Blog

Spice it up!

The key to keeping meals exciting and avoiding food ruts is a great spice cupboard. But spices and herbs aren’t just for building flavour, they also have numerous health benefits, like antioxidant properties that help fight disease in our bodies.

Spices are the seeds from a plant whereas herbs are the leaves and in some cases we use both parts from the same plant, for example coriander seeds and cilantro leaves, which are abundantly used in Indian and Mexican cuisine. Besides coriander, Indian cooks use a wide array of spices to make their own ‘curry’ powder or masala, much different than the curry powder you find premade which is more of a Western ingredient. Some of the essential individual spices to build beautiful Indian flavour are cumin, mustard seed, cardamom, fenugreek and of course turmeric which provides the yellow colour curry is known for. Turmeric also contains a potent anti-inflammatory compound called curcumin.

Herbs like basil, oregano, parsley, mint and dill are abundant in Mediterranean cuisine. Consider starting a few pots on your patio or in a sunny window and add leaves to salads, dips, pasta—pretty much everything! The green colour comes from chlorophyll, the ‘blood’ of plants, and another powerful antioxidant. The bay leaf is usually used dry and adds wonderful flavour to soups and legumes.

Some of the warm spices, like cinnamon and nutmeg, are major players in North African and Middle Eastern cuisines. These spices may be known for their baking benefits but also add a unique flavour to tagines and stews. Cinnamon may also be beneficial in lowering blood sugar.

Star anise is one of the prettier spices, along with saffron and both add very unique flavour to rice dishes whether more Asian or Mediterranean.

And of course we can’t fail to talk about how to really spice things up with black or cayenne pepper and paprika, chili powders or pastes. Some research shows that eating spicy food can help to fight cancer and keep our immune systems strong.  

So pick up a spice or two you’ve never used and experiment with some exciting new flavours—it will help add some new meals to your repertoire. Variety is the spice of life after all!

$post->category Timber\Term(16)
  • contents
  • Static class properties (1)
  • Available methods (30)
  • public id -> integer27
    public ID -> integer27
    public object_type -> string(4) "term"
    public PostClass -> string(11) "Timber\Post"
    public TermClass -> string(4) "Term"
    public _children -> NULL
    public name -> string(28) "Healthy Eating & Cooking"
    public taxonomy -> string(8) "category"
    public term_id -> integer27
    public slug -> string(26) "healthy-eating-and-cooking"
    public term_group -> integer0
    public term_taxonomy_id -> integer27
    public parent -> integer0
    public count -> integer17
    public filter -> string(3) "raw"
    public term_order -> string(1) "0"
  • public $representation :: string(4) "term"
  • public static from($tid, $taxonomy) -> static
    @param $tid
    @param $taxonomy
    
    @return static
    
    Defined in <ROOT>wp-content/plugins/timber-library/lib/Term.php:91
    public __call($field, $args) -> mixed
    This is helpful for twig to return properties and methods see: https://github.com/fabpot/Twig/issues/2
    @return mixed
    
    Inherited from Timber\Core
    Defined in <ROOT>wp-content/plugins/timber-library/lib/Core.php:26
    public __construct($tid = NULL, $tax = "")
    @param int $tid
    @param string $tax
    
    Defined in <ROOT>wp-content/plugins/timber-library/lib/Term.php:68
    public __get($field) -> mixed
    This is helpful for twig to return properties and methods see: https://github.com/fabpot/Twig/issues/2
    
    @return mixed
    
    Inherited from Timber\Core
    Defined in <ROOT>wp-content/plugins/timber-library/lib/Core.php:35
    public __isset($field) -> boolean
    @return boolean
    
    Inherited from Timber\Core
    Defined in <ROOT>wp-content/plugins/timber-library/lib/Core.php:15
    public __toString() -> string
    @return string
    
    Defined in <ROOT>wp-content/plugins/timber-library/lib/Term.php:81
    public can_edit() -> bool
    Can you edit this post/term/user? Well good for you. You're no better than me.
    @example
    ```twig
    {% if post.can_edit %}
    <a href="{{ post.edit_link }}">Edit</a>
    {% endif %}
    ```
    ```html
    <a href="http://example.org/wp-admin/edit.php?p=242">Edit</a>
    ```
    @return bool
    
    Inherited from Timber\Core
    Defined in <ROOT>wp-content/plugins/timber-library/lib/Core.php:100
    public children()
    @api
    @return array
    
    Defined in <ROOT>wp-content/plugins/timber-library/lib/Term.php:361
    public description()
    @api
    @return string
    
    Defined in <ROOT>wp-content/plugins/timber-library/lib/Term.php:369
    public edit_link()
    @api
    @return string
    
    Defined in <ROOT>wp-content/plugins/timber-library/lib/Term.php:383
    public get_children()
    @internal
    @return array
    
