Growing up, I was always looking for new ways to improve my morning routine. As a three-sport varsity athlete and long time vegetarian (it's been 13 years), I always wanted to make sure I was healthy and fueled.

In typical Long Island fashion, a bagel with cream cheese along with a large orange juice was my everyday go-to breakfast staple. It should come to no surprise that mid day I'd come crashing feeling foggy and lethargic.

These days, I like to be a little more mindful when choosing what to fuel my body with in the morning. Which is why I've incorporated this citrusy healthy morning shot into my morning in place of orange juice and eggs in place of a bagel. Not only is this drink just delicious, but it helps your body in a number of ways.

Ever since discovering fresh ginger, I can not get enough of it. Ginger is flavorful and delicious and also lowers inflammation in the body. Ginger is great for managing nausea, sickness, and helps those suffering from a hangover. It's super refreshing and makes me feel energized in the morning.

Cayenne has anti-fungal properties and is popular due to it's ability to aid digestion, boost metabolism and prevent symptoms from allergies.

Turmeric is another powerful anti-inflammatory spice known to be packed with nutrients that is known to improve the health of your heart, reduce symptoms of depression, and boosts your immune system.

I've been told at least a dozen times that black pepper is a necessary when consuming turmeric because it enhances the body's ability to absorb turmeric. It also adds a lovely spicy taste to this shot.

Lemons are packed with vitamin C, aid in digestion, and helps boosts your mood. Just an FYI, I prefer to keep my lemons in the fridge so that when made fresh, the shot will taste nice and cold.

By the way, if you like pulp skip the step where you strain the shot to keep that juicy pulp in the shot.

If you're a fan of meal prepping, these can easily be made in advance and frozen for up to one week. Just allow your shot to melt in the morning as you get ready.
 

Tips for enjoying your ginger cayenne turmeric lemon health shots

Tip #1: Looking to streamline your morning routine? Meal prep these shots once a week and store in an airtight jar in a refrigerator for up to one week. Shake well before consuming. Alternatively, you can freeze the shots in ice cubes. Place one cube in a cup and allow it to melt while you get ready for work in the morning. Take the shot before you head out the door.

Tip #2: Getting sick? Take one shot of this in the morning and before bed.

Tip #3: If you're not a fan of spices, you'll want to dilute this recipe. You've been warned.

Tip #4: If your blender gets stained by the cayenne or turmeric, leave it in the sun for a few hours and the sun will naturally bleach your blender back to normal.
 

The products and ingredients I use in my morning health shots

Tools and process: Here are the tools that I use to create these shots on the fly. Add water into a blender. Use a knife and cutting board to cut fresh ginger. Juice your lemon and add your ingredients into the blender. Add cayenne, turmeric and black pepper into the mix and blend. Serve on ice or in a shot glass chilled. I prefer pulp, but for those who don't, use a cheese cloth to strain the pulp before consuming.
 

Looking for ingredients? Here are a few that I recommend:

Organic lemon juice
Fresh ginger
Turmeric
Cayenne
Black pepper
Cold water

Need the tools? Here's what I use:

Water filter
Magic Bullet
Knife
Cutting board
Metal ice cube tray
Metal straw
Cheese cloth