Get into this "Tropical Orange Smoothie" for Healthy Skin & Hair!

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The other day, my partner and I had an odd craving for a healthy smoothie. We checked the fridge and saw we had all of the perfect ingredients for a delicious smoothie. I put on my Kitchen Fairy hat (thank you to my best friend, Kae, for the name!), pulled out my heavy blender (Click here to see), and prepared this vibrant, tropical smoothie that is rich with nutrients and health benefits. 

Inside of this smoothie, the turmeric and ginger gives it a bright orange color. Turmeric has been used for centuries as a spice and medicinal herb. It is a powerful anti-inflammatory and aids in increasing antioxidants in your body. Daily usage shows the potential of improved memory and lower risks for heart diseases. Ginger works in very similar ways as turmeric. Ginger is a natural root that helps the body fight of bad bacteria. In my experience, I've used ginger to fight nausea and motion sickness (Click here to see). It can also reduce inflammation, gas, and abdominal pain. Try taking both Turmeric and ginger in capsules, teas, or adding the spice to dishes and smoothies!

For additional health benefits, I added a bit of spinach, arugula, flaxseeds, and low-fat, probiotic yogurt. It may seem like an overload, but, trust me, it was sooo worth it! The fruit can be substituted for any of your tropical favorites. Our choice of fruit for the day were mangoes, pineapple, strawberries, and cucumbers. Feel free to use any of your favorite fruit. Also, it is important to note that, in this recipe, I didn't use any fruit juice or milk--just alkaline water. Since alkaline waters such as Essentia (Click here to see) or Lifewater (Click here to see) have a higher pH level, it can help regulate our body's pH and fight off infectious diseases. 

This smoothie has so many healthy benefits that I encourage everyone to give it a try. After drinking, I felt light and my skin has a glow! Check out the ingredients below. 

TROPICAL ORANGE SMOOTHIE

3 tbsp - Low-fat probiotic yogurt (plain or vanilla)

1 tbsp - Turmeric

1 tbsp - Whole seed flaxseed

Spinach

Arugula

Fresh ginger

Mango

Pineapple

Cucumber

Strawberries

I like to use the "blend" function first to breakdown the ingredients, then the "mix" function to fully combine into a consistent texture. 

Inside #TheVault: Kwame Ture

When we scream "Black Power," we are evoking the passionate and progressive vision of Pan-African activist, author, and educator Kwame Ture. Ture is responsible for several of the most popular Black revolutionary struggle events in the United States History. From SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee), to Black Panthers, to Pan-Africanism, his words ring into the spirits of many young protesters today.

Kwame Ture was born in the Port of Spain, Trinidad on June 29, 1941 and reunited with his parents in Harlem, New York City, New York at age 11. Ture enrolled in the historic Howard University and studied under the legendary Black intellectuals Toni Morrison and Sterling Brown. During his time at Howard, he became acquainted with Bayard Rustin and facilitated hundreds of Freedom Rides --a name given to the coordinating actions of traveling, mostly college-aged, Civil Rights protestors. When he graduated in 1964 with his degree of philosophy, Ture was offered a full scholarship to Harvard University but turned it down to become a full time Civil Rights Activist. Throughout the 1965 Freedom Summer (a titled given to the voter registration movement led by the Missisippi Freedom Party and spread to tens of cities across the United States), Fannie Lou Hamer mentored a young Ture. SNCC organizer Joann Gavin wrote that Hamer and Carmichael "understood one another as perhaps no one else could.

In May 1965, Ture was elected to succeed John Lewis, who had recently been elected to U.S. Congress, as Chairman for SNCC and immediately changed the rhetoric of the organization. It was during a 1966 march in Selma, Alabama that Ture would first proclaim “Black Power.” The slogan inspired many of the Black Revolutionary movements we see today such as Black is Beautiful Movement, I'm Black and I'm Proud Movement, Black Panthers Movement, Black Feminism Movement, New Black Panthers Movement, Black Lives Matter Movement and more. He changed his name to Kwame Ture in 1968, in honor of his friends and political allies, Pan-African leaders Sekou Touré and Kwame Nkrumah.

Ture spent the last decades of his life traveling across West Africa; denouncing U.S. racism and imperialism; and all while working to build the All African Peoples Revolutionary Party. In 1969, Ture settled permanently in Conakry, Guinea where he died of prostate cancer in 1998. 

Today we honor and celebrate our ancestor Kwame Ture's life in remembrance of his day of birth.