Have you ever tried to incorporate herbs and spices into your diet?
Did you know the simple act of adding some spice to your meals, opens the doors to a long list of benefits for your mind and body?
Herbs and spices have long been present in the fields of health, nutrition, and medicine, and it’s proven to have a positive impact on health and wellbeing.
This week on the Healthbite podcast I was fortunate to chat with Dr. Melina Jampolis, a media personality and a medical expert in the areas of food, health, and nutrition and an internist and board-certified physician nutrition specialist.
From our conversation I’ve created a list of easy ways you can incorporate new herbs and spices into the food you love.
Start with wherever you are.
Get comfortable incorporating herbs and spices into your day-to-day diet by trying one new thing at a time. When you change one step at a time it’s easier to implement and stick with.
Make it top of mind to have spices on the counter.
Consider leaving your spices in a place you will easily see them when you are prepping your food or actively cooking to remind yourself to use them!
Try throwing something in your smoothie or drink.
Adding herbs and spices to smoothies is completely underrated! Consider nutmeg or turmeric in your coffee or cinnamon in your tea. Even just the slightest addition of either can make a big difference in both the flavor and benefits to your body.
If you don’t want to start doing recipes, just use spice blends. Make it easy for yourself.
Going from zero can be really overwhelming and makes long-term success difficult. If you’re not used to following specific recipes don’t! Try using spice blends in the foods you’re already consuming to start and work your way into incorporating spices and herbs into your diet as your comfort level and confidence increase. Hint- homemade salad dressing is an easy place to start
Keep it simple and do what you like.
Unlike what we are led to believe, making healthy changes to your diet doesn’t have to be complicated. Focus on what you can do and what works for your lifestyle.
Create a habit out of it.
The more you practice anything, the more it becomes habit. Give yourself time to get into the habit of using spices and don’t make it complicated or a chore. We are only human and no one is perfect.
You can make yours better than how store-bought ones taste.
Herbs and spices can be pricey grocery items. To ease the strain on your wallet, create your own spice blends. Home mixed spices tend to taste better than what you buy at the store anyways!
Interested in diving deep into this topic? Check out the full conversation HERE.
In good health.
Xx,
Dr. Adrienne
