I had the joy of being on San Diego Living to talk about spices and which ones are great for your health and how you can incorporate them into your diet. I also share an interesting fact about cilantro plus the paparazzi comes after us! Check it out and let me know what you think!
Not only do spices elevate the flavor of your food but they also have a lot of great health benefits which is why I love to try to like put them into a variety of different recipes including sauces, salads, soups and smoothies!
Here are some of my favorite spices, why they are healthy and a couple ways to incorporate them into your diet. Plus, at the end of this I’m going to share my chimichurri sauce with you!
Parsley is one of the most popular herbs around and it’s really great for digestion. It is also packed with vitamins and is anti-infammatory.
Uses: I love to add parsley to smoothies, juices, salad, pasta and I especially love it tossed with caramelized fennel!
Cilantro is wonderful at chelating heavy metals from your body, which can make you feel chronically tired, headachy and brain fog. You can read more about it here.
Uses: Cilantro is a MUST in salsas but it can also be used to make pesto as well. I love it in the chimichurri sauce below.
Himalayan Sea Salt has all of its minerals intact where as regular table salt has been bleached and stripped of all its minerals, leaving you with just the sodium. Himalayan sea salt is loaded with calcium, magnesium and potassium, which we really need for energy and for our health and optimum well being.
Uses: Everything!
Cinnamon is great at helping control blood sugar by slowing down the absorption of sugar into your bloodstream. But not all cinnamon is created equal. You want to look for Ceylon Cinnamon. It’s the purest form of cinnamon and will give you the maximum benefit.
Uses: add it to coffee, fruit, oatmeal, and enchilada sauces!
Turmeric is a beautiful orange root and is very anti-inflammatory. So you can use it for so many things including arthritis, headaches, achy joints, menstrual cramps and more. You can even use it in the place of Advil or Ibuprofen!
Uses: Make Chick Pea Croutons, Healing Italian Wedding Soup or Perfect Roasted Potatoes. You can also juice, make tea from the fresh root and add it to smoothies. I also like to have it on hand as a supplement for aches, pains and headaches.
Garlic is naturally antibacterial and antiviral. So it’s fantastic for kicking a cold and boosting your immune system. In fact this is going to sound kind of crazy but if I feel a little tickle in my throat or a cough or something, I will do a spoonful of garlic with honey and just shoot it.
Uses: anything! To beat a cold try juicing garlic, lemon and ginger together. Add hot water and raw honey and drink up! You’ll feel better in no time!
Oregano is also super healing and antifungal. It is also great at helping relieve menstrual cramps and is often used to fight Candida.
Uses: Oregano is great in marinara sauces but I find the easiest to get it is in a supplement form.
I hope you have found this interested and feel more confidant working these delicious and nutritious herbs and spices into your diet on a regular basis.
As promised – here is my recipe for the chimichurri sauce I made on the segment. I love this sauce because it’s really great on grilled vegetables. It’s really fantastic on fish, grilled seafood, chicken, really anything. So you can make a big batch of it and it use it for several things!
Chimichurri Sauce
Prep Time: 10 minutes, Makes 1 cup sauce
Download Chimichurri Sauce Recipe here
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 heaping teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Zest and Juice of one lemon
1 teaspoon Himalayan sea salt
½ cup organic olive oil
½ bunch parsley, chopped
½ bunch cilantro, chopped
If you have a pestle and mortar bash up the garlic, salt, cumin, cayenne pepper, salt and olive oil together until well incorporated. Stir in the parsley and cilantro.
Alternately, mix all the ingredients except the parsley and cilantro until combined. Add fresh herbs and mix well.
Use as a sauce for grilled fish, chicken or vegetables.
Enjoy!
Great post. I’m going to put this list of spices on my refrigerator as a reminder.