116: The Top 5 Spices We Could Not Live Without

Anita: 0:58

Hey there, Sunshine. Welcome to the Power On Plants Podcast, where your host, Jarrod and Anita Roussel and we're absolutely head over heels for whole plant foods, and helping you navigate this incredible plant based journey. That's because our lives have been completely changed by plant based goodness, we used to struggle everyday with excess pounds and low energy, vascular disease, joint pain and lack of sleep, just to name a few. And even though we're medical professionals, we still weren't getting practical answers that actually worked. So we dug into the research, we started living what we learned. And now we both of our lives back. And that's what we want for you to the truth is you can do this, and it's not hard, you just need a way that will bring real and lasting change. And that path, it has to be simple and enjoyable. And it's got to be delicious, too. So are you ready to live your life to the fullest, then you're in the right place, because Living without limits. That's what power plants is all about. So pull up your chair, grab a matcha latte, and let's get started. So I've been thinking lately about those memes that you see. I think they're called memes, right?

Jarrod: 2:12

Yes, the pictures with the words on them? Yes. Right.

Anita: 2:15

Um, so techie and online ish. Are those actually words? I'm not really sure.

Jarrod: 2:21

If they're not, they are now. But I think you know, we mean,

Anita: 2:26

you know, how you see these things? And they're talking about, if you could only have a few of these, which would you choose? I mean, these are the things you could have, and you couldn't have anything else ever again of this type of food? Which ones would you be willing to give up? And which ones could you never live without? So started thinking, Okay, I'm on a deserted island, right? All by myself, I can only have certain foods. Now I'm not going to talk about today, the big major things, we need to do another one about like the main staples on your plate. But one of the things that is the most important and building a lifestyle that you love, okay, a lifestyle that you absolutely look forward to every day is getting the flavor into your feed. Okay, I say this time and time again, the herbs, the spices, the sauces, if you don't have those, you're never going to be able to build a life that you enjoy enough to continue forever. Okay, this is huge. This is a big key to successful healthy plant based living. So I started thinking, if I can only have five spices, five spices growing around me or herbs, what in the world would I want those to be I can never have any other spice. And this is huge to make some all about building flavor profiles, right? It's hard to narrow down to just five. It is because you're talking about these are the things that give your food Yeah, fade has its flavor, I mean, produce is going to have good flavor in it already. If you've got really good produce, but you've got to have those flavor boosters, you know, you're never going to cook a plain chicken breast and expect it to taste amazing on your plate after you've just pulled it in water. Never. But somehow people come to this way of living and they feel like they're just steamed some veggies or if I just ate a plain salad, I'm gonna feel so great. I'm not gonna care what it tastes like, or, I don't know, we get a lot of crazy ideas on our mind. And I just think that's where a lot of people go wrong in this way of living, or they get a cookbook or they get some recipes, and the flavor just falls flat anything. I'm gonna have to live on food that tastes like cardboard the rest of my life. And that is a nightmare. I mean, the thought of that is just, yeah, it's painstaking

Jarrod: 4:45

if it's not tasting, like cardboard, at least, is just uninspiring. You know, just a moment ago, I had this kind of mental image that the spices are like the decorations that you have for a party. So if you have a party in your house, and then you put up I'm thinking streamers and all that, but I'm sure they're much better different decorations. But the spices add the the three dimensionality to the food, they add the just the zing, the texture, the interest, the flavor

Anita: 5:15

that makes you want to keep eating it. I mean, it's the flavor that exactly come back for more. If you don't have the flavor, it's just not going to work. So what are those five spices that I can do without you not teach about? And Jarrod also teaches about flavor profiles and Sutter membership community. Because this is something I'm huge about what is the flavor profile was putting certain spices and seasonings together just like you go to the store and buy a taco packet, like a taco seasoning packet or chili seasoning packet. I don't recommend that at all. There's so much easier ways to do it that are cheaper, that are just as fast and that are going to taste great. But you've got to learn what's in that like what would you normally put in it and what would you want to leave out that's going to cause problems with your health right So that's what I'm going for here. When I'm thinking in my mind, which ones would I want to have, I want to have those ones that are going to give me great flavor profiles. And I think about two of my favorite things. I love Mexican food. And we love Italian food. So I've got to have things that are going to give me those base flavors. Now, there are a lot more things in the flavor profiles for Mexican and Italian than five things that I can mix together. What are those things that I've just got to have that can't live without? One of the things is garlic. Garlic is huge. To me, it packs a huge health punch, it fights inflammation, it kills bacteria, it kills viruses. Why would I not want to be eating a lot of garlic, and it's deserted island, so I don't need to worry about how smell. But the funny thing here is people think that garlic stinks. And honestly, really, it just smells like garlic. It doesn't sink What stinks is body editor. And what if that's true? What if we seem disappear? Eating healthy, plain base? This is one of the first things we noticed after a month or two of eating this way. It's like, I don't have to use deodorant anymore.

