5 Ways to Shape Up in Coquitlam for the New Year

With the festivities behind us, this is a great time of year to reset, refuel and rejuvenate. From refreshing smoothies to non-alcoholic cocktails and healthy dishes, here are five reasons to move those legs to Coquitlam. 

1. Healthy Eats

Eating clean doesn’t have to be boring. Here are some ways to add some fresh, tasty goodness to your daily routine.

Café Delitzi: Nourish your body with raw, organic, vegan and gluten-free dishes. Popular items include the vegan taco wrap or organic zucchini pasta “Bolognese” with house-made vegan bread. They also serve coffee and fresh juices, located a short walk from Coquitlam Centre. 

Korean food: Coquitlam is home to one of the largest Korean communities in Canada, where you’ll find everything from cozy cafés to spacious restaurants serving homestyle recipes handed down through generations. Bone broths are boiled for hours, full of nutritional and anti-inflammatory power. Read our recent blog for recommendations.

Vietnamese food: Think steaming bowls of Pho with healthy broth or rice paper salad rolls made with fresh ingredients. Scope out your options on visitcoquitlam.ca. 

Japanese food: Sushi and sashimi are healthy choices, and Coquitlam has dozens of top-notch restaurants to try. Check them out at visitcoquitlam.ca. 

2. Detox Drinks

Kicking back with a cold drink takes on a whole new meaning this month. Here are some places to rehydrate. 

Body Energy Club: Grab a smoothie and stock up on supplements and vitamins at this shop on Barnet Highway. 

Booster Juice: Located inside Coquitlam Centre, take your pick of a wide selection of smoothies and fresh juices plus healthy food options including energy bowls and chia puddings. 

Fuel Coquitlam: Feast your eyes on their juice bar and health food products at this shop on Lougheed Highway.

Jugo Juice: Also located inside Coquitlam Centre, explore their extensive menu of juices and smoothies, with healthy food options also available.

Liquid Nutrition: Stop into this juice bar on Lougheed Highway for organic, plant-based, gluten-free and soy-free drinks. 

3. Lunch “Cocktails” 

Having a dry January? Make it a date with friends at Brisk Café on Pinetree Way in Coquitlam, where you can choose from a wide menu of non-alcoholic “cocktails” and feast on healthy dishes. 

4. Burn it All Off

The Grouse Grind may be closed for the season, but you can still feel the burn at the Coquitlam Crunch, which is free and open year-round. This fitness hike features two parallel sets of stairs with more than 400 steps each and an incline trail that gains 250 metres in 2.2 km. That’s the equivalent of 81 storeys! The entire loop to the top and back to the base takes approximately 1-1.5 hours to complete. If stair repeats is your thing, you can run the first burst of 400+ stairs and loop to the second set of stairs for the ultimate cardio circuit workout. 

5. Light Up Your Evening Walk

If the dark nights are keeping you indoors at night, here’s an option to sneak in some extra steps after dinner. Head to Coquitlam’s Town Centre Park for the largest free festive lights display in Metro Vancouver. Yes, it’s on until January 19 and free to view.

Take in the hundreds of thousands of lights and various displays, which wrap their way around Lafarge Lake. The lakeside loop is 1.2 km and if you’d like to add on, pop over to the rubberized track at Percy Perry Stadium for some sprints or a casual stroll. 

Bonus – The Miss604 Picture this Photo Contest is still on! Miss 604 Picture This Contest. Find out more by reading the Guide to Lights at Lafarge. 

Other Events 

Here are some more things to do while you’re in Coquitlam this month.

Coquitlam Express Hockey Games: Take in a home game of league leading BCHL Coquitlam Express at the Poirier Sport & Leisure Complex.  

January Exhibitions Opening at Place des Arts
Friday, January 10, 2020 7:00pm to 9:00pm
Drop by the opening reception for a glass of wine and three incredible exhibitions! Collaborative Alchemy – an exhibition of plant-based visual art, Photography and Sculptures by Pierre Leichner, Edward Peck and Phyllis Schwartz; Happiness is a thing called…, Watercolours and Water Media by Tammy Pilon; The Influencer, Oil Paintings by Alex Sandvoss. All three exhibitions run through to February 6, 2020.

A Celebration of Robbie Burns – Saturday, January 18, 2020
Dinner at 6:00pm; concert at 7:30pm; ticketed 
Join us for our annual celebration of Scotland’s National Bard, Robbie Burns! Fiddler Rosie Carver with Celtic band Blackthorn and a special guest piper play traditional music of Scotland with a special focus on Burns’ songs and poems.

Family Day at PdA!
Sunday, January 26, 2020 2:00pm to 5:00pm; free (please pre-register) 
Gather up the clan and drop by Family Day at PdA to immerse yourself in art! Tour the galleries and create your own masterpieces in a variety of all-ages, drop-in-style art activities based on the subject matter and/or mediums of the exhibitions.

Trio Voronezh – Evergreen Cultural Centre
Sunday, January 26, 2020 7:30pm; ticketed
Trio Voronezh is a musical ensemble that produces exciting sounds and compelling arrangements of classics across a variety of musical styles, all played upon Russian folk instruments.

The Shoplifters – Evergreen Cultural Centre
Tuesday, January 28, 2020 to February 1, 2020; ticketed
This Arts Club Company Theatre production is a sharp-witted comedy with an expert cast of misfit characters that will leave you rooting for all sides to come out on top.

Feasts of Coquitlam: Lunar New Year Dinner 
Wednesday, January 29, 2020 6:30pm; ticketed
Learn how to prepare three traditional Chinese dishes: Chinese Lions Head (Braised Pork Meatballs), Abalone Lucky Bag with XO sauce and sesame balls for dessert. Cook Jessica Yue will demonstrate the cooking methods involved and share information about Lunar New Year traditions. 

Did we miss any local favourite healthy food or drink places? Comment below. Share your adventures with us – tag #explorecoquitlam and visit us online at visitcoquitlam.ca.