Spice Mix for Diabetes

Have fun experimenting with your food and control your blood sugar 

Many people with diabetes start to view their kitchen cupboard as the enemy. Food becomes a chore. A constant reminder of what you can't eat, of what you have given up. However, food - the right food - is on your side. When you start to think of your food as medicine, and as every meal being an opportunity to fine tune your health, then you are on the way to being back in control again. 

Many of the spices languishing at the back of your kitchen cupboard are actually potent phytochemical allies. In other articles I have mentioned the blood glucose lowering power of cinnamon. Half a teaspoonful of cinnamon sprinkled onto porridge (low on the GI glycaemic index) in the morning with some grated apple is a great way to start the day. It even helps to spice up a herbal tea or hot milk. However, variety is the spice of life as well as cinnamon!

Here is a spice mix that can be used instead of stock cubes, bouillon seasonings, artificial gravy powders, or cook-in sauces. This spice combination will really help to keep your blood sugar under control/

Ingredients

• 40 g Cinnamon
• 20 g Turmeric
• 20 g Cloves
• 20 g Seaweed
• 20 g Bay leaf

Directions

Make sure all the spices are dry. If the seaweed is not crisp, toast for a few minutes in a hot, dry frying pan. Put all the spices into a pestle and mortar, or a coffee grinder, and mill to a fine powder. Store the mix in a tin or jam jar.

Add a teaspoon or two every time you make a soup, stock, stew, casserole or gravy. Sprinkle it over fish or meat as a savoury crust.

You can also add a spoonful of this mix to a spoonful of soy sauce and a low GI index syrup such as agave syrup and mix into hot toasted nuts and seeds as a healthier snack when you get a craving for crisps!

by Monica Wilde
3 December 2014