A new year. A new plan.


For 2011, after struggling to come up with a singular New Years Resolution for ourselves, we decided to do break down our ideas and goals and do each of them for a set period of time. We started on January 3rd with "Not Eating Out" for 36.5 days and set out to keep the momentum going over the entire year. What we found throughout that process though, was the easier, less collaborative they got, the harder it was to keep, and the easier they were to let go. We SO enjoyed everyday of our toughest challenges - and this year, having reflected on what worked and what didn't- we've decided to bring back our favorites- push ourselves by doing less longer and keeping each other motivated along the way...


So, for 2012, please join us on our new adventure and wild ride that will be 50 days.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

The Beauty of Cinnamon

Many of you noticed that Jon referenced our impressive use of cinnamon in our meals, both for its delicious taste and also it's incredible medicinal powers, but wanted to know more... what's the deal with cinnamon?

Well, cinnamon is truly a beautiful herb to me and I'll use this blog post to break it down and spread the cinnamon love...

First, the cinnamon that we typically use as a spice in our cooking or even as incense is derived from the bark of a small tree common in South Asia and the Middle East. I love this both because I love trees (a lot) and because there is something so special and beautiful about using the bark of a tree that is connected to over thousands of years of culture and traditional remedies.

Cinnamon is also one of my superfoods, meaning it has extremely high anti-oxidant levels, such a plus. It also a wonderful source of fiber (yay!), iron (yes!), magnesium (oh-yea!) and calcium (genius.).

With all of these nutrients, cinnamon is a known remedy for:
  • Aiding in digestion
  • Reducing arthritis pain
  • Boosting memory and cognitive function
  • Treating toothaches
  • Curing headaches and migraine pain
And the oil from the cinnamon has strong anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties.
Are you lovin' on cinnamon yet?

Need one more reason?

A recent study done on cinnamon in 2003 raised heads for indicating that cinnamon's use to treat type 2 diabetes, which is growing at an in our country today. In this study, sixty men and women with type 2 diabetes were divided randomly into six groups. For forty days, groups 1, 2 and 3 took either 1, 3, or 6 grams of encapsulated cinnamon daily. The other three groups took a wheat flour placebo in the same doses. Results showed that the group taking the highest dose had significantly reduced blood gluclose and triglyceride levels after just twenty days. And, the other two groups taking the lower cinnamon doses also showed the same positive results after the forty days. The groups taking the cinnamon capsules also lowered their cholesterol (10-24%) without affecting their "good" cholesterol. None of the placebo groups showed any of these positive effects.

Now, if you weren't lovin' on the healing powers of cinnamon before, how can you resist? We put it in just about everything we cook, so take note, but many more recipes and ideas on how to include it in your cooking to come!
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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousJanuary 14, 2011 at 8:35 AM

    Cinnamon is the best! I have a cinnamon twist for breakfast every morning and have actually been LOSING weight. I didn't realize til now that it might also have to do with why my brain seems to function more clearly lately! Yay cinnamon!

    ReplyDelete
  2. JessJanuary 14, 2011 at 5:51 PM

    Yes! Cinnamon is so great to have for breakfast! I usually try to put a little in my morning coffee and/or tea :o)

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