Jarrod: 7:03

I don't stay or very rarely. Yeah, I mean, I would say the the odor has gone down 90% or greater. Oh, yeah. It's only mainly like if I go outside to do a full day of working out in the yard or something where you get a little bit, but it's not that game. It's not that people three houses down, cut a little start looking around thinking what is that smell? We don't have that anymore.

Anita: 7:27

Now we don't. It's amazing how this way of living can change your life. So it's just garlic. And it's just good.

Jarrod: 7:35

thing is we're all eating it. So if everybody stinks, nobody notices. And like you said, if you're on a deserted island, there's not anybody there to smell you guys will just be healthy and love your food.

Anita: 7:46

But we're not on a deserted island. We see people on a regular basis. And do we eat garlic every day? Pretty much. Yes. I mean, I put it in everything. I'll order it by the hand and we probably use a head a day. I wouldn't doubt that we use that much a day in Cook cooking to take some of the smell away. It just does. But eating healthy. Your body just doesn't put those odors off. I mean, I almost feel like even when you eat those things that normally have those natural smells like garlic, you still don't the smells don't come through your skin the way they used to. It's bizarre, but it's so true.

Jarrod: 8:17

It's just been doing it so long. I'm sitting here thinking is it because we're just used to it but nobody's ever complained or look like they're trying to discreetly scoot away from

Anita: 8:28

so garlic. I would not do without it. I don't I don't care if it smells or not. Although I don't think it really does like it used to. It's just delicious. It makes us feel amazing. It's healing and it gives us so many things. I mean, Mexican, garlic, yes. Italian. Garlic. Yes. Indian food. Garlic. Yes. So, look, you gotta have your garlic. I mean, it goes in American food, right?

Jarrod: 8:50

Garlic goes with everything.

Anita: 8:52

I'm like, I'm just gonna throw this in there. This is an herb or spice but onion. You know if that's one of my basic vegetables I've got to have so if we're going to talk in a future episode about the actual foods that go on my plate, onions got anyone on there because garlic onion are powerhouses when it comes to healing. If you're not getting them on a daily basis, you've got to learn easy ways to do that. It's amazing how wonderful they taste. Okay, so garlics my first one. Yes. Can you think of any other ones? Did you want me to name my five and you can tell maybe a couple that you like

Jarrod: 9:24

as well. I didn't realize we were just limiting it to five. I say you guys why would you said that? Well, I wrote down what we typically use, but this is fun doing the top five that's a fun thought experiment. Let's

Anita: 9:38

start thinking about too you know, we just went on vacation and what do we take and what do we pack and we can talk about that too in some future episodes but but the thing is if if I can just take five spices with me what five spices are I'm taking I'm definitely taking my garlic whole fresh garlic if I don't have that I'm taking garlic powder, one of the tape but preferably fresh raw. Okay, and then

Jarrod: 10:01

island you may need to take it fresh so you can plan to engross alar maybe this experiment could be the the what seeds would you have for your five favorite in your pocket? Like if you're just That's it? Yeah, jumping out of an airplane with a parachute onto a deserted island. What do you have in your pocket? So you know, survive and be healthy. We're

Anita: 10:22

really going survival and healthy but they're linked together they really are survival and eating healthy. Do we want to survive? And do we want to survive well not just survive but actually live a life that's filled with abundance that's built this a full life right? That's what we're going for here. We don't want to just survive. Okay, so garlic or smoked paprika is next. Why is this next because if you like many things if you like smoky flavors in your food, this right here is a beautiful key that you've got to add into your life on a regular basis. Smug paprika. gives you that flavor of a smoked meat. And you can use this in soups and stews in so many ways. I mean I use it in semi different things. You can use it in Italian Yes, you can use it in Mexican yes American yet there's all kinds of different ways you think about anytime you want a smoky meaty flavor, you're going to add a few pinches of that in. It's delicious. Alright, and then chili powder. Now this one gets a little tricky because when you buy chili powder in the store, it's not just a chili powder. Okay, so you're not just getting sent in like a chili powder. This just ground up into chilies. A lot of times when you buy some chili powder, it's like a mix. So it's chili powder. It's cumin, it's garlic, it's onion. So look at the back of your chili powder. Now, if I was cheating, I just buy mix, and that'd be great. But I can only have one, then it's going to be something spicy, like maybe a chipotle chili powder or something like that. That's gonna give me a little kick of heat. Because I know heat is super healthy for me. And it also just makes things taste interesting. But it's funny before we started eating this way, I never really liked spicy foods. Do you like them better? Now I know you always like spicy foods. But do you prefer more spice now than you used to?

