This Anti-Inflammatory Smoothie has pear, spinach and ginger, making it the perfect light and refreshing green smoothie. Packed with pain-fighting ingredients, readers swear it helps with migraine attacks, headaches, and nausea. Hemp seeds add protein and oat milk provides a little extra creaminess!
Best Smoothie for Inflammation
When I originally developed this anti-inflammatory smoothie recipe for the really bad migraine days, I knew it had to pack a lot of pain- fighting power. Often when I deal with a vestibular migraine, I want a meal that's easy, fast, and not too crazy with ingredients.
It's important to not use high sugar ingredients that would cause a blood sugar spike. I think in this case, people typically reach for dark berries, but pears can be quite good if you want to mix things up, as they have a low glycemic index. They're also easy on the stomach! Balanced with chia seeds or hemp seeds, they add just enough sweetness to this green smoothie.
Here we want to avoid bananas, which can be high in tyramine and could potentially be a migraine or headache trigger.
Anti-Inflammatory Smoothie Ingredients
This anti-migraine smoothie is full of magnesium, antioxidants, fiber, and nausea relief.
- Pears - Rich in flavonoid antioxidants which means they're a perfect base for an anti-inflammatory smoothie. They promote heart health, weight loss, and gut health as they're packed with fiber. The cool thing about pears is they contain soluble and insoluble fiber. This can not only relieve constipation, but also promote good gut bacteria. Since a lot of probiotics can be triggering for people with migraine, this is a good option to incorporate.
Part of the nutritional benefit of pears is found in the skin, so I like to leave mine on for this recipe and if you have a high speed blender, like Vitamix, it shouldn't be an issue. This is where I also like to spend a little more and get the organic pears. - Ginger - Ginger is included for nausea and pain relief. It is a natural anti-inflammatory, and can also help ease an upset stomach. If you're dealing with nausea or head pain, adding this to your smoothies could potentially help ease some of the symptoms. Studies have shown ginger can help combat motion-induced sickness as well as relieve nausea and vomiting during pregnancy.
Ginger could also help reduce pain during your period. In one study of 150 women, ginger was shown to be as effective as ibuprofen when taken the first 3 days of a period. And if you've been reading my blog for any amount of time, you know that it's effective for migraine associated pain.
Some people find they have to take a supplement at the first sign of a migraine. On the other hand, I struggle with acid reflux when I take ginger supplements. Adding ginger to smoothies or food is my workaround to get the health benefits without the reflux. - Spinach - Included for a boost of magnesium. It's always best to add a few dark leafy greens to your smoothie if it doesn't affect the taste too much. Spinach and kale are considered anti-inflammatory superfoods. Packed with nutrients, a good recipe can mask their bitter flavor. I prefer to use spinach in smoothies as I find the flavor blends a little bit better.
Another benefit is dark leafy greens like spinach have magnesium, which can help prevent migraine attacks. Usually we have to supplement the amount we need for migraine management, but diversifying your magnesium sources is always a good thing. - Hemp Seeds - These are included for a protein boost and also balance the sugars in the pear. A lot of smoothies just put a bunch of fruit in the ingredients, and don't balance it with protein, which helps prevent a spike in blood sugar. Chia seeds also make a great substitute, which is what I used in the picture above.
- Milk - I often use oat milk, but any type of milk you like will work for this recipe. For extra protein, hemp milk would be perfect.
How to Make
To peel ginger - use the side of a spoon to gently scrape off the skin. This tip is super handy and keeps a lot of the ginger intact.
To make the anti-inflammatory smoothie - Place all the ingredients in a blender except for ice. Blend till smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Add ice in ½ cup increments until the desired thickness is reached. This smoothie is on the thin side. Be careful to not add too much ice or the flavors will be watered down. Sometimes, however, that can be helpful for nausea.
Pro Tips for Green Smoothies
- Use a really good blender to make this super creamy. Investing in a blender like vitamix will give you the best texture for smoothies. It blends ice extremely well and won't leave you with chunks in the mixture.
- Prep this ahead! Freeze pear pieces with ginger, spinach, and seeds in individual plastic bags. Dump them into the blender when ready and add milk and ice. That's it!
- Pack some extra anti-inflammation power by adding ½ teaspoon turmeric to the mixture.
- Drink this recipe at the first sign of a migraine attack to see if the ginger can help as a proven abortive. Or pair with your acute treatment, like a triptan, to boost its power.
Recipe Substitutions
For low histamine - I would recommend substituting spinach with arugula in this recipe. It gives this anti-inflammatory smoothie a great, peppery flavor. Kale will also work, although it definitely makes the taste a little more "green".
For a thicker smoothie - add in ⅓ cup frozen cauliflower. You can't taste it in this amount, but it will add some extra creaminess to the texture.
