Surprising sweetness of cinnamon – Ideal sugar substitute

Today I would like to share my new culinary experience with you. I have learned firsthand, that cinnamon can be used as sugar substitute. We all know, that sugar is the so called white death and because we are addicted to it, now we should try to slowly eliminate its amount from our everyday food. I did not cover this topic in my previous posts, because I believe, that now we all can agree, that it is poison, if consumed in excess. We can find it everywhere, because it is present in almost every processed food. This is why it is so hard for us to break the "bad" habit, but surely it will help, if we try to consciously avoid it from the food we prepare. Personally I have not get rid off sugar completely, because I love desserts, cookies or cakes from time to time, but I do not use sugar in my everyday cooking.

Cinnamon is special. It is aromatic, hence its benefits are questionable. What I mean by that is, that not many people like its aroma and taste. Turmeric, on the other hand, is a different story. It does not have a pronounced aroma or taste, hence its popularity. Cinnamon suffers a great deal especially if we take into account, that it is also an attractive and healthy spice.

Scientific research shows, that regular consuming of cinnamon positively influences our health. It can lower the blood sugar levels, because of a couple of reasons. Firstly it stimulates the insulin receptors as well as it deactivates the insulin receptor blockers, thereby helping us to control the carbohydrate metabolism. Secondly, addition of cinnamon to food high in carbohydrates, like for example rice, controls the way sugar is released into the bloodstream, hence it reduces the rise in blood sugar after eating. Another interesting feature of cinnamon is, that it has a very potent anti-microbial activity. As a result, it helps with our digestion as well as it can be used as an effective preservative. Patients suffering from rheumatoid disease find, that eating a combo of cinnamon and honey everyday makes them pain-free. Finally you can also enhance your brain powers by eating the same combo everyday. No matter what your reasons for eating cinnamon research supports the notion, that cinnamon has a unique healing abilities.

I have to admit, that I belong to a group of people who do not consume cinnamon on a regular basis. However, after what I have just learned, I will definitely re-examine my take on cinnamon in the kitchen. Especially, when it comes to preparing fruit cocktails and shakes. And this is what I wanted to share with you today. Just recently I felt like eating something simple and not complicated for breakfast, so I thought about the fruit shake. I had plums and pears, because they were in season. Combining them with yogurt is not a great idea, because the shake will become too acidic, if sugar is omitted. Hence I decided to test the idea, that cinnamon is a good replacement for sugar. For a cup of yogurt I used 1 teaspoon of sugar and the result was unbelievable. I do not remember the last time, when I got so surprised by synergistic effect of food combining (maybe the last time was when I prepared beet jam and carrot jam). My shake had surprising sweetness without the sugar. I suspect that we can attribute the mystery to its aroma, which helps bring out the natural sweetness of food. You have to try it! It is plainly unbelievable!

Yogurt fruit shake

2 plums

1 pear

1 cup yogurt

1 tsp cinnamon (or more)

Wash fruit in water with baking soda to remove the pesticides. Cut fruit into pieces and combine them with yogurt and cinnamon in a blender. Blend all until smooth and enjoy. In my opinion cinnamon is great to make yogurt shakes with acidic fruit, because it enhances the natural sweetness of fruit. Shakes made with alkaline fruit, on the other hand, can be made with addition of banana, which is great source of sweetness. However, given that combining fruit with any other food product is not recommended, because it can bring about unwanted intestinal fermentation, I think that it is a good idea to include cinnamon to all shakes and take advantage of its anti-microbial activity. In my opinion it is one of the most potent synergistic combos, because it allows us to indulge and enjoy something so delicious as yogurt fruit shakes. ENJOY!

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?dbid=68&tname=foodspice