Brrrrrt!
Getting chilly around these parts, isn’t it?
What are you doing to keep yourself warm – apart from jumpers, slippers and heaters?
Do you eat warmer foods at this time of year? I’m a cold frog, so I do. I also use extra serves of spices to help keep me toasty on the inside.
Ginger: grating fresh ginger (or including a good 1/2 tspn dried powder) into soups, curries, bakes and stir fries is an easy addition to your kitchen habits. It blends well with both sweet and savoury foods.
Fresh ginger tea is also one of the nicest warming drinks you can make for yourself on a cold day – add a squeeze of lemon, some fennel and little honey to soothe a sore throat.
Ginger is a warming digestive – good for upset stomachs, nausea and bloating. It’s also an antioxidant and a circulatory stimulant.
Cinnamon: this spice can be sprinkled onto porridge or yoghurt, baked into biscuits and cakes, or brewed up in an aromatic tea.
Cinnamon is an aromatic digestive that has a heating effect on the body. It also helps to regulate blood sugar metabolism (so I suppose it’s a good thing to include in sweet treats then…)
Turmeric: using fresh turmeric (or dried powder) for curries, stir fries and juices is one of the best ways to get it into you. Turmeric is often used in small quantities to colour foods. However, it is useful for far more than that! This magical and slightly bitter spice is a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory.
Bear in mind that the bright orange/yellow pigment it leaves behind might last a day or so on your fingers!
These are my current top three, but the list is pretty changeable, depending on how I’m feeling and what I’m cooking. What are your top spices?