Day 3: Woo hoo!

I have to say that I am REALLY excited about the cinnamon/ honey tea benefits. I read the original article with healthy skepticism (as I do with everything), but I have proven to my satisfaction that it gives the immune system a giant boost. Monday night I was sick. Knocked out, every joint aching, head throbbing, throat in agony. The kind where you're 99% sure you'll be phoning in sick the next morning. I don't get hit that hard very often, but when I do I'm generally out of commission for a couple of days and dealing with the symptoms for up to 2 weeks. Not this time! (I hope I'm not jinxing myself.) Tuesday when I woke up I was still feeling rather blah, and my throat was very sore and dry. I had my "tea" followed by a green smoothie and almost immediately felt better. I got to work expecting to feel fatigued and achey again within a couple hours but it never happened! I sailed through the day as normal and still had energy left at 5:00. By the time I got home at 6:00 I was feeling good enough to work an hour long yoga session into my evening (making up for the lack of it the night before.) Mind you my joints DID still complain a bit, and my stamina was at a low point, but I got through it and felt awesome afterwards. Of course I had my tea again this morning and am feeling even better today.

I treated myself to a new pair of snowshoes yesterday. My old Tubbs were coming apart at the bindings and basically non salvageable, so it was time. I let the salesman talk me into a pair of MSR beauties in purple (well okay, I was pretty much sold as soon as I saw them so he didn't really have to try).

They have so many features that make them stand out, but the bindings in particular are what sold me. They are non water absorbent, and they won't loosen as I'm walking. Plus I have to admit they just look awesome. I am SUPER psyched to try them out in a moonlight hike through the woods behind my house. So in lieu of yoga tonight, I will be giving these a test-drive.

Day 2: Green Smoothie Goodness

Isn't it pretty? I've been drinking green smoothies for about a year now, and am trying to incorporate it into my diet every day. Some weeks are better than others, and it depends on the availability of organic greens. (Leafy greens are considered a "dirty" vegetable pesticide-wise, so it's best to go organic in this department.) Since I invested in a Vitamix blender it's super easy to whip one up. I've even got my picky-eating daughter drinking them now. Our fave recipe is 1 banana, several cups of baby spinach leaves (I stuff the blender) and a cup of red grapes. Add a bit of water for consistency and zap it. Voila: quick and delicious (for real! And I HATE veggies normally.)

So this morning after my honey-cinnamon concoction I blended one of these beauties and got an awesome kickstart to the day. Speaking of which- I found that boiling the cinnamon in water on the stovetop, then adding it to the honey in a mug worked much better for dissolving everything. No gelatinous lumps this morning, and the house smells great too.

Unfortunately my cold kicked into high gear when I got home last night so I was unable to face a session of yoga. Downward dog with a throbbing headache and achey joints? No thanks! I spent the evening comatose on the couch watching old episodes of Alfred Hitchcock instead. (Not to mention hot chocolate with a healthy shot of frangelico. Yum.)

Thankfully the cinnamon honey drink and green smoothie went a long way towards soothing my sore throat and restoring some energy. Also, my lower back definitely isn't as sore as it normally would be when I get a virus. Coincidence? Maybe....but maybe the cinnamon is doing its job already. Cheers to that!

Monday...a.k.a. Day 1

I read an article this morning touting the extensive and near-magical qualities of drinking honey and cinnamon "tea" on a daily basis to prevent everything from heart disease to weight gain. Arthritis relief and cold prevention were also in the list, and considering I'm having issues with both today, it spurred me into action. I popped into a nearby health-food store on my lunch hour and obtained some locally sourced honey and high quality cinnamon. $30 later (ouch!), I had a kg of delicious honey and two packages of cinnamon. I mixed the recommended teaspoon of cinnamon, 2 tablespoons of honey and 1 cup boiling water. Now cinnamon doesn't dissolve readily, so even after a few minutes of stirring it remained suspended in a gelatinous glob of honey towards the bottom of the mug. That's all right- at least the taste isn't utterly wretched. I downed my potion with no problem. It tasted slightly spicy and overtly sweet, but drinkable. From this point forward I will be drinking the mixture every morning before my coffee.

This evening I am making it my goal to get a 20 minute yoga session in before bed. This will be a challenge with the extra work I'm doing from home, but I'm sure I can squeeze it in there.

More tomorrow...