Jarrod: 12:14

Yeah, I would say we eat it more. And it doesn't seem to be as hot which it is known that the more you eat it, your body acclimates to it. But they've also done studies where if you stop eating those hot foods for a period of time, then when you eat it, it seems hotter than it used to. So that what that says is just your body gets used to it,

Anita: 12:34

your body gets used to it. It's just like any of the changes you make with healthy plant base, your body starts getting used to it. And then if you add in one of those things that you stopped eating, it says, oh, wait a minute, what do you mean to me? Right, exactly. And then you that's one of the keys is starting to listen to your body. i My goodness, I think I've named about three podcasts already are for the two. So you better we've got to start writing these down because I'll forget what I said we're gonna do. Okay, now. So we've talked about garlic, smoked paprika, chili powder, definitely. So now I want to move on. If I can't have the mix, that I've got to have cumin, because I love that because that can give you a lot of different that's the flavor you think of when you think of chili or a Mexican seasoning. But you don't want to add too much because it can get bitter. And I have a friend who was adding a lot of cumin to her beans, and she couldn't figure out why she never liked our beans taste. And it was because of the bitterness that was coming off the cumin. So but I love Cuban it just gives that you think about a Mexican flavor. And it really isn't just a plain chili powder. It's that smoky Paprika is that Cumin is that garlic powder, it's

Jarrod: 13:41

the mix of all the different mix of all this.

Anita: 13:44

Now I'm gonna go a little bit for number five, I'm gonna go a little bit more Italian. Okay, I want some oregano.

Jarrod: 13:53

I had a feeling you're gonna say that was between that or basil and one that we do use more. So we

Anita: 14:00

do use both but I think if I had to choose between the two, my preference is oregano. Again, both of these all these herbs and spices are filled with antibacterial antiviral people keep asking how do I study

Jarrod: 14:12

though, but as are studied to show anti viral properties, I mean, you go on pubmed.gov Look that up oregano, viral or antiviral, and there's stuff that pops up,

Anita: 14:23

right. And so here's the thing, we know that these things help us fight off naturally fight off diseases, and to not only fight them off, that would mean prevent and reverse. So there are studies again and again and again of how people add these foods in and they start not having as much room in their life for the things that are sabotaging their health because they're adding the good stuff in and all of a sudden, you've just built this new life for yourself the snowball effect of goodness, so you start with one thing another thing another thing another thing and pretty soon you've got this massive rolling snowball. That's he a healing think about it as healing it's not something that's destructive, it's actually bringing you the healthy life the full life that you're going after. But it starts by just doing these few things. So if the if there were only five things that I could have or seeds in my pocket, garlic seeds, paprika seed, I probably have to smoke it over the paprika I probably have to guess I guess maybe I have to keep pepper

Jarrod: 15:26

or something we could put over a fire that you could smoke it

Anita: 15:30

right so I'm gonna have to make that powder crush it up and then I'm gonna have to smoke it over my over my fire and then I've got to have a chili some kind of hot spicy chili that's going to bring the heat into my food again it's going to help me fight off more of the infection the bacteria keep me healthy make me feel good rev up my metabolism as well. I mean that does help to rev up your metabolism. I don't know how much you wanted to that on a deserted island because then you might need more food Maybe, I don't know, that's gonna lead us into another topic. So I'm gonna stay on topic here. And then I've got cumin and oregano. What are your thoughts on your five?

Jarrod: 16:07

I would say that these are the ones that yes, we use the most. But then I was also just thinking I was thinking broader. So I know that when we want to try to replace things like a sausage or a dish that would traditionally use a sausage, then, well, fennel H Terragen. Sage, we use dill a fair amount, because we do like the flavors of ranch dressing. And

Anita: 16:29

you've already almost added five. Can you believe how fast that went by? I mean, you added five right there. And you probably haven't even barely scratched the surface of all the

Jarrod: 16:39

20 on my list. And that's only about half of the spices that we have in our pantry.

