Friday Foodie Fix- Secret Ingredient is Cinnamon

Friday Foodie Fix- Secret Ingredient is Cinnamon

Friday Foodie Fix

This week’s secret ingredient for Friday Foodie Fix is cinnamon!  I do love cinnamon.  People use it most often during this time of the year but I love it all year long.  It’s great in smoothies.  I had planned to share my latest smoothie with you this week and I got carried away with my Dairy Free Cheese Crisps and 3, 2, 1 Chili.

To gather a little more information on cinnamon I turned to my favorite reference, The Deluxe Food Lover’s Companion (Deluxe Edition).  This is a must have for any cook and all kitchens.  If I find an ingredient or a word associated with food I don’t know or just want more information on, I turn to this book.  I just found out it’s available for the Kindle!  How perfect for travel.  This is going on my holiday wish list for sure.  The following informat came from said book.

It notes that cinnamon was once used in love potions and to perfume wealthy Romans.  Sign me up!  Cinnamon comes in two varieties, Ceylon and Cassia.  Cinnamon is the inner bark of a tropical evergreen tree.  They harvest it during the rainy season when it’s more pliable.  You can purchase it in sticks or ground into powder.

Friday Foodie Fix- Secret Ingredient is Cinnamon Now each type of cinnamon has it’s own unique flavor.  Ceylon cinnamon is mildly sweet in flavor and a buff color while Cassia cinnamon is dark reddish brown color and has a more pungent slightly bittersweet flavor and is often what you will find on spice bottles just marked cinnamon.

Cinnamon is great in both sweet and savory dishes.  But not only does it taste good, but it is good for our bodies.  Here is a listing of the many benefits I found while searching cinnamon.  I have not verified these claims but have read them in many places.  This list comes from The Healthy Snacks Blog.

antifungal, antibacterial and antiparasitic properties

anti-inflammatory properties

help lower blood sugar and may lower choloesterol

excellent source of manganese, dietary fiber, iron and calcium

and this one being my favorite, just smelling cinnamon improves our memory and performance of certain tasks (I wonder if this is true)

Any way you slice it, cinnamon is a gold mine to be tapped into.  How do you use cinnamon?  In your sweet or savory dishes?  Do you have some just hanging around the kitchen to make things smell wonderful and help with your memory?

Please share your recipes via Mr. Linky and if you don’t have a blog please leave them in the comments section.  Now that we know we want more cinnamon in our lives, we need more ways to use it!

Guidelines:

  • Share your recipe title along with your name and blog name.  example- Diane@ The WHOLE Gang-Cinnamon Spiced Pecans.
  • Link to your individual post, not your homepage and then link back to this post.  This completes the circle and allows your readers to find more recipes using the secret ingredient.
  • Include your name and recipe title.  Please link back to this post in your recipe post.

Please follow these guidelines so I don’t have to delete your link.  Every week some get deleted.

Next week’s Secret Ingredient is ………. Sage!

November 26th …..Thanksgiving Inspired Meals

December 3rd …… Cabbage

December 10th ……. Ham

December 17th ……. Yams

December 24th ……. Readers choice

December 31st …… Wine

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11 Responses to Friday Foodie Fix- Secret Ingredient is Cinnamon

  1. Linda November 12, 2010 at 9:09 am #

    Cinnamon is an easy one. I linked up my cinnamon rolls and a dairy free version of my pumpkin pie which I just posted today. Thanks for hosting.

    • TheWHOLEGangLLC November 12, 2010 at 9:12 am #

      Linda those both sound wonderful. Thank you for sharing.

  2. Gluten Free Diva November 12, 2010 at 9:35 am #

    My fave cinnamon is Vietnamese Cinnamon. I get mine from Costco – I use a ton of it, so it helps getting it in a big size container. I added my Cinnamon Raisin Bagels to your carnival. Thanks Diane! xoxoxo, Ellen

  3. Shirley Braden November 12, 2010 at 10:42 am #

    I use cinnamon tons … all year round. I linked up several where cinnamon plays a starring role. 🙂 I have more, but I'll give somebody else a chance now. 😉

    Shirley

  4. Svendblad Josephine November 12, 2010 at 12:55 pm #

    Jo@ NuttyKitchen-Spiced Butternut Squash Fries

  5. Glugle Gluten-Free November 12, 2010 at 1:47 pm #

    Oh, I love cinnamon. And, it's one of Sam's favorite smells. If I bathed in it, he would be the happiest man on earth. BTW, did it mention what certain tasks it helps with? 😉

  6. Heather@CeliacFamily November 12, 2010 at 4:40 pm #

    I love cinnamon almost as much as chocolate. 🙂 I linked the recipe for Cinnamon Dough. I hope that's OK. It certainly isn't tasty for eating, but I love having the smell around this time of year. I use it for making ornaments, air freshners, and like modeling clay for the kids (and me) to play with.

  7. Rachel November 19, 2010 at 2:01 pm #

    I'm soooo failing at linky's lately. haha. Love cinnamon, can't wait to try some of these recipes out.

    • TheWHOLEGangLLC November 19, 2010 at 3:28 pm #

      Rachel- there are so many good ones to choose from, good luck.

  8. Carol November 22, 2010 at 10:01 am #

    Hello you amazing woman, I want to wish you and your family a really fabulous Thanksgiving! xo, carol

    • TheWHOLEGangLLC November 22, 2010 at 11:34 am #

      Thank you Carol, Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours too.