Cooking 101: Spices You Should Try To Add In Your Next Meal

Spices and herbs are some of the most fun things to play around with when you are cooking. They make your food tastier and even healthier. One very interesting thing about spices is that you can mix several of them at a time.

Benefits of Using Spices on Your Meals

Are you hesitant to use different spices on your next meal? Well, you don’t have to because they can provide you with the following benefits:

• Reduce blood sugar levels and lower the risk of diabetes
• Improve brain function and memory
• Reduce inflammation in the body
• Fight infection
• Boost immunity
• Help prevent allergies
• Improve heart health

Spices To Incorporate Into Your Next Meal

1. Chili

Chili, one of the most popular paprika substitutes, is perfect for those who love spicy stuff. There are many variations of chili that you can add to your food, including ground chili powder, fresh chili, chili flakes, and cayenne pepper.

Dishes that taste great with chili include:

• Chili Con Carne
• Tortillas
• Tacos
• Chicken Wings
• Hummus

What’s more, chili helps boost your metabolism, which can aid in your weight loss efforts. It also contains vitamin C, which boosts your immune system, as well as vitamins A and E. Furthermore, an active component of pepper called capsaicin helps reduce inflammation and pain for those who are suffering from the likes of arthritis. Chili can also help combat allergies.

2. Cumin

Cumin is quite a staple in Mexican and Indian dishes. It has a warm and earthy feel that deepens the taste of any food.

Some of the famous dishes that are made even tastier by cumin are the following:

• Tacos
• Jeera Vegetables
• Meatballs With Cumin, Tomatoes, And Mint
• Roasted Chicken With Cumin And Garlic
• Chili With Cumin
• Indian Cumin Rice With Spinach

Apart from enriching the flavor of certain dishes, cumin also has a lot of health benefits. For one, it has antibacterial properties. It is rich in iron, and contains vitamin E, a great antioxidant that promotes healthy, good-looking skin. Furthermore, cumin promotes good digestion and can induce weight loss. One of the main components of cumin is thymol, which helps treat hemorrhoids.

3. Cinnamon

Cinnamon is not just a sweet spice that smells good. It is also a great food ingredient because of its many benefits. It also does not cost much, and you can add it to almost anything, including your drinks.

Here are some types of food to which you can add cinnamon:

• Cinnamon Pancakes
• Oatmeal With Cinnamon
• Hot Vanilla
• Christmas Cookies
• Bagels
• Meatballs
• Milk

Even though cinnamon is sweet, it has low-calorie content and is sugar-free, thus reducing the risk of diabetes. It also has antioxidant properties that can help slow down the process of aging. Furthermore, it may also aid in combating neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

4. Curry Powder

Another popular spice used in Indian dishes, curry powder is a wonderful addition to your meals.

Yellow in colour, curry powder can be used in the following dishes:

• Hummus
• Roasted Vegetables With Curry
• Curried Coconut Chicken
• Chicken Curry

Like all the other spices mentioned above, curry can also help reduce inflammation. It is something that people have been using for ages to treat pain and arthritis. Moreover, curry powder reduces the risk of heart complications because it contains cardamon and sweet basil that help lower blood pressure.

5. Garlic Powder

Did you know that you can make your own garlic powder? This is a good thing to stack your pantry with because this goes well with almost any meal. In order to make garlic powder, you will just have to separate the garlic bulbs and remove their skin. Then, you cut and peel the cloves into thin slices. Dry the garlic using your oven or food dehydrator. Once it dries up, you can now grind it using a food processor, pestle and mortar, or coffee or spice grinder.

You can use garlic powder on the following dishes:

• Garlic Bread Sticks
• Pan Fried Potatoes
• Breaded Chicken Cutlets With Garlic Powder
• Garlic Broccoli
• Garlic Roasted Chicken

Garlic, which contains very few calories, is rich in vitamin C, vitamin B6, and manganese. Also, garlic is a powerful immune system booster and is an effective treatment for colds.

Conclusion

Spices are not just amazing taste enhancers that you can experiment with in the kitchen, but they also possess a string of amazing health benefits! Spices like chili, cumin, cinnamon, curry powder, and garlic powder contain loads of vitamins and other healthy properties, which help treat inflammation, heart complications, as well as neurodegenerative diseases, like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.