Now that's a great food additive!

Yes. I'm one of them. One of those women who stand in the grocery store isle, reading every ingredient on the package of dried goods and frozen foods. I do this so I can pick food that doesn't contain ingredients I can't read with numbers after it to identify how many tries it took the chemist to cook up the recipe in his lab. Avoiding artificial food additives like preservatives, dyes and flavor enhancers has become a way of life for me. So people I know would be shocked to find me playing around with food additives in my own kitchen! But the additives I have been experimenting with are herbs and spices that are known to be powerfully protective of health.

Most of us have a hard time replacing things in our diet with something else entirely, which is what many books on nutrition suggest we do. Seriously, one book I read suggested eating a big bowl of lima beans for breakfast. How many people probably took the author up on that suggestion? Yuck! So in an effort to find a way to make the transition to healthier eating easier for all of us, I have been testing a less radical method, where I take whatever food I am already eating, and simply add something healthy to it.

Let's start with parsley. We all know we should eat more dark green veggies, right? Well I can count on one finger the number of times I usually do that in a week. But, if I sprinkle a some dried parsley into a casserole or even a TV dinner, my family doesn't object. It actually makes the food look better. The amazing news is how powerful parsley is. It removes toxins from the bloodstream, kills bacteria, improves digestive function and increases energy production.

Cinnamon is another great example. Studies have shown it helps regulate blood sugar in diabetics, reduces arthritis pain, overcomes medication-resistant yeast infections and reduces the proliferation of cancerous cells! So what a nice treat that it's also easy to add to cookies, sprinkle on popcorn or stir into oatmeal or even ice cream. Lately, I have been dumping about a teaspoon of cinnamon in my coffee filter before adding the coffee and brewing. Heavenly! Comparing the benefits of real cinnamon to the store coffees, which are usually labeled "artificially flavored" and it's a no-brainer.

There are many more healthful "food additives" you can use, but for now see where you can start adding these two power houses and start reading labels. Try to stick to ingredients your grandma would have had in her kitchen. Unless she wore a white lab coat, that is. Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/darwinbell/2053280192/