Anita: 16:44

It's amazing what the spices and herbs can do for you. I want you just this week, just to pick five new spices and herbs that you're going to add to your pantry and start adding into your dishes on a regular basis. If that overwhelms you, and you think, oh, wait a minute, I'm busy. That's a bit too much. Pick to two and get them into your life. Two days this week, each one twice this week. It's not hard to do set it out somewhere where you can see it, shake it on to your phage put it into your feed, look up a new way to use it. In a plant based dish. Look up plant based dishes that use garlic, plant based dishes that use um, a smoked paprika. I mean, I can probably name 100 Off the top of my head. It's just think of ways that you would like if you're gonna make chili or taco soup or something really easy in your instant pot. raw beans, I do not make beans unless I'm cooking beans to make my brownie batter hummus, or a yummy desserty treat maybe

Jarrod: 17:51

like, well are just playing hummus. I was singing playing hummus. No, no,

Anita: 17:54

I would add garlic to that. But I'm saying unless I'm making something like brownie batter hemas Garlic is going into that pot of beans, onions are going into that pot of beans. And now today not only that, I'm adding in thin slices and small dices of all kinds of vegetables into those beans, particularly greens. So one of the easiest ways to get greens to your life. But I'm digressing. So we'll get back to those spices. The thing is garlic, garlic, you can easily add that into your beans and your instant pot chilies and soups, you can squeeze it into your salad dressings raw. It's amazing on salads, there are a ton of ways just to get garlic, just pick two things. And

Jarrod: 18:39

I would also say that if for some reason it doesn't work out exactly the way that you want, don't give up. Maybe you're putting too much. I mean, I think that's not really possible. But yeah, sometimes if you put too much, then there may be an overbearing flavor. Or maybe you didn't put enough he

Anita: 18:54

put a little bit and he think I didn't even taste it. That's just I don't know, it's just not satisfying, add

Jarrod: 19:00

more, or you were putting in Terragen. But you thought it was going to have the effect of fennel. I mean, if you don't have the wet away to open, like if if you've never had fennel before, and you try to open up a lot of times they're sealed, you may not be able to smell it, because usually the smell is going to give you an approximation of how it's going to taste. But if you again, if it just doesn't work out, again, don't give up.

Anita: 19:22

And if it's not familiar with by it, try it try a little bit of it plain. Think about when that flavor hits your tongue, what does this taste like that I've tried before, what dishes have I had before that kind of flavor, and then make those dishes with it.

Jarrod: 19:38

That's kind of a cheat way. I love that.

Anita: 19:40

I love doing things like that. I mean, that's how I live. That's how I function on a regular basis. And that's what I show other people how to do because that is how you make it enjoyable. Once you can find those flavors that you love, you're going to eat those same types of dishes, you're just going to have them in a new way that love you back. So your goal this week is to get at least to me new, or new spices and herbs or to spices and herbs that you just haven't been using on a regular basis. You tried them before, but you just stopped using them for whatever reason, you know, we get in the habit. So we get out absolutely get in routines. So it's time to get in a routine of adding some new things that are going to boost your health, make you feel great help you prevent and reverse disease. That's what this is all about giving you the life that you're going for the one that you can envision yourself. What's this going to do for you? What if you could reverse disease, the disease that you're fighting with right now I'm struggling with right now? How would that change things for you? How would that how would your life looked different? Start thinking about what that would look like for you. Because a lot of times we think that things aren't reversible when they actually are? No we've been told this is your genes we have episodes I think on that, you know, you just been told all these different things. And these mindset shifts have to happen. And new thought processes processes have to come into place. And that is what is possible when you start seeing small changes, adding up on each other bringing big results. So you've got this small urban that small urban that small urban, a month down the road, you add two new a week, how many is that 2468 New herbs and spices your body's been craving hasn't been getting. And now it's getting them on a regular basis. Not only do you feel great, your food starts tasting better, you know, and then you're happier. And you're thinking, wow, I probably could do this for the rest of my life. And that's how it happens. One Small Change at a time. We're excited for you. Leave us a message, let us know send us an email at podcast at power on plants.com. And also make sure to get your name on the waitlist for the membership. These are the kinds of things we love sharing more about inside the membership, helping you get those changes one at a time, so that you can build the life that you love, go to power on plants.com/membership and sign up on the waitlist and you'll be one of the first to know when the membership opens. And it's happening soon. So we look forward to getting to know you more. And do drop us an email and let us know which two spices and herbs you're going to get into your life this week. And we look forward to hanging out with you again next time on power on plants.