks
- 1tbsp oats
- 1tsp coconut oil
- ¼tsp cinnamon
- almond milk or milk, to the line
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