I know how important fitness and exercise is to my body but I mostly hate doing it. Whenever I read on a fitness blog, “Oh I get such a high after a run,” I simply do not understand this way of thinking. Whenever I ran I would get winded and see my life flash before my eyes, unless there was another runner near me then I would pretend to enjoy myself only to wheeze on through as soon as they were out of my sight. I feel a lot of people can relate to this so I am not entirely embarrassed to tell you how out-of-shape I am.

After turning 28 this year and realizing I am much closer to 30 than I am 20, it became very clear to me that I need to make fitness a priority since I need this body to last me another few decades. When I sat down and actually wrote out a few classes I wanted to try out all of them were related to dance. I danced a little bit when I was a child but had to quit after I started high school to make time for an after-school job. Whenever I am wearing my headphones and walking around I always think about dancing to the song I am listening to, especially after seeing Sia’s new music videos. I know I wouldn’t start off like that but it inspired me to get off my butt and go and do something!

I signed up for a very beginners ballet class, bought some pink ballet shoes and wanted to leap and jump and dance my heart out; turns out beginner’s ballet takes a lot of control, balance and discipline to get anything remotely correct. The class spends a lot of time at the bar just bending and frankly, I did not know how much you could sweat by just doing this. Because of my job working in service, my knees and ankles have taken a serious beating over the past few years and it was very evident with every crack-crack-crack of these joints with ever grande-pile I did. Just to add embarrassment to pain, my knees and ankles seem to crack the loudest out of everyone and echo through the large studio so the instructor has given me a few concerning glances.

The following day my body is aching hard and I know I need some serious anti-inflammatory goodness to help me out. I have been on a serious turmeric kick lately (if you hadn’t noticed) and I wanted something warm to soothe my muscles and joints. I usually make turmeric tea consisting of finely grated fresh turmeric, ginger with lemon juice but every time I made this, it would leave bright yellow stains everywhere. Turmeric, why must you stain everything!?! The mess got to be too annoying to make this all the time so I wanted to create something I could a big batch of ahead of time so I could just pop it into my hot water and go.

This recipe is inspired by a video I saw on Laura Miller’s Instagram. If you don’t know whom Laura Miller is, YouTube: Raw. Vegan. Not Gross. and proceed to watch every single video of hers because she is my rock star. In a little video, she juiced a bunch of fresh turmeric, froze the juice in ice cube trays and popped them in her water whenever she needs a “turmeric kick”. Genius.

I do not own a juicer so I improvised with my high-power blender and a fine mesh strainer. Do not use a nut-milk bag for this. Believe me. I read somewhere that pineapple juice is good for a cough so I added in some of that too to give this drink more purpose for those who may be suffering from an achy body from a cold.

I tossed all my ingredients into a blender until fully blended, strained and froze the mixture. I pop one or two cubes out into my mug and top with boiling water. Voilà, almost instant turmeric tea! This bright yellow tea is warming, slightly sweet from the pineapple, loaded with cold-fighting vitamins and is insanely good for you.

I am hoping this drink will fight off any change-of-season cold that everyone seems to get but so far, Winter looks like it is here to stay for a little while longer. Drink this mug full of sunshine if your view is looking grey and get dancing.

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Today is Hump Day Drink Wednesday and I have something wicked to share with you…..

Tonight I am off to see the musical Wicked! This production is hands-down my favourite musical: the impossible notes to hit, the hilarious dynamic between the main characters, heartbreak, the tears and standing up for what you think is right when everyone is trying to bring you down. What is not to love?

How to Peel an Orange for a Smoothie

Elphaba is one of my favourite characters of all time: she is kind of awkward, caring, thoughtful and strong. She wants to do the right thing but sometimes it doesn’t work out the way she planned. Her persistence gets her into unpleasant circumstances but her refusal to give up is why I admire her most.

I personally believe that if Elphaba were a real person, she would be a vegan. In dedication to Elphaba and the production of Wicked I made this Wicked Green Smoothie.

How to Dice a Pineapple

I always think that smoothie making is much like crafting a witch’s brew: a little bit of this, a dash of that and whirl away [minus the eye of toad} I have made some good, bad and ugly smoothies in my past from greenish grey, to bog water to purplish mud but thankfully I have become a lot better at making some great veggie filled smoothies.

A friend of mine does not like bananas in her smoothies so I wanted to make a banana-free one for her. This one uses other tropical fruit that I love: pineapple. It might take a little longer to blend since pineapple is very fibrous which is good for digestion.

This green smoothie is so good for you: protein (25 grams of natural plant-based protein and omegas to boot), Vitamin C, Vitamin A and loads of micronutrients it may make you burst out in song and dance! Now if only I could carry a tune….

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