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I love adding various spices to my dishes, because they can provide an intense depth of flavor without having to add a lot of extra fat or sodium.  One of my favorites to add to savory dishes is cinnamon.  Just a dash gives it a nice depth of warmth and rounds out the overall flavor of the dish without necessarily tasting like cinnamon.  I think I sprinkle cinnamon on pretty much everything!  Did you know that 1/2 tsp of cinnamon has as many antioxidants as a 1/2 cup of raspberries?  Another great one is cayenne.  McCormick sent me some educational materials in the mail and I thought I would share their top seven spices for your health.  Each one of these

have a high ORAC score (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity), which means they are capable of combating those free radicals in our systems that can cause trouble if not neutralized.  Herbs and spices contain phytonutrients like those found in fruits and vegetables because they are essentially a concentrated dried form of the fresh variety.  Many herbs and spices are high in antioxidants, but seven have been identified as powerhouses . . .

Best Spices for Health

• Cinnamon – sprinkle on hot chocolate, oatmeal (of course!), yogurt and even in savory dishes like soups and stews.
• Ginger – this can be great sprinkled into hot or iced tea and of course added to your favorite Asian-inspired dishes.
• Oregano – I love oregano’s earthy undertones and it pairs really well with cheese on a grilled cheese sandwich, in Italian dishes and I even like to add it to Mexican-style dishes like tacos.
• Ground Red Pepper – Add just a pinch to give warmth to mac and cheese, hummus, guacamole and all your favorite egg dishes like omelettes and frittatas.
• Rosemary – Woodsy, herbal and wonderfully fragrant, rosemary pairs really well with meat and hearty Italian dishes.
• Thyme – With it’s delicate, fresh, lemony flavor, thyme is one of my favorites.  I like to use it with fish or chicken, along with a nice squeeze of lemon.
• Yellow Curry – Primarily found in many Indian dishes, curry lends a wonderfully powerful flavor that can be smelled for miles, in a good way 🙂  Curry contains tumeric, which is another spice powerhouse.

When a recipe calls for fresh herbs, you can always use dried too.  As a general rule just use 1/2 of what the recipe calls for.  But always be sure to taste because some dried herbs can be quite powerful.  When using dried herbs I like to smash them in my hand a little just to ‘waken’ them back up, and of course be sure to check those expiration dates or else you’ll be adding nothing but bland, dull flavor, ick!

In honor of all this spicy talk, I’d like to share a great burger recipe . . . but this isn’t your average burger, being that there isn’t any meat or loads of saturated fat to be found in Kabocha Black Bean Burgers!!

Originally I made sweet potato black bean burgers which are equally tasty.  Kabocha is just one of my new favorites and I had one on hand to use!  So this time around I cut up one medium kabocha squash into fourths, placed it on a sheet pan with a bit of water in the pan and rub down of olive oil, covered it with foil, and baked at 375 F until tender (about 45 minutes).  Then proceeded with the rest of the recipe (linked above).

The only thing this time around instead of sauteing them like I usually do, I tried to bake them on the Silpat to use less oil.  Well, let me tell you that was an EPIC FAIL!  Even with the Silpat which is not supposed to stick to anything, these suckers got stuck.  I should have put at least a little olive oil on the bottom before baking (note to self).  They still tasted really good though!  That’s all that counts 🙂

We put them atop of some whole wheat naan along with a dollop of NF Greek yogurt.  I had an egg on the side since I was craving one.  And what is a burger without some chips?!  Kath’s Kale chips to be exact.  These have sure become a favorite in our house because they are an easy way to get your greens, plus they are fun to eat too.  I like to sprinkle mine with a little bit of olive oil, kosher salt, garlic powder and parmesan and then bake at 350-375 for about 15 minutes.  Watch them close or else they burn!

The kale chips are even good for garnish!

Another one of my absolute favorites utilizing spice is a Pumpkin Spice Energy Bar created by Dan as seen on The Health Nut.  Dan is not only a professional Chef, but he is also working to become a Registered Dietitian.  What a combo! Seriously guys, this is one of the best homemade bars I’ve made.  The texture is similar to a Clif bar, but not quite as cloyingly sweet and sticky.  This time I reduced the pumpkin spice to 1.5 tbsp, and also used spelt flour instead of wheat because I had it on hand.  Check out the first time I made these, along with the nutrition facts here.

I like to use a scoop to keep them from sticking to my hands.  Two of these scoops made one bar and one made a ‘power ball’.

These little ‘power balls’ have about 100 kcals each, 17g CHO and 4 grams of protein.

Here are some other posts you might enjoy with spice love (please excuse the weird formatting since these are some of my older posts that were transferred over from my old blog):

• What the heck is sumac?
• Yogurt Marinated Chicken w/ Quinoa pilaf
• Chicken Shawarma
• Falafel Pita
• Jamaican Jerk Chicken
• Spaghetti Squash with Roasted Veggies in a Peanut Curry Sauce

What are some of your favorite spices and ways to use them?

Chrysta is giving away some awesome cooking gadgets, Check it out!!