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Review and Giveaway: McCormick® Spices for Health (TWO winners!)  

Wednesday, March 3, 2010



Power Up Your Plate with Simple Swaps

Super Spices Add Antioxidants and Flavor to Your Favorite Foods and Save on Sugar, Sodium and Fat


Start off the New Year right – with a focus on simple ways to improve the foods you already enjoy. Adding spices and herbs is an easy way to power up your plate, boosting flavor and natural antioxidants of your favorite foods, while making it easier to replace salt, sugar and fats. Try an easy 30 day challenge to help make “super swaps” a healthful habit this year.

“Making simple swaps in your daily routine can make a big difference,” says registered dietitian Wendy Bazilian, DrPH, MA, RD, author of The SuperFoodsRx Diet. “For example, sprinkling 1/4 teaspoon Oregano Leaves into your dishes instead of a 1/4 teaspoon of salt will save you 575 mg of sodium and add as many antioxidants as 1 1/2 cups fresh spinach,” says Dr. Bazilian. “Or, swapping 1 tablespoon brown sugar for 1/4 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon in your oatmeal can save 12 grams of sugar, 45 calories and add antioxidants comparable to 1/4 cup raspberries.”






The McCormick® www.spicesforhealth.com website offers a whole host of convenient, delicious ways to add natural antioxidants at every meal in an easy-to-follow calendar of super swap tips. Site visitors can start with the day’s featured tip or download a full 30 day calendar for an idea per day to last a full month.

Here are a few more super swaps to get started:

•In place of salt, wake up your taste buds with Herbed Scrambled Eggs. Beat 1/8 teaspoon thyme into 2 eggs before scrambling.

•Give your grilled cheese sandwich a super swap makeover. Instead of pan frying with 1 tablespoon butter, save 100 calories and 11 grams of fat by broiling it open-face, topped with sliced tomato and 1/4 teaspoon oregano for added flavor and antioxidants.

•Skip the mayo, and try mixing 1/2 teaspoon of curry powder into 8 ounces of plain yogurt to use as great spread on a turkey and vegetable pita sandwich.

•Instead of drizzling oil onto baked chicken breasts or roasted vegetables, shake on some herbs – thyme, rosemary and oregano are all great matches – and a squeeze of lemon juice. For every tablespoon of olive oil, you’ll save 120 calories and 14 grams of fat.

Applying the super swap approach is also cost-effective. With each pinch, dash and spoonful, spices and herbs can help boost the antioxidant power of practically everything on the plate for only pennies. In fact, a 1/4 teaspoon of Ground Cinnamon costs only $0.03 and a 1/4 teaspoon of Oregano Leaves adds up to just $0.06 .

To take the 30 Day Super Swaps Challenge and find more tips and recipes, plus information about the antioxidant content of Super Spices, visit www.spicesforhealth.com.


While you're visiting the McCormick® site, check out the recipes! Here's the one that we tried out:

Herbed Beef Italiano

This recipe is a weeknight winner. For you, just one pan means minimal cleanup. For your family, tasty pasta with ground beef, tomatoes and mozzarella cheese delivers immunity-boosting antioxidants.

Makes 6 (1-cup) servings.

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 pound lean ground beef

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

1 teaspoon McCormick® Oregano Leaves

1 teaspoon McCormick® Rosemary Leaves, finely crushed

1 teaspoon McCormick® Thyme Leaves

1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained

1 can (14 ounces) reduced sodium beef broth

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 cups uncooked rotini pasta

1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Cook beef, onion and bell pepper in large skillet on medium-high heat 4 to 5 minutes or until beef is browned. Add oregano, rosemary and thyme; cook and stir until well mixed.

2. Stir in tomatoes, beef broth and tomato paste. Bring to boil. Stir in pasta. Reduce heat to medium; cover and cook 10 minutes or until pasta is tender. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese; cover. Let stand 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

NUTRITION INFORMATION

per serving

Calories: 342

Fat: 10 g

Carbohydrates: 36 g

Cholesterol: 62 mg

Sodium: 450 mg

Fiber: 3 g

Protein: 27 g

This recipe was GREAT and we all loved it!!! Yum!

GIVEAWAY


TWO of you will win an assortment of spices from McCormick®!

To enter, visit the 30 Day Challenge site, find the 30 Day Challenge Calendar, and tell me the Spice Swap Tip for Day 17.

That's it! Easy peasy!

For extra entries, view my Giveaway Rules, updated 2/2/10. This giveaway will end at noon on March 17th, 2010.



And don't forget to print your very own copy of the 30 Day Challenge Calendar!

Thanks for stopping by, and good luck!

Disclaimer: I was sent a variety of McCormick® spices to review. The opinions expressed above are solely my own and yours may differ. Receiving a product will NEVER influence what I write in any review.





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Posted in , , , , , , by Angela Marion

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