Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Health Minute: Benefits of Cinnamon

Hey Lovelies.
Love Cinnamon like me? But wonder it's health benefits?
Here you can read up!
Available throughout the year, the fragrant, sweet and warm taste of cinnamon is a perfect spice to use during the winter months.
It can be bad if you have cinnamon in the wrong way.. Bad ways of Cinnamon include: cinnamon sugar, cinnamon buns, cinnamon swirl raisin bread.. But if you don't have it the bad way, Cinnamon and your health benefits from it are really amazing for you!
Cinnamon can help lower blood sugar,  cholesterol, and triglyceride levels in people with type 2 diabetes, and a recent study found that adding a little over a teaspoon to rice pudding even helped tame blood sugar in people without diabetes. Cinnamon also contains polyphenols, antioxidants that create healthier arteries and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Also another benefit is Cinnamon is a very energizing scent that has also been found to help increase alertness.

Best thing is Cinnamon Ground/Sticks added to so many different things makes it taste so yummy!
Both ground and stick forms are equally healthy, I tend to use ground more but in drinks I use sticks and ground. You don't need to grind your own, store bought ground is equally healthy.
Sticks have a shelf life as 1 year and Ground is 6 months.
I aim for about 1/2 to 1 1/2 teaspoons (or one to two sticks) a day.
So incorporate some of the nice spice into your daily diet!
I adore Cinnamon most around the winter months/the holidays, it just is such a beautiful scent!

Some GOOD Ways of Cinnamon Serving Ideas:
* Skip the flavored oatmeals/cereals/&pancakes and here's the healthy way, Add 1/2 to 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon to hot oatmeal or cold cereal, or a tablespoon to pancake batter. I love cinnamon most in oatmeal!
* Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon straight into your coffee, latte, or cappuccino.
* Sprinkle Cinnamon and drop a Cinnamon Stick and some honey into your morning drink, I love Warmed Almond Milk.
* Make a healthy vegetarian pumpkin pie from scratch and I like to add a little more than 1 teaspoon.
* Healthy Cinnamon Toast.. Drizzle Flax Seed Oil onto whole wheat toast and then sprinkle some cinnamon and drizzle some honey and enjoy!
* Cinnamon in beans like in your Burritos/Nachos are delicious!
* Skip the high sugared, high fat flavored yogurt and Stir 1/2 teaspoon into plain yogurt. Its healthy and so yummy!
* Spiced nuts are high in salt and mostly bad for you, so here's the healthy way. Coat 2 cups of raw nuts with a mix of 1/4 cup honey and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and roast at 350F for 15 minutes.
* Make a healthy dip for your veggies, Mix 1/2 teaspoon into 2 tablespoons peanut butter. :)
* I like to mix 3 - 6 dashes of Cinnamon into my morning smoothie. A hint of bliss!
* Add ground cinnamon while making curries.
* Toss 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon over broiled grapefruit or bananas.
* Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon over sweet potatoes or carrots.

So go get trying some of these ways of Cinnamon in your daily diet!


Stay Healthy..
xoxo
Simi

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