Easy Pineapple and Cucumber Detox Smoothie

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Looking for a delicious way to detox? Try this easy pineapple and cucumber detox smoothie!

Detoxing is all the rage these days, and for good reason! Our bodies are constantly being exposed to harmful toxins from the environment, processed foods, and even from the products we use on a daily basis.

It is more important than ever to take some time out for detoxification and help our bodies to cleanse and renew themselves.

One of the easiest and most delicious ways to do this is by enjoying a refreshing detox smoothie everyday. This pineapple cucumber detox smoothie is packed with antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that will help your body to detox and cleanse.

Why Should You Detox?

There are many reasons why you might want to detox – from wanting to improve your energy levels, to needing a break from processed foods, to wanting to lose weight.

A juice or smoothie detox is a great way to achieve all of these things as it gives your body a chance to rest and recover from the onslaught of toxins that it is exposed to on a daily basis.

It can be difficult to completely avoid environmental toxins, but you can help your body to eliminate them by including detoxifying foods in your diet. These include fresh fruits and vegetables, herbs, spices, whole grains, nuts and seeds.

Why We Love This Pineapple Cucumber Smoothie

All the ingredients in this smoothie were carefully selected to be high in antioxidants, anti-inflammatory and delicious!

The cucumber is a great detoxifier as it is high in water content and contains minerals such as silicon, magnesium and potassium. It also contains the compound sterol which is thought to have detoxifying properties.

The pineapple is a rich source of antioxidants and vitamin C, both of which are great for boosting your immune system. It also contains bromelain, an enzyme that helps to break down protein and has anti-inflammatory properties.

The green tea in this recipe is another great detoxifier, as it is rich in antioxidants and helps to combat oxidative stress in the body.

So if you are looking for a quick and easy way to detox your body, then this cucumber pineapple juice smoothie recipe is the perfect solution!

Pineapple and Cucumber Detox Smoothie Ingredients

Pineapple

Pineapple is a fruit that contains a lot of antioxidants and vitamin C. These nutrients can help your immune system to stay healthy. It also has an enzyme called bromelain which helps to break down protein. This enzyme can also help to reduce inflammation in the body.

You can choose to use fresh pineapple chunks or you can use frozen pineapple. I’d use canned as a last option, although if packaged in pineapple juice it could work well (just reduce the amount of liquid in the smoothie if you use the juice).

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Cucumber

Cucumbers are high in water and include minerals such as silicon, magnesium, and potassium. They also contain the compound sterol, which is thought to have detoxifying capabilities.

If you don’t want seeds in your smoothie, try an English cucumber. The seeds of any cucumber should be blended in nicely so you won’t notice them, but some people prefer the taste and texture of the English variety.

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Lemon juice

Lemons have vitamin C and other antioxidants, just like other citrus fruits. Antioxidants are important for human health since they fight free radicals in the body that can damage cells and cause diseases, such as cancer.

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Mint Leaves

Mint leaves are tiny, green leaves that have a refreshing taste. Every mint contains the volatile oil menthol, which gives mint leaves their distinctive cooling, cleansing sensation. Varieties of mint leaves help to cleanse the body by flushing out toxins, while also boosting your immune system and aiding better digestion.

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Green Tea

Green tea is known for it’s anti-inflammatory compounds. As a detox drink, green tea can help to reduce oxidative stress in the body – caused by harmful toxins. Green tea is also full of antioxidants which help to protect cells from damage.

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How to Customize Your Cucmber Pineapple Detox Smoothie

1. Add Sweetener

Smoothies sweet enough for you? No problem! Add in honey, stevia, maple syrup or even a little cucumber juice or pineapple juice to your smoothie.

Another way to sweeten up this smoothie is to add in a sweeter fruit such as mango in addition to the pineapple or even make it a banana smoothie by adding in more fruit to this healthy recipe.

2. Change out the Liquid

Don’t want to use green tea? That’s not a problem! You can use almond milk, water, coconut milk, orange juice, apple juice, coconut water, or even regular dairy milk instead.

You can even use green juice or infused water (such as pineapple water), which could give you extra antioxidants.

3. Add in Other Super Foods

You can use chia seed or hemp seed to thicken this recipe into a smoothie bowl. You can also add matcha, avocado, fresh ginger or even a hint of cayenne pepper to really help blast fat.

It’s also great to add other berries or superfoods powders. There really is no right or wrong when customizing a smoothie to your taste (although it defeats the point if you add in unhealthy ingredients!).

You could also add greens like spinach or kale, which give an extra antioxidant boost. Greens are so easy to grow that I like to have a steady supply in the garden (we grow kale in hoop houses in the winter – even if there’s snow!).

4. Ways to Tone Down the Sweetness

If you’ve been into healthy eating and have avoided processed sugar for a while, you may find the fruit too sweet. Since pineapple is such a naturally sweet fruit, some may find it too sweet.

You can easily add lime juice or more lemon juice to help take away some of the sweetness if you need, or add in a vegetable such as celery to take away some of the sweetness.

5. Add some Protein or Fat

It’s easy to add in some protein powder (any kind you like, plant-based, whey protein, egg white protein, etc) or you can add in some nut butter for some extra unsaturated and a little saturated fat and to help you stay full longer.

How to Blend a Perfect Pineapple Cucumber Smoothie

This is how we blend smoothies at our house. We use a Nutribullet Pro and it does a fantastic job of blending all ingredients. If you find that your blender is having trouble blending, try adding the mint and green tea first and blending, then adding the rest of the ingredients and blending again.

Step One: Add solid ingredients to blender.

I like to add my solid ingredients to the blender first. ( See how to measure leafy greens here )

Step Three: Add green tea or other liquid.

The liquid will seep in all the areas around the fruit and greens, so it will get to the blades.

Step Four: Blend!

Turn on that blender and let it do its thing! Make sure it’s blended well for no surprise chunks.

Nutrition in Pineapple and Cucumber Detox Smoothies

Vitamin C

The ingredients in this smoothie provide plenty of vitamin C. Vitamin C is an antioxidant that can help to defend against free radicals in the body.

Vitamin C, in combination with other antioxidants, aids in the prevention and treatment of infections and wounds. It also helps to absorb iron and produce collagen.

Read more about Vitamin C here.

Fiber

Fiber is essential for healthy digestion. It’s a type of carbohydrate that humans can’t break down in their own bodies, so it travels through the digestive system and aids in waste removal.

Many Americans don’t consume enough fiber in their diets, and it’s an essential component of a healthy diet. It’s critical to increase our intake of fiber, and detox smoothies can help!

Read more about Fiber here.

Bromelain

Bromelain is an enzyme that is found in pineapple juice and the pineapple stem. It’s a type of proteolytic enzyme and can be found in pineapple juice and the pineal gland.

Bromelain promotes the formation of compounds that fight pain and inflammation. Bromelain also contains chemicals that appear to hinder tumor cell replication and blood clotting, according to Web MD.

Read more about bromelain here.