Healing Herbs and Spices

Adding herbs and spices to meals is one of the easiest ways to enhance the flavor of a dish but also give it a nutritional boost.

In addition to adding flavor to a dish, herbs and spices have natural healing properties – from helping boost memory to reducing inflammation to lowering cholesterol and blood pressure. Below are just a few spices you should reach for on a daily basis…

Pepper – capsaicin, the phytonutrient found in ground pepper (red, white or black) appear to have anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer affects.

Paprika – may help relieve pain or ease inflammation, and may even raise HDL (High density lipoproteins) – aka the good cholesterol.

Dried Italian herbs – a blend of or herbs such as rosemary, thyme, savory, oregano and basil, Italian herb mixes contain potent antioxidants, some of which may help relieve pain and even give your mood a boost.

Oregano – oregano has up to 20 times the antioxidant activity of many other herbs and has potent anti-inflammatory properties.

Garlic –before the introduction of antibiotics, garlic was used as an antiseptic to clean wounds and repel bacteria. Today, garlic is known for its beneficial effects on heart health as garlic may lower cholesterol and blood pressure.  Studies also link regular consumption of garlic with a lower risk of colorectal cancer.

Basil – rich in vitamin K which is important for blood coagulation and bone health.

4 simple tips to get you started

1. Keep dried herbs on hand but make sure to use them within a year or so – by then they start to lose potency.
2. Add Italian herbs to mixed green salads.
3. Use oregano and rosemary when grilling meats. It will help reduce the carcinogens formed when cooking meat at high temperatures.
4. Add a dash of black pepper to a cup of tea (often black pepper is added to chai) it enhances the antioxidant effects of the tea!

Healthy Pancake Recipe – Oatmeal Pancakes With Sliced Pears

Are you a fan of pancakes? Then you’ve got to try my yummy and healthy Oatmeal Pancakes With Sliced Pears recipe– husband approved!

When I was 9 years old I had my first pancake at a place called Elkhorn Ranch in Manitoba.

I remember for breakfast, the restaurant made dollar pancakes, which just means that they were about half the size of the palm of my hand. They gave me 5 of these delicious dollar pancakes with each serving.

From that point on, I was hooked.

Did I care at 9 years old that they were made with refined white flour? Of course not!

But now I do.

I’ve been on the hunt for a healthy pancake recipe for a while now, but it moved to the top of my list when a client of mine specifically requested a recipe for her weekend family breakfasts.

I remembered my client Eren shared a great pancake recipe from Tosca Reno a while back, so I pulled it out and used it as a launch point to make my Oatmeal Pancakes With Sliced Pears.

They’re simple to make and delicious.

How can you work these pancakes into a balanced breakfast?

Have them with a side of protein and a non-fat latte. Yum!

Here I’ve added an egg, however a serving of lean back bacon works just as well (nitrate free of course!)

Oh, and feel free to add some maple syrup. But if the pears are ripe, they’ll be beautifully sweet, and you won’t need much.

Click here to see my Oatmeal Pancakes with Sliced Pears recipe!

Enjoy!

Maria

Do you have a pancake story? Do you remember when you first tried pancakes? Share!

Delicious and healthy gluten free crackers – say what?

 Looking for healthy gluten free crackers? Look no further!

I’m always on the look out for healthy convenient foods to recommend to my clients but also just for me, and one snack food I love, is crackers. I mean I LOVE crackers. But so much of what I find on the grocery store shelves are either made with white flour (or wheat flour, which is the same as white flour) and many even still have trans fats, the worst fat of all fats.

So I’m always on the hunt for a cracker that is healthy, but of course it has to be delicious. There are many crackers on the shelves that are low calorie and high fibre, but let’s face it, they taste like cardboard. And there’s no way I want to eat cardboard, and I can’t imagine you do either.

Then 2 days ago, I discovered these crackers, and not only are they tasty and healthy, they are also gluten free.

I picked them up from Whole foods to try (it’s currently on sale for $3.99, so if you haven’t tried it before, now’s the time) and if I’m being honest, I thought they would just be –OK.

But, they are delicious!

Based on the serving size listed on the box – 13 crackers, it has about the same amount of fibre per serving as an apple.  I would recommend aiming for about 9 – 10 crackers per serving. That way, it will have about the same amount of calories and carbohydrates as a serving of pasta, noodles or potato (1/2 cup is a serving) or a slice of bread.

So for example, instead of having 2 slices of toast and peanut butter, you could exchange that toast with 20 crackers!

So far my favorite way to have them is with peanut butter but I hear they are great with hummus too (Thanks Misty!)

Try them and let me know what you think!

If you have a cracker you love, tell me about it! Like I said, I’m always on the hunt for healthy convenient snacks that are delicious!