Here’s Benji – he used to have eczema! But he now has beautiful clear skin. Why? Because he drinks his smoothie every morning. You can also use these smoothies to help with psoriasis, acne and rosacea….
Benji lives here with us on our goat farm in Wales. We have a lot of mud, seventy goats, ten employees, a family to cuddle, a business to run, the school run to accomplish, and supper to put on the table every night! I also have a husband who’s the world’s biggest sceptic about “hippy-dippy” things, as he calls them, and then there’s Benj – the ten-year-old who doesn’t even like the taste of broccoli.
So, things on the farm have to be super-efficient, and they have to work. Fast. They also have the pass the scrutiny of husband and son, who will make fun of anything that they see as too “far-out.”
So, here’s what I do in the morning, if we’re especially pushed for time. (In our normal routine, we sit down for farm porridge… details to follow in a separate post.) But if we’re really in a rush, this smoothie plus a handful of walnuts will keep everyone going until lunchtime.
Mild-Mannered Good Skin Smoothie
(for kids and picky-folks-who-won’t-drink-anything-that-doesn’t-taste-good, ingredients per person. Multiply as needed:)
- 170 ml kefir
- 1 banana
- ¼ tsp stevia
- 1 Tbsp coconut oil
I whip it up in the Nutribullet – it’s nice and creamy, faintly sweet, tastes a bit like a virgin pina colada! Gotta blend until you’re sure the coconut oil is all dissolved. One banana will do from one to three servings – increase or decrease as needed, to your taste. I just chuck in the whole banana because I can’t abide having slimy half-bananas sitting around….
The banana has selenium, which is the best antioxidant to prevent or reduce aging due to oxidation, and required by the skin for healing burn injuries and other skin conditions.
Stevia is brilliant stuff – actively good for you, zero calories, low-GI, safe for diabetics and doesn’t harm the microbiome as it’s not actually a sweetener – it just stimulates the sweet taste receptors on your tongue. So you can use it freely, sweeten to taste – great way to get the kids to drink their kefir! Stevia is the only sweetener that I recommend to combine with kefir – or to use at all, for that matter.
It’s also great to have around the house for breakouts – mix stevia with a bit of water and apply the concentrate directly to any blemish, acne outbreak, lip or mouth sore. Stevia concentrate is also effective when used on seborrhea, dermatitis, and eczema. Cuts and scratches heal more rapidly when stevia concentrate is applied.
I suggest you use the pure stevia that you order online, not the stuff from Tesco layered onto a dextrose base (dextrose is just another form of sugar, naughty marketers!) The pure stevia is a bit pricey, but it’s so sweet that you only need a tiny pinch, and one small bag will last you ages.
Bananas are better to mix with the kefir than oranges or berries, as the kefir is already quite acidic. The goats milk kefir gives you the multi-strain probiotic immune boost you need to heal your gut, which is necessary to heal the skin.
Lovely side benefit of kefir – energy boost! It also suppresses sugar cravings and giving a nice feeling of fullness and banishes anxiety and depression. I do notice the difference if I don’t have mine every single day! (And sometimes, on a bad day, I have two… shhh, don’t tell… ; )
And of course, coconut oil is brilliant for everything. Medium chain fatty acid, which we don’t get much of in our diet in the UK. A necessary healthy fat, essential for healing your gut and thus your skin. And when you eat coconut oil, these healthy fats deposit under the skin, keeping it healthy and smooth, giving an even tone and reducing the appearance of the pores.
I pour out one 170 ml serving for each guy, (it’s a small juice glass-full) and leave my own in the Nutribullet – as my smoothie is a bit more hard core. I add the extra ingredients in on top of the kefir-banana mixture that’s already in there.
But here’s the recipe if you’re starting from scratch:
Hardcore Good Skin Smoothie
(ingredients per person)
- 170 ml goats milk kefir
- 1 banana
- Handful of kale/chard/spinach
- 1 Tbsp of hemp protein powder,
- 1 Tbsp of maca powder
- 1 Tbsp of chia seeds
In a perfect world, I’ve soaked the chia seeds overnight until they go gluey. But if not, it’s ok to just chuck them in dry, as long as you blend them well. Hint: Don’t just eat a handful of dry chia seeds and then drink water – they instantly absorb 27 times their weight in water and turn into a sticky gel-like ball, and you don’t want them doing that in your throat!
Chia seeds have even more omega 3 fats than salmon, and they combat acne and wrinkles, help promote smooth skin and keep your hair, nails and metabolism in good shape.
Whizz it all up. You really do need a Nutribullet style mixer to get all the seeds pulverized… they’re expensive, but I swear it’s the best thing I’ve ever bought to encourage my family’s good health. I can sneak all sorts of healthy things into the boys’ smoothies and they never know a thing! ; )
Why hemp protein powder? It contains all 21 known amino acids, including the 9 essential amino acids that the body can’t produce on its own and must get through dietary sources – and all of which your body needs to heal and produce glowing new skin cells.
Maca powder boosts energy and helps balance mood. Taking Maca aids in the treatment of hormone-related acne.
And chard or kale – well, you know all about that dark leafy green magic. It’s a top source of beta carotene, a powerful antioxidant that helps repair and renew your skin to give it a youthful glow.
Spinach, too, packs a healthy wallop. In addition to beta-carotene, it’s got folate which is also a vital nutrient for DNA repair so spinach helps to keep your skin looking its best — from the inside out.
I personally loathe the taste and texture of the stuff cooked, so sticking it into my smoothie and making it taste like banana is the best no-muss, no-fuss way to get all that goodness down me.
Anyhow, does my Good Skin Smoothie taste good? Not particularly. But boy, do I skip around the kitchen with an energy buzz about ten minutes after I’ve downed it! Set me up and gets me ready for my busy day…. well worth getting it down my neck!
Funny thing, my ten-year-old Benj won’t drink my hardcore Good Skin Smoothie daily, (for him I call it a SuperPower Smoothie) but he asks for it especially on days when he has a rugby tournament or a cross country run to do… He knows!
So then we all chink glasses and down our smoothies. A spoonful of liquid iron supplement, a handful of walnuts, and we’re out the door in flash – have a good day, everyone!
