Tucked away in Canton New York is a little hideaway known as Flying Lotus. For many students and community members, the absence of a simple healthy food outlet had been noted. One particular lady named Kelly took particular care in bringing a healthy and peaceful environment to the middle of Main Street in the college town. After months of planning, she opened a smoothie and juice bar nicknamed the Root Cellar underneath her yoga center, Flying Lotus.
This juice bar offers fresh, organic, and local (if she can find it) products. Her juices are pressed to order, and her smoothies and smoothie bowls are blended to perfection. The smoothies and the bowls are the same ingredients, but the bowls having a thicker base and are crowned with complementary toppings.
The Root Cellar and Flying Lotus opened this past fall and has swept through Canton and St Lawrence University as a place to relax with friends off-campus, to grab a juice to go, or cozy in for a study session.
I’ve had the opportunity to test taste just about all of the juices and smoothies. The smoothie bowl that will forever stick by me is the Happy Hanuman Bowl. It’s basically cacao, peanut butter, and banana topped with more chocolate, freshly ground peanut butter, and fresh bananas. It satisfies the sweet tooth and fills you up without bogging you down. I tend to pair it with the Spin Fizz Juice with has a zingy ginger kick!
Whatever your type of juice and smoothie is, you are certain to find something to suit your fancy. Currently, the juice menu includes:
- the Muladhara (beets, beet greens, apple, and turmeric) – I find this one actually kind of sweet which I wasn’t expecting. Don’t let the beet reddish-pink intimidate you! It’s tasty!
- Recovery (pineapple, carrot, celery, spinach, and coconut water)
- Green Grasse (celery, kale, apple, cucumber, and pear) – you taste the pear and apple first, with a hint of celery and cucumber in the background. The Green Grasse has a more grainy texture but is light and refreshing to be sure!
- Canton Cleanse (apple, carrot, ginger, beet, and greens) – I never thought apple and carrot would work so well together, but I was easily proven wrong! And they’re such great foods that mask any of the greens’ flavor.
- SLUperfood (beet, celery, apple, strawberry, and pineapple)
- and the Spin Fizz (pineapple, spinach, lime, and ginger) – I mentioned it before, but this is my personal favorite! The ginger, pineapple, and lime really blend well together with the citrus and ginger bringing a refreshing drink to the table.
Though there are wonderful options with the ingredients already selected for combining, Kelly offers a Make-Your-Own juice option and you can always request an alteration to a premade juice recipe. Your juice experience is your own, and Kelly wants to ensure that you love what you put into your body.
Her current smoothies and bowls are:
- Açai (açai, mixed berries, and banana) – I find this one to be tarte with the combination of the açai and berries, but the banana really holds it together! The bowl has coconut included on top which I personally adore.
- Cinnamon Bun (banana dates, oats, cinnamon, and oat milk) – Basically candy in fruit format. The Cinnamon Bun is delectable, almost gooey good, just like a fresh bun out of the oven!
- Golden Beary (blackberry, blueberry, banana, spinach, and almond milk) – The bowl is drizzled with honey and granola, so it reminds me of a traditional smoothie or smoothie bowl that one would make at home.
- Happy Hanuman (banana, cacao powder, peanut butter, almond milk) – Also known as, the bowl that I always go back to again and again! Seriously, if you ask Kelly, she could tell you my order!
- PB & J (banana, peanut butter, strawberry, and almond milk)
- Sattvical (banana, pineapple, mango, and coconut milk)
- Strawberry Shortcake (strawberry, flaxseed, oats, and almond milk) – This bowl is my parents’ favorite! They came to visit once this past spring and fell in love with both Flying Lotus and the Strawberry Shortcake Bowl. It’s tarte but sweet and incredibly smooth textured.
That covers the menu, but Flying Lotus also offers a wide variety of yoga classes and personal meditation sessions. The studio is freshly redone, with a no-shoes-allowed policy. One of the classes that I’ve been meaning to try is her Aerial Yoga. You use the aerial ribbons to release tension primarily in your lower back and experience a freeing hour or so levitating and suspended in the air.
Currently, due to the CoViD-19 pandemic, Kelly has had to limit the Root Cellar to takeout only with none of the reusable jars allowed. Her yoga studio is virtual on Zoom and currently free for anyone’s access so long as they DM @flying_lotus_yoga on Instagram for the daily Zoom link. Be sure to check the website: www.flyinglotus.yoga for their weekly yoga schedule!