Disclaimer: This info is for informational purposes only and does not substitute or replace medical advice. All opinions expressed are of my own and from my personal research.

This smoothie recipe is plant-based, gluten-free, and made with all fresh fruit and vegetables. So it’s my birthday this month and I’ve turned the big 4-0! Yep, it’s downhill from here, lol. No honestly ever since I’ve been eating a mostly clean diet, like 90%, I don’t feel like I’m forty at all. I say 90% since I still eat out at restaurants, you never know what ingredients like oils and sauces they use. And I eat some processed foods that have minimal ingredients. My main reasoning for eating a cleaner diet was for disease prevention and just feeling good, looking younger seems to be an added bonus to clean eating. I’ve never had work done like botox or fillers or had any major professional dermatological procedures. I once had extractions and one session of microdermabrasion in my 20s because I suffered from acne. I have a red and blue LED light device that I use every few weeks. Understand this smoothie is just ONE of the things that I do that has helped me feel better.

Sure it can be genetics but a lot of it has to do with my personal lifestyle choices and diet. I joked that drinking this was my fountain of youth elixir. But there actually may be some say in it after drinking this for over a year since it has helped improve my overall health. This plus in combination with other lifestyle choices has made a difference.

So in celebrating my big milestone birthday I’m going to focus on sharing some of my anti-aging food choices. Though my focus is not only on looking younger but feeling younger. I’ve been working on my health and clean eating for the past few years and looking younger is just a wonderful side effect that I didn’t even realize till people were telling me that they couldn’t believe I was turning 40.

This smoothie is probably one of my favorite recipes that I make. Ever since I’d been drinking it in combination with clean eating I’ve seen dramatic results in my skin, hair, and energy. I noticed my skin had a bit more glow to it and my hair was shinier. I ate this for at least three months straight every day when I was doing an anti-inflammatory diet. And I still drink this every week. My body at the time showed signs of inflammation like bleeding eczema, joint pain, and fatigue. I always needed a nap during the day. My skin was at its worst with acne, which unfortunately has left scars. My eczema was really bad on my hands that it was always bleeding.

Some other amazing effects I noticed when I started eating clean was my skin breaking out less, my eczema healing faster and my joints stopped hurting. I no longer get split ends in my hair and my nails and hair grow super fast. I’m constantly filing down my nails every few days. Supposedly the speed of growth in your nails is a sign of your age. Your nails start to slow down in growth as you get older. Since eating clean it’s actually been growing faster than in my 20s.

Though I’m not trying to say that I haven’t aged at all. Aging is inevitable after having two kids and a few years of sleepless nights. The era of covid and having school at home for one year with the kids did not help either. Though I want to age in a healthier way, like prevent osteoporosis, heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and dementia. This unretouched photo of myself was taken after I turned forty. I noticed that my face has thinned. My laugh lines are more prominent cause well I laugh a lot. I’m getting more gray hair, which can be caused by certain vitamin deficiencies in my plant-based diet. I have acne scars that have developed on my face after my two pregnancies. My skin went bad after I had my kids from my hormones being unbalanced. I’ve always suffered from bad skin, they say either you deal with acne or with wrinkles. I do plan on getting something done professionally for my acne scars. Though once you have kids it’s hard to find the time for yourself. I’d love to talk about that process once I find the time to do it.

When I was in my twenties I did not think about my health or the food that I ate. I ate horribly back then, lots of processed food and sweets. I would eat a donut for breakfast and a frozen processed meal for lunch. I contribute my bad eating habits to my appendicitis diagnosis just a day after I turned twenty-seven. Looking back I didn’t even connect it to my diet at the time. My family would just say well you’re young you can eat whatever. If I had known what I know today about food, I would’ve started eating healthy as a child. I would not have had all the health issues I had growing up. I believe that the bad food choices I made when I was younger still affect me today.

