Approved Spices and Foods for Healthy Cooking in the Kitchen

Hi ,

Thanks to the internet, health conscious consumers have a
treasure trove of information they can peruse to get experts’
two cents on what every healthy kitchen needs to function
at its best.

I’ve seen a lot of these lists, and most of the time, I’m not too
wild about people’s suggestions. Some of them are good, but
the majority of them are off-based.

But every once in a while, I’ll find a list that I’m on board
with. And as it happens, I recently happened upon a list
of 10 “essentials” for a healthy kitchen. I agree with seven
out of 10 of them.

Garlic

You’d be hard pressed to find something more nutritious
and delicious than garlic. Adding garlic to virtually any
dish turns the ordinary into something extraordinary—
taste-wise and health-wise.

Perhaps the best way to get more garlic into your diet is
by adding it straight from the garlic bulb itself. But be
careful, because a little garlic goes a long way (too much
garlic, and you’ll literally start to smell like it. That’s a
good thing if you’re a food, but not if you’re a human).
Breaking off just a clove from a garlic bulb for a stir-fry
can help lower your cholesterol and blood pressure levels,
two of the biggest risk factors for heart disease, heart
attack and stroke.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

If I could only use one cooking oil for the rest of my life,
extra virgin olive oil would be it. The benefits of olive oil
are out of this world, as just two tablespoons a day can help
your skin maintain its radiant glow (thanks to its richness
in vitamin E), and keep your waistline trim (by replacing
the brunt of your fat intake with weight-friendly
monounsaturated fats). While all olive oils are good, stick
with the one that’s gone through the least amount
of processing: Extra virgin.

Ginger

Virtually every spice connoisseur hails ginger for its
versatility. From sautéed side dishes to main course
chicken dishes, after dinner delights to midday drinks
(try sprinkling ginger in freshly squeezed lemonade…you’ll
thank me later), no spice rack is complete without ginger.
But besides being an excellent accompaniment to any dish
that calls for zest, it’s loaded with active ingredients that
help treat painful physical conditions like migraine
headaches, nausea and sore throats.

Cinnamon

I tend to associate cinnamon with comfort, as it’s a frequent
accompaniment of comfort foods like cinnamon buns,
eggnog and baked goods. But there’s another reason why
it’s associated with comfort—it’s rife with healing qualities.
For generations, cinnamon has been used to help treat the
flu and common cold, stop the growth of harmful bacteria
(thanks to it’s antimicrobial properties), and increase
circulation by stimulating blood flow.

While cinnamon can be used in savory dishes, it’s traditionally
found in sweet treats. As such, one of the best ways to enjoy
cinnamon in a sweet, yet healthy way is by sprinkling whole
wheat toast with cinnamon, a touch of honey, and a splash of
flax seed oil. Buenisimo!

Peanut Butter

Unlike ginger and cinnamon, peanut butter has no curative
qualities. But let’s face it: No cupboard is complete without
a jar of peanut butter. It’s likely the first thing many of us
ate on a slice of bread, and the first thing we dipped a celery
stick into. But like it or not, peanut butter is among the
most calorie-rich foods on earth and it doesn’t hold a candle
to almonds in terms of nutritional quality.

That said, almond butter and cashew butter are probably
better options than peanut butter, but considering peanut
butter’s ubiquity of usages, I agree with The Learning
Channel: No kitchen is complete without it. Just make
sure your peanut butter’s list of ingredients includes the
following: peanuts. Nothing else.

Turmeric

Thai restaurateurs would be lost without turmeric, as it’s a
critical ingredient to curry. Hot dog vendors wouldn’t fare
much better, as turmeric gives mustard its distinctive yellow
hue. But similar to its spice-based relatives, turmeric has
health properties that go beyond the palette. From
rheumatoid arthritis to inflammatory bowel syndrome,
turmeric helps relieve painful symptoms—both in the
physical realm and the mental realm (recent evidence
indicates turmeric may help slow the progression of
Alzheimer’s disease).

Coconut Oil

I’ve really come around on coconut oil. Long railed against
for its saturated fat content, coconut oil’s saturated fat
content is different. Unlike most sources of saturated fat,
which is made up of long-chain fatty acids, the saturated
fat in coconut oil is made up of medium-chain fatty acids,
which are easier for the body to break down for use as energy.
They also help increase the body’s metabolic rate.

For this and many other reasons, use coconut oil for all your
oil-based cooking needs (thank goodness I don’t have to
decide between olive oil and coconut oil; I’d have a heck of a
time deciding which is the best to use).

So, I’m on board with seven of The Learning Channel’s best
bets for your kitchen. And the ones I’m opposed to—canola
oil, butter and cottage cheese—aren’t bad per se. I just
don’t consider them truly necessary for a healthy kitchen.
Yes, butter is better than margarine. Yes, cottage cheese is
packed with protein. And yes, canola oil has a lot of heart
healthy monounsaturated fats.
So in a pinch, these aren’t terrible options.

But seeing as how we have options to choose from, given
cheese’s and butter’s long-chain fatty acid makeup, and
given olive oil and coconut oil’s superior nutritional profile
(lower in calories, higher in heart healthy monounsaturated
fats, etc.) only seven of the 10 pass my muster.
But seven out of 10 ain’t bad.

To Your Success In Fitness
Jorma Persson
Every Other Day Diet