Sprouts & Chocolate » pineapple http://www.sproutsandchocolate.com Livin' the veg life, one meal at a time Thu, 01 Oct 2015 04:18:46 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=4.3.1 {Almost Instant} Turmeric-Ginger Tea http://www.sproutsandchocolate.com/almost-instant-turmeric-ginger-tea/ http://www.sproutsandchocolate.com/almost-instant-turmeric-ginger-tea/#respond Thu, 05 Mar 2015 16:29:17 +0000 http://www.sproutsandchocolate.com/?p=1778 One of my birthday goals this year is to find a form of exercise I enjoy since so far the list is quite short, besides marathon-in House of Cards on Netflix. I always use to say that if I could change one thing about myself it would be any to have desire or motivation to...

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One of my birthday goals this year is to find a form of exercise I enjoy since so far the list is quite short, besides marathon-in House of Cards on Netflix. I always use to say that if I could change one thing about myself it would be any to have desire or motivation to work out. Turns out the problem wasn’t exactly the exercise itself but more the fact that I don’t like being bad at things in front of people and I just have not found a form of exercise I looked forward to doing. Believe me when I say I have tried a LOT of different types of exercise from yoga to swimming to running and weight lifting but I never really looked forward to any of these, with the exception of shavasana pose in yoga, which is basically just laying on the ground. Turns out I am a big fan of that.

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.

Sprouts & Chocolate: {Almost Instant} Turmeric-Ginger Tea. Vegan, anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting goodness!

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.

Sprouts & Chocolate: {Almost Instant} Turmeric-Ginger Tea. Vegan, anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting goodness!

Sprouts & Chocolate: {Almost Instant} Turmeric-Ginger Tea. Vegan, anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting goodness!

Sprouts & Chocolate: {Almost Instant} Turmeric-Ginger Tea. Vegan, anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting goodness!

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.

 

{Almost Instant} Turmeric-Ginger Tea
Serves 6
This recipe does require a little prep but then you will have all those bright yellow turmeric ice cubes just waiting to be made into this warming anti-inflammatory drink. This recipe makes about 12 medium sized ice cubes and I use 1 cube for a small mug and 2 for a large one. This recipe is also gluten-free, soy-free and nut-free. Drink up!
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Prep Time
15 min
Total Time
8 hr 15 min
Prep Time
15 min
Total Time
8 hr 15 min
Ingredients
  1. ¼ peeled, cored and diced fresh pineapple
  2. ¼ cup of water
  3. Juice of 1 lemon
  4. 40 grams each, peeled turmeric and ginger
  5. Pinch of cayenne pepper
Instructions
  1. Add all the ingredients to a high-power blender and blend until completely combined and there are no chunks of fruit left.
  2. Strain the mixture into a measuring cup through a fine-mesh strainer.
  3. Pour the mixture into an ice cube tray and store in the freezer.
  4. Pop 1 or 2 turmeric cubes out into a mug and pour boiling water over the cubes. Stir and enjoy!
Notes
  1. This tea does require a stir or two as the turmeric and ginger will settle to the bottom.
  2. For those not use to turmeric or ginger's strong flavourful, I recommend starting with one cube.
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Wicked Green Smoothie {Banana-Free} http://www.sproutsandchocolate.com/wicked-green-smoothie-banana-free/ http://www.sproutsandchocolate.com/wicked-green-smoothie-banana-free/#comments Wed, 17 Sep 2014 02:17:20 +0000 http://www.sproutsandchocolate.com/?p=1430 Day 17 of VeganMoFo….. 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...

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Day 17 of VeganMoFo…..

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

Sprouts & Chocolate: Wicked Green Smoothie {Banana-Free} This light refreshing tropical smoothie is protein-packed (25 grams of natural plant protein!), Vitamin C and Vitamin A to boot and of course greens! Nut-free and Vegan.

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

Sprouts & Chocolate: Wicked Green Smoothie {Banana-Free} This light refreshing tropical smoothie is protein-packed (25 grams of natural plant protein!), Vitamin C and Vitamin A to boot and of course greens! Nut-free and Vegan.

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.

Sprouts & Chocolate: Wicked Green Smoothie {Banana-Free} This light refreshing tropical smoothie is protein-packed (25 grams of natural plant protein!), Vitamin C and Vitamin A to boot and of course greens! Nut-free and Vegan.

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.

 

 Sprouts & Chocolate: Wicked Green Smoothie {Banana-Free} This light refreshing tropical smoothie is protein-packed (25 grams of natural plant protein!), Vitamin C and Vitamin A to boot and of course greens! Nut-free and Vegan.  

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….

Wicked Green Smoothie
Serves 2
This light refreshing tropical smoothie is protein-packed (25 grams of natural plant protein!), Vitamin C and Vitamin A to boot and of course greens! Nut-free and Vegan.This recipe serves 2 large smoothies (about 4 1/2 cups)
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Prep Time
5 min
Total Time
7 min
Prep Time
5 min
Total Time
7 min
Ingredients
  1. 1 cup diced pineapple, about 1 quarter section of pineapple (see above photos)
  2. 1 medium orange, supremed (see above photos)
  3. 2 cups lightly packed baby spinach
  4. 1-inch piece of peeled ginger
  5. ¼ cup raw hemp hearts
  6. 1 teaspoon spirulina powder
  7. 1 cup (or more) water
  8. 7-8 ice cubes
Instructions
  1. Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend until completely smooth.
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