For instance, I don’t have an appendix since it was removed in my late twenties after getting appendicitis. They’ve discovered that the appendix actually plays a big role in our immune system by storing gut bacteria. People who don’t have one are more prone to infections and take longer to heal from them. That’s absolutely what I’ve been dealing with for the past few years from the eye and ear infections that I would frequently get every year. I’m sure it’s the reason why I still deal with acne as well since that’s a form of an infection. You are actually less likely to get appendicitis if you’re feeding your good gut bacteria with a variety of vegetables. I barely ate any vegetables in my teens and twenties.

I didn’t really start thinking about healthy eating till I saw the food documentary Food Inc., which was after I had gotten appendicitis. It was the start of my health journey and my fascination with learning about preventing and healing disease with food and lifestyle choices.

One of those health ideas that I’ve always been intrigued by is the people who live in the “Blue Zones.” These are areas in the world where people live longer, older people are more active and age slower. I’ve always wanted to age in a way that I could still run when I’m eighty, drive when I’m in my 90s and had my mind intact. I’ve seen my grandmother and older relatives start developing Alzheimer’s and dementia in their old age. Several people in my family have type 2 diabetes, which is a preventable disease with diet. The blue zones are my inspiration to eat a mostly clean diet because of all the amazing health benefits and its disease prevention.

What Makes this Smoothie Anit-Aging

In this recipe, I have changed up the fruits depending on what I happen to have on hand. But the key ingredients that I make sure to have are a lot of kale, wild blueberries, flaxseeds, blackcurrant powder, papaya, coconut water, and avocado. All these foods are full of antioxidants and vitamins that keep your skin hydrated and prevent aging.

Jam-packed with kale, if there was only one vegetable that I could eat this would be it. It’s nutrient-dense and high in vitamins K, A, and C. Yes, there’s a lot. So if you’re not used to eating a lot of cruciferous vegetables I recommend slowly drinking this throughout the day. You’ll suffer from gas problems if you drink all of it at one go. You can also do a mix of kale and spinach. Though I would not completely substitute this with spinach since it has high amounts of oxalate, which can cause kidney stones.
If you’ve been following Dr. Gundry’s research, the latest superfood he’s been promoting is currant fruit. The small grape-like fruit does not grow in my area of the country. So I found freeze-dried blackcurrant powder. It’s high in polyphenols that feed the gut bacteria that promotes healthy skin and has anti-aging benefits. It’s one of the key ingredients in his Bioskin Youth Complex.
I eat a cup of wild blueberries every day by adding it to one of my smoothies. It’s higher in antioxidants than regular blueberries, which protects against aging.
I absolutely love to snack on papaya. It’s high in a carotenoid called lycopene and vitamins A and C, which protects your skin and actually protects it from wrinkling.
I love snacking on pineapple and adding it to my smoothies. The best part is the core, which is high in the enzyme bromelain. It has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects.
Flaxseeds are my go-to for plant-based omega-3s, which fight inflammation and are good for heart health.
Sunflower seeds are high in vitamin E, which is an excellent antioxidant for your skin.
Coconut water is a natural electrolyte drink full of vitamins and minerals. They say if you’re ever stranded on an island you can survive off coconuts.

How-To Video

What You Need to Make This Anti-Aging Smoothie

5 cups kale
1 cup papaya or 1 carrot or sweet potato
1 cup avocado or 1/2 of a medium avocado
1/2 cup pineapple
1/2 cup frozen wild blueberries
1 tbsp blackcurrant powder
1/2 tsp cardamom
1 tbsp flaxseeds
1 tbsp sunflower seeds
1/2 cup gluten-free oats
1 cup coconut milk I used Native Forest Simple canned coconut milk
1 – 2 cups coconut water add more if you want a thinner consistency smoothie

Start with adding liquids in a high speed blender.

Add the fresh vegetables and fruit.
Add the blackcurrant powder, cardamom, flaxseeds, sunflower seeds, and oats.

Add the frozen fruit.

Blend on high for 1 minutes or until smooth. Do not over blend as it will heat up the smoothie.

Serve in large glass and enjoy
Store in mason jar with a tight lid in refrigerator, eat within 3 days.