How To Spice Up Your Food

We know eating healthy is 80% of the battle when it comes to achieving our health and fitness goals. And when we tell ourselves eating healthy food is boring, flavorless, and downright gross, we put ourselves on the fast track to failure! Just like exercise can and should be fun, cooking meat and veggies should be delicious.

Here are 6 fool proof spice combinations to help you level up your cooking skills, explore the world with your tongue, and (hopefully) get you out of your food rut!

Here are 6 simplified spice combinations that you can use to take your healthy meals from bland to bold. Each is measured for a pound of food:

• Mexican:1 Tbsp (15ml) Chili powder, juice of 1 Lime
• Greek:1 Tbsp (15ml) Oregano, 2 tbsp (30ml) Olive Oil, 2 tbsp (30ml) Lemon juice
• Italian:½ Tbsp (7ml) Oregano, 3 cloves (½ tsp/2.5ml powdered) Garlic, ½ tbsp (7ml) Basil, 1 can diced Tomatoes
• Indian:½ Tsp (2.5ml) Cumin, 1 tbsp (15ml) Curry, ½ tsp (2.5ml) Coriander
• Chinese/Japanese (this makes a marinade or stir fry sauce): ¼ tsp (1ml)Ginger, ¼ cup (59ml)Tamari(coconut aminos or soy sauce), 2 Tbsp (30ml)Rice Vinegar, 3 cloves (½ tsp/2.5ml powdered) Garlic, dash red pepper flake, 1 tbsp (15ml) Sugar (honey) 

FOR THE COMPLETE SET, ADD THESE TO YOUR SHOPPING LIST(HERBS AND SPICES ARE DRIED): 

• 2 limes
• 2 lemons
• Can or jar of diced tomatoes
• Coconut aminos or soy sauce
• Rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
• Chili Powder
• Oregano
• Basil
• Parsley
• Red Pepper Flake
• Garlic Powder (or fresh bulb of garlic, your choice)
• Curry powder
• Cumin
• Coriander
• Ginger powder

If you go to the store and buy these 15 items, you’ll be set to make a wide variety of dishes from all over the world. These spice combinations can be used for chicken, fish, eggs, beef, or pork; roasted, sauteed, steamed, or microwaved veggies; stir fries, and more!

After a while, you’ll learn which spices you like in a dish and which ones you can live without. Maybe you like cinnamon in your curry or maybe you can’t stand the taste of ginger. That’s totally cool! Your food is YOURS!

TURMERIC

Turmeric is a MUST HAVE!!  It is a beauty food that’s used inside and outside the body. Turmeric is a part of the skin-brightening masks Indian brides like to wear before their weddings, but it’s also amazing when ingested. Turmeric is sometimes referred to as “the golden spice” (it’s a pretty awesome color for sure!) and it’s been used medicinally for at least 4000 years.

Studies on turmeric tend to focus on curcumin, which comes from turmeric, but they have shown the spice to be beneficial when dealing with arthritis, gynecological issues, blood disorders, infectious diseases, cancer, depression, diabetes and alzheimer’s, …the list goes on.

HOW TO SELECT AND STORE

Even through dried herbs and spices are widely available in supermarkets, explore the local spice stores or ethnic markets in your area. Oftentimes, these stores feature an expansive selection of dried herbs and spices that are of superior quality and freshness than those offered in regular markets. Just like with other dried spices, try to select organically grown turmeric since this will give you more assurance that the herb has not been irradiated. Since the color of turmeric varies among varieties, it is not a criterion of quality.

For the most curcumin, be sure to use turmeric

Turmeric powder should kept in a tightly sealed container in a cool, dark and dry place. Fresh turmeric rhizome should be kept in the refrigerator.

TIPS FOR PREPARING AND COOKING

Be careful when using turmeric since its deep color can easily stain. To avoid a lasting stain, quickly wash any area with which it has made contact with soap and water. To prevent staining your hands, you might consider wearing kitchen gloves while handling turmeric.

If you are able to find turmeric rhizomes in the grocery store, you can make your own fresh turmeric powder by boiling, drying and then grinding it into a fine consistency. 

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