By: Erin Paly
Here at Karen’s Spice Kitchen, we want to wish everyone peace and good health during this wild ride known as the spread of coronavirus.
Are you hunkering down at home for self-imposed quarantine? If so, you’re certainly not alone. We’d venture to guess that you’re probably starting to miss some of your favorite restaurants that may have closed temporarily and looking for some inspiration for easy, yummy dishes that can be made right in the comfort of your own home.
Now is the perfect time to whip up some restaurant-quality meals to keep your body healthy and satisfied and your immune system powered up during these tough times. With minimal ingredients required to make our recipes, spend less time in the store and more time at home with family and the savory smell of curry wafting from your kitchen! Plus, if you’re home with kids, why not use this time as an opportunity to bond as a family through the joy of cooking?
One of the best parts about trying new exotic recipes is experimenting with different spices and other unique ingredients to create amazing flavor. You may think that many of these creative dishes are only to be found in pricey specialty restaurants. But this does not have to be the case!
Cooking these recipes at home is fun, cost-effective, and with the help of Karen’s Spice Kitchen, do-able!
While cooking at home, it also becomes easier to eat meals that are nutritious and healthy, because we can avoid the temptation of unhealthier options on restaurant menus. (Plus, in the spirit of “social distancing”, it’s worth a mention that we ship straight to your door!)
Still wondering how else our spice blends can benefit you and your family right now? Read on! You are likely aware of just how wonderful vegetables are for the health of our bodies, but you may not know just how great spices are as well. The spices contained in a quality curry blend are not only delicious and savory, but they are also chock-full of health-promoting compounds and phytochemicals that your body will thank you for.
Curry leaves, for example, have been used medicinally for thousands of years to improve digestive comfort and immune system health.
One of the compounds in turmeric, curcumin, is a powerful antioxidant with anti-inflammatory properties. Animal studies have shown that curcumin helps to slow the growth of cancer cells, and researchers have also connected it to a reduction in neural plaque that can lead to Alzheimer’s Disease.
Now here’s something interesting: Black pepper contains a compound called piperine, which aids in the absorption of curcumin into the bloodstream. This is a prime example of how eating a single dish that contains a wide array of spices can benefit not just our palates, but our overall health, as these spices all work together in concert.
Ginger is another powerful spice used in most of Karen’s Spice Kitchen blends, which helps improve digestion, relieve systemic inflammation, and provides cardiovascular benefits.
And the list doesn’t end here. Each Karen’s Spice Kitchen spice blend contains a multitude of healthful spices – up to 18 in each blend! Nearly every ingredient needed to create a Karen’s Spice Kitchen recipe contains potent health-advancing qualities.
Now back to the veggies for a moment: Yes, vegetables are notoriously good for us, possessing a wide variety of detoxifying and anti-inflammatory properties. However, a lesser known fact is that the way we prepare them is important too.
Garlic is one food with powerful medicinal properties, including reducing blood pressure and improving cholesterol levels. Chopping, mincing, crushing, or pressing garlic at room temperature and allowing it to sit for 5-10 minutes can create enough time for the enzymes in garlic to begin to interact with one another, boosting cardiovascular, anti-bacterial and anti-cancer benefits.
Cooked tomatoes have these same great benefits - cardiovascular, anti-bacterial, and anti-cancer. The cooking process increases lycopene, an antioxidant in tomatoes that may reduce your risk of heart disease, cancer, and macular degeneration. Cooked tomatoes are also high in Vitamin C and iron.
Cilantro (fresh green herb) or coriander (dried seeds used as a spice) has antimicrobial properties and has been shown to help chelate heavy metals from the body. It is known for fighting off infections, particularly bacterial infections such as E. Coli. Most of Karen’s Spice Kitchen’s spice blends contain coriander and the dishes made with them are even more delicious when garnished with fresh chopped or whole cilantro leaves.
That’s all for now, folks. We hope you feel inspired to make a delicious and healthy choice that your taste buds, waistline and wallet will all thank you for. Order your Karen’s Spice Kitchen blends today! (Order 3 or more and get FREE shipping!)
Once again, good health and best wishes to all. Keep washing your hands!
To order online www.shopkarensspicekitchen.com and please share with your family and friends! Happy cooking… and have a spicy day!
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