I recently had an opportunity to attend a Denver blogger night at Sprouts Farmers Market. Do you guys have local Sprouts stores? I’ve really grown to love these stores… mostly for their HUGE produce sections. Recently, they’ve started interacting regularly with the Denver blogger community, which has been so much fun!!!
Through blogger events like the one I recently attended, I get an opportunity to shop outside of the aisles I frequent and peruse new areas of their stores. This week, we spent extra time their vitamin section as this week’s event was all about Turmeric!
Yes, you heard me right, we spent the evening learning about all the health benefits tied to ginger’s cousin… turmeric.
I’d only cooked with Turmeric once before, making this cauliflower and tomato dish. Beyond this dish, I didn’t really know much about turmeric, so it was the perfect event for me to join!
We met at the store on a Tuesday evening to learn all about this tasty spice. When I arrived, I was so excited to see Tara from Treble in the Kitchen, Bre from Bites with Bre, and, of course, to meet so many new ladies who are passionate about health and cooking!
Our tour started off right in the lobby, with samples being poured for us to taste. Yes, that’s right, poured! Have you ever heard of Golden Milk? I hadn’t heard about it before that night, but I’ve since heard it’s a wildly popular way to enjoy your turmeric and its healing benefits. Good for both body and mind, I tried my first sip of Gaia’s Golden Milk spice mix right away.
Full Disclosure: I’ve referred to myself many times here on the blog as the “world’s pickiest human” and the idea of drinking a hot milk drink that was yellow… it didn’t really appeal to me. When I tried it, I was PLEASANTLY surprised and actually finished my sample! It tasted like a little cup of fall. Sweet, spicy and warm.
I received a container of this Golden Milk mix in my goodie bag, and I can’t wait to experiment a little with it. It’s a beautiful spice blend with date powder, black pepper, cinnamon, and turmeric. I can’t wait to see how it tastes as a flavoring for fall soups… yum!
The lovely Suzanne Farrell of Cherry Creek Nutrition led the programming for the night, offering us some great suggestions for how to incorporate turmeric into our day-to-day and sharing why we should consider using more turmeric.
It’s not only an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant, but it also has cancer-fighting properties. There’s not one of us these days that hasn’t been touched by cancer, so the idea that this yellow spice can help fight cancer makes me a fan right away. It also can positively influence mood (yay!) and there are even studies that show Alzheimer’s patients who ate curry (with turmeric) once a week performed better on cognitive testing than their non-curry eating counterparts.
The next part of the tour took us into the store to find turmeric on the shelves. Not only can you take turmeric in supplement form, but it can also be spotted in many different tea blends!
One of my favorite products that we were introduced to was this Turmeric Boost from Gaia. In store, we sampled this spice mix on honey crisp apples, and you guys… they were incredible.
I’ve since bought my own container, and put it in a spice shaker.
With that, I can easily sprinkle turmeric on any of the recommended snacks: popcorn, honey crisp apples, pineapple, yogurt, oatmeal, or tea. Apples were the first ones to get a shake at my house… so yummy!
Bottom line: There are so many spices out there for you to taste! Turmeric not only adds a ton of flavor, but lots of great health benefits as well. As always, before incorporating a supplement for health reasons into your diet, please consult with a medical professional.
As always, Sprouts did not send us home empty handed. We all walked away with lots of turmeric products to enjoy, and a few fun ingredients to experiment with as well (um, pineapple!!) And, as though arranged, the Denver sky turned a bright orangy yellow on my way home, as though it too was dedicated to an evening with turmeric. The perfect ending to a lovely evening. Thanks, Sprouts!
Do you cook with turmeric?
Disclaimer: I received compensation from Sprouts; however, all of the opinions and comments about the event and brand are exclusively my own and do not necessarily represent that of the company.