Use Spices to add Flavor to your Healthy Meals

 

Are you up for the great flavor challenge: creating crave-able meals with less sugar, salt, and fat? Look no further than the spice aisle. It’s filled with low-calorie, antioxidant-rich nuggets of flavor. They add texture (think steak encrusted with peppercorns) and color (ahem, could someone please pass the sunshine hued saffron rice?). For centuries, spices have been revered for their medicinal properties across the globe. So if you like to treat food as medicine, consider HarvesTime’s spice corner as a mecca for good health.

For more on the health benefits of spices, read these articles:

 5 Spices with Healthy Benefits – John Hopkins Medicine 

Spices and Herbs That Can Help You Stay Healthy – WebMD 

Eight of the World's Healthiest Spices & Herbs You Should Be Eating – EatingWell.  

 

Here’s a list of Healthy Spices and how to use them...

 

Cardamom 

Native to India, cardamom is considered the Queen of Spices. Its complex flavor offers an intense potpourri of flowers and pine. In the West, it’s often narrowly associated with a chai latte or Scandinavian desserts. However, it shines in both sweet and savory dishes and plays a starring role in meat dishes from India and the Middle East. Since ground cardamom quickly loses flavor, it is best purchased as pods and ground in a mortar and pestle. Pair it with cinnamon, cloves, and other warm spices.  

Turmeric

This member of the ginger family brings a golden glow to the table. It contains curcumin - a powerful antioxidant which helps to guard against inflammation. Turmeric possesses a mildly bitter, earthy flavor and a little goes a long way. Wondering how to incorporate this trendy superfood into your diet? Mix it into marinades, sauces, salad dressings, and soup.

Garlic

This heart-healthy spice is revered across the globe for its pungent, mildly nutty flavor. It pairs well with a myriad of other ingredients including ginger, cumin, and basil. Purchase it fresh or as a shelf-stable powder. 

Cinnamon

Who knew that tree bark could be so tasty? (Yes, that’s where cinnamon comes from!) Research shows that this warm spice may help improve heart health and regulate blood sugar for individuals with type 2 diabetes. Thanks to its sweet, flavor-packed profile, cinnamon is a delicious sugar substitute. So if you’re looking for ways to temper your sweet tooth this year, stir it in or sprinkle it on. We sell ground cinnamon and sticks – please take your pick.

Replenish your spice rack 

 

Cardamom

Turmeric

Garlic

Cinnamon

Other Spices