Anti-Inflammatory Smoothie
Equipment
- 1 Good quality blender
Ingredients
- ¾ cup chopped pear, skin on *
- 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
- ¾ cup fresh spinach *
- ¾ cup oat milk *
- 2 teaspoons hemp or chia seeds
- 1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup (optional)
- 1 cup ice
Instructions
- In a blender, add the pear, ginger, spinach, milk, and seeds and blend till smooth. Add ½ cup ice and blend till smooth and frothy. Taste and see if it needs a sweetener like honey or maple syrup.
Video
Notes
- This recipe makes about 1.5 servings - so either a pretty large smoothie or 2 smaller ones.
- Regular milk can be used instead of oat milk - or whatever milk you like best.
- If histamine is an issue, substitute arugula for the spinach.
- I used Bartlett pears but any sweet pear will do.
Nutrition
This post was originally published May 19, 2020 and was updated January 12, 2022 to include new photos, ingredient information, recipe tips and process. Below are the original photos.
This was Amazing!!!!! I used honey, and syrup! I also added Ashwagonda , and turmeric! Made with vanilla almond milk! I am definitely making this again for breakfast in the morning. I’m looking forward to trying your other recipes.
Thanks so much, Joan!
This is the Best Smoothie Ever! I make a big batch like 12 freezer quart size bags of all ingredients and pop them in the freezer. I dig into my stash when I am having difficulties. Thank You!
I didn’t have ripe pears so I used an Apple.I also used a frozen cube of ginger which I got from Whole Foods. Since I think spinach can be a Problem for me I used Arugula which was a nice tasting substitute. Thanks so much for all your wonderful recipes. Tonight I’m making Cajun salmon Pasta which is a favorite of mine and my husbands!
How do you store ginger? How long will it last?
I store mine in the fridge till it gets shriveled. Usually you can cut off the ends and it lasts a while. Also I believe trader joes has frozen minced ginger as well.
Delicious! This recipe is definitely in my rotation now. Thank you so much for sharing.
Thank you!!
This looks amazing and I can't wait to try it. I did have a question about sugar amount though. How much sugar should we be having? It seems like alot listed here but then it's balanced by the protein. Just wondering....
It's really up to you and what works best for your body so may require a bit of testing. The bulk of added sugar comes from pears and milk. So it can vary based on what kind of milk you use (for this calculation I used oat milk, which is higher). If you used hemp milk, that would lower the total amount to about 7 grams from the pears. 🙂
This is the bees knees!!!!!I cant believe it took me so long to try this. I also have stomach issues and this helped my stomach feel a million times better. The flavors are so balanced and I am so thrilled to have a daily smoothie that will both alleviate some of my symptoms, but also tastes amazing!!!!!!!
Is it okay to use powdered ginger instead of fresh ginger?
This Pear Ginger Smoothie has been a game-changer for me. I have intractable nausea as part of my chronic migraine, and nothing has helped manage my stomach upset as much as this smoothie. I make one almost every morning, and a half-hour later, I’m able to function again. It takes the edge off my other migraine symptoms, too, like some kind of miraculous tonic. And it’s delicious! There’s something so soothing about a frozen, slightly sweet (I use just a little honey), gingery drink. So good, and so helpful!
Thanks for taking the time to write this, Sarah! I know it will be very helpful for others! I love that it has helped you so much!
This smoothie has become a staple in my breakfast routine. I can't tolerate Spinach but thanks to the Tips, I use Arugula instead. This smoothie really calms down my head, especially when Tinnitus is on the louder side or I feel dizzy. Thank you Dizzy Cook!
So helpful - thanks, Cherie!
If y'all haven't tried Alicia's recipe for Anti-inflammatory Smoothie-- you are missing out. I am obsessed with it. Drink it everyday with lots of ginger and hemp seeds. Husband loves it too! You will not miss protein powder!
THANK YOU ALICIA! I love your work and your posts! I am so grateful to you and everyone else that chimes in!
This smoothie is perfect. It has a good taste, is easy to throw together, and contains all the goodness to help support migraine brain. I swear by ginger for helping me through attacks and like to supplement with it on days I know my threshold is lowered. I'm glad you mentioned the spinach/histamine issue---I think this applies to me.
Thanks so much Erin. Luckily it's an easy sub with the arugula or even kale!
I agree Erin! I am so happy when there are alternatives mentioned in the recipes. I might not have benefited from this smoothie without knowing I could use Arugula instead of Spinach!
Thank you for this recipe - it's one of my favorite smoothie recipes ever! Beyond being totally delicious, it really has helped me start my day and prevent symptoms during flare-ups...plus my husband who doesn't even have migraine has loved it too. I've been adding some dried white mulberries for extra sweetness...one of your other smoothie recipes (the cherry vanilla) got my hooked on them! Thank you for your hard work in testing this recipe and writing such an informative blog post.
So delicious and refreshing! So glad I found this recipe! I only had bosc pears but I bet Bartlet would be amazing too! Such a smooth...smoothie! Thanks for this, esp when suffering from a headache.