• Bio

Ash Archambeau

Ash Archambeau is Kitchen Koach LA, helping you and your kitchen get along! As a cancer survivor Ash improved the functioning and healing of her body through diet and lifestyle changes. With that spirit in mind, KKLA can help anyone interested in making change in their lives- particularly in their kitchens. Along with helping individual clients and writing for Body Temple LA, she recently went to the final callbacks for Food Network's reality series "The Next Food Network Star". Currently she's taking on new clientele working with a non profit in East LA helping lower income families integrate healthy eating into their homes. For more info on how Kitchen Koach LA can help you check out www.KitchenKoachLA.com.

I recently learned from the Ayurveda expert Lissa Coffey that pineapple can be used to ward off and soothe sore throats! Thanks for sharing Lissa, because you inspired the HEALING PINA COLADA SMOOTHIE! 

Here’s what she had to say:

“Sore throat, stuffy nose, bronchitis – it can come any time of year.  To help relieve these symptoms we can take a cue from our friends in warm climates.  In Mexico, pineapple is used for bronchitis.  In Venezuela, pineapple is used to soothe a sore throat.  And in Brazil, it is used as a decongestant! 

Why does pineapple work in this way?  It’s the bromelain, an enzyme in pineapple which research has shown to be both mucolytic and anti-inflammatory, which means that it can get rid of mucus and take the painful redness out of a sore throat.   

Fresh is best, so hopefully your supermarket is starting to get in its shipments for the season.  The heat from canning likely destroys the bromelain, so if you can’t get fresh, try fresh-frozen.  Eat about three half-cup servings at day when you first feel the symptoms of a cold coming on, and continue for three days.”

In honor of this amazing news I decided to create a pineapple smoothie— a delicious healing pina colada if you will!

But first, here’s some more fantastic facts about the ingredients that make up our smoothie:

– The coconut oil contains a fatty acid called 12-carbon lauric acid. Lauric acid can kill harmful pathogens like bacteria, viruses and fungi.

– Coconut flakes add texture, taste, and fiber to flush you out.

– Bananas offers a high level of Potassium (1 banana = 422 mg) and the daily consumption should be around 4,000 mg.  Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body’s water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.

– The coconut water hydrates your body and adds potassium to our bodies. (1 cup = 600 mg)

– Plant Protein Powder: fills you up, and gives your body the essential amino acids it needs to function.

– Wheatgrass powder: has incredibly high levels of phytonutrients, protein and chlorophyll, which is antibacterial and can be used inside and outside the body as a natural healer.  Chlorophyll can be extracted from many plants, but wheatgrass is superior because it has been found to have over 100 elements needed by man. If grown in organic soil, it absorbs 92 of the known 115 minerals from the soil.

HEALING PINA COLADA:

makes a full standard blender liquid amount

2 fresh or frozen bananas

2 tbs. coconut oil

2 cups coconut water

1 1/2 c. fresh or frozen pineapple

3 tbs. coconut flakes

1 serving of plant protein powder (I like PLANT FUSION the best)

1-2 servings wheatgrass powder

Blend all ingredients together with the banana and pineapple closest to the blades. Drink in small servings through out the day (as Lissa suggested for warding off cold symptoms) or freeze into popsicles to soothe that sore throat or just for a tasty treat!