My favorite spice+ Ch-ch-ch Chia seed giveaway:)

Happy Monday everyone,


Welcome to March:) Ahh..one of my favorite months. Now I'm being a bit selfish here as my birthday is only 14 days away but I do have other reasons as well (albeit not as exciting as celebrating being one more year older). March is that month I look forward to because I can start hiking again, spring clothes are showing up in store windows, and I can start to buy seeds. I'm definitely a spring lover, even if it means nothing but rain for a month or two...its better than snow and ice. Are you seeing signs of spring in your hood? I saw tulips coming up in a garden bed the other day and the birds are chirping like crazy:) Loving it!!


I grew up with a mom who loved to use all kinds of spices! She is a great cook and rarely needs a recipe to make flavors pop! I am very jealous of her talents and hope that one day I will know which herbs go well together and which don't. I have a good teacher to help me with that one:) One spice that she introduced me to was turmeric. That bright orange/yellow spice that gives curry its glorious color and your hands if you don't watch out..lol! As we know with many whole foods, their color can be associated with powerful molecules that is usually good for us. For example, beta-carotene which is the red-orange pigment found in fruits and veggies. Beta-carotene is converted in the body to vitamin A which is an antioxidant and is very important for maintenance of your eyes (plus many other uses). When it comes to turmeric, the active ingredient that gives it that stunning color is curcumin. According to Natural News, curcumin brings order to the cell membrane which makes the cell more resistant to infection. That's right, turmeric "organizes" your cell membrane. How cool is that? I recently listened to an audio between David Wolf and Dr. Mercola and the doc said that curcumin is going to be one of the most talked about molecules in 2010. This must be powerful stuff. Turmeric has so many health benefits that it would take more than one post to write about them all. So, if you want to know a bunch of health benefits to this yellow powder check out Meghan's blog or this article by the National Post. My mom swears by this stuff if she is not feeling well. She adds it to her homemade broths.


I love adding turmeric to almost everything. Salads, soups, dressings, casseroles, curries, stir-fry, and dips all benefit from this beautiful spice. One reason I love it is because it is so versatile and its flavor is not overpowering. I add a lot and I don't taste it as other herbs I add are more potent in the taste department. It basically gives everything a yellow tinge...like the sun! I just picked up a half of a jar of organic turmeric for less than $2. It's so easy to find and cheap! So the next time you are down the spice isle pick up some and start sprinkling!

PS Meghan has this awesome recipe for turmeric tea that sounds so amazing. I'm definitely going to give it a try.

PPS Bitt is having a giveaway of 2lbs of chia seeds from Chia Seeds Direct! Yumm...chia seeds are da bomb (lol) and so jam packed with nutrients, especially omega 3's! So get on over to her blog and enter.



Have a great rest of the week and don't forget to pass the turmeric on your dinner table!