When I was recovering from my first ultra marathon, the Big Basin 50K, I realized something interesting. I’ve always eschewed medicine in favor of natural healing, as much as possible (well, at least for day to day minor injuries and maladies). And the only medication I’ve taken since I started running have been Claritan for my severe pollen allergy and a prescribed Cortisone treatment because of a run-away poison oak infection. Well, for the latter, now I know to use Tecnu right away. As much as the Advil was tempting, I was looking for an anti-inflammatory smoothie to help me with my sore calves and quads. This particular anti-inflammatory smoothie is adapted from Scott Jurek’s book Eat and Run and it works wonders.

Anti-Inflammatory Smoothie

Anti Inflammatory Smoothie

The key ingredients in this smoothie are Miso, Turmeric and Ginger all of which are known for their natural healing powers. Turmeric has long been used in both Chinese and Indian systems of medicine and is one of the most used spice in South Indian cooking. Miso, made from fermented soybeans, is a Japanese culinary staple and known much for its endurance qualities. The Marathon Monks of Mt. Hiei are known to consume nothing my sushi rice and miso soup while they run 1,000+ marathons over 7 years in order to attain enlightenment. Finally the Bromelain from pineapples is another anti-inflammatory making this smoothie pretty potent.

• 2 cups of water
• 1 Banana
• 1 cup Organic Strawberries
• 1/2 cup peeled Mango
• 1/2 cup cut Pineapples
• 1/2 cup shelled Edamame
• 1/4 cup dried Coconut Flakes
• 3 tbsp of plant protein powder
• 1 1/2 tsp of Miso paste
• 1 tsp ground Turmeric
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger

Anti Inflammatory Smoothie

Trader Joe’s has pre-cooked Edamame. All you have to do is nuke for a 1 minute and then shell the Edamame. I get my Organic Miso paste from a local Japanese store which stores for a long time in the fridge. Drop all the ingredients into a Vitamix and blend for a couple of minutes until smooth. Depending on the ratio of the Turmeric, Ginger or Miso, this smoothie can taste very different since all three ingredients have a very strong flavor. It’s a pretty potent drink and a tremendous anti-inflammatory. So next time you are about to pop an Advil or Tylenol, maybe you should reach for the Vitamix instead? YMMV.

What do you use to recover from a long run?