    Defined in <ROOT>wp-content/plugins/timber-library/lib/Term.php:331
    public get_edit_url()
    @internal
    @return string
    
    Defined in <ROOT>wp-content/plugins/timber-library/lib/Term.php:229
    public get_field($field_name) -> mixed
    @param string $field_name
    @return mixed
    
    Inherited from Timber\Core
    Defined in <ROOT>wp-content/plugins/timber-library/lib/Core.php:125
    public get_link() -> string
    @internal
    @deprecated since 1.0
    @return string
    
    Defined in <ROOT>wp-content/plugins/timber-library/lib/Term.php:265
    public get_meta_field($field_name) -> string
    @internal
    @param string $field_name
    @return string
    
    Defined in <ROOT>wp-content/plugins/timber-library/lib/Term.php:238
    public get_method_values() -> array
    
    @return array
    
    Inherited from Timber\Core
    Defined in <ROOT>wp-content/plugins/timber-library/lib/Core.php:115
    public get_path() -> string
    @internal
    @deprecated since 1.0
    @return string
    
    Defined in <ROOT>wp-content/plugins/timber-library/lib/Term.php:256
    public get_posts($numberposts_or_args = 10, $post_type_or_class = any, $post_class = "") -> array|bool|null
    Get posts that have the current term assigned.
    
    @internal
    @param int|array $numberposts_or_args Optional. Either the number of posts or an array of
    arguments for the post query that this method is going.
    to perform. Default `10`.
    @param string    $post_type_or_class  Optional. Either the post type to get or the name of
    post class to use for the returned posts. Default
    `any`.
    @param string    $post_class          Optional. The name of the post class to use for the
    returned posts. Default `Timber\Post`.
    @return array|bool|null
    
    Defined in <ROOT>wp-content/plugins/timber-library/lib/Term.php:283
    public import($info, $force = false)
    Takes an array or object and adds the properties to the parent object
    @example
    ```php
    $data = array('airplane' => '757-200', 'flight' => '5316');
    $post = new Timber\Post()
    $post->import(data);
    echo $post->airplane; //757-200
    ```
    @param array|object $info an object or array you want to grab data from to attach to the Timber object
    
    Inherited from Timber\Core
    Defined in <ROOT>wp-content/plugins/timber-library/lib/Core.php:59
    public link() -> string
    Returns a full link to the term archive page like
    `http://example.com/category/news`
    @api
    @example
    ```twig
    See all posts in: <a href="{{ term.link }}">{{ term.name }}</a>
    ```
    @return string
    
    Defined in <ROOT>wp-content/plugins/timber-library/lib/Term.php:398
    public meta($field_name) -> string
    Retrieves and outputs meta information stored with a term. This will use
    both data stored under (old) ACF hacks and new (WP 4.6+) where term meta
    has its own table. If retrieving a special ACF field (repeater, etc.) you
    can use the output immediately in Twig — no further processing is
    required.
    @api
    @param string $field_name
    @example
    ```twig
    <div class="location-info">
    <h2>{{ term.name }}</h2>
    <p>{{ term.meta('address') }}</p>
    </div>
    ```
    @return string
    
    Defined in <ROOT>wp-content/plugins/timber-library/lib/Term.php:421
    public path() -> string
    Returns a relative link (path) to the term archive page like
    `/category/news`
    @api
    @example
    ```twig
    See all posts in: <a href="{{ term.path }}">{{ term.name }}</a>
    ```
    @return string
    
    Defined in <ROOT>wp-content/plugins/timber-library/lib/Term.php:435
    public posts($numberposts_or_args = 10, $post_type_or_class = any, $post_class = "") -> array|bool|null
    Gets posts that have the current term assigned.
    
    @api
    @example
    ```twig
    <h4>Recent posts in {{ term.name }}</h4>
    
    <ul>
    {% for post in term.posts(3, 'post') %}
    <li>
    <a href="{{ post.link }}">{{ post.title }}</a>
    </li>
    {% endfor %}
    </ul>
    ```
    
    If you need more control over the query that is going to be performed, you can pass your
    custom query arguments in the first parameter.
    
    ```twig
    <h4>Our branches in {{ region.name }}</h4>
    
    <ul>
    {% for branch in region.posts({
    posts_per_page: -1,
    orderby: 'menu_order'
    }, 'branch', 'Branch') %}
    <li>
    <a href="{{ branch.link }}">{{ branch.title }}</a>
    </li>
    {% endfor %}
    </ul>
    ```
    
    @param int|array $numberposts_or_args Optional. Either the number of posts or an array of
    arguments for the post query that this method is going.
    to perform. Default `10`.
    @param string $post_type_or_class     Optional. Either the post type to get or the name of
    post class to use for the returned posts. Default
    `any`.
    @param string $post_class             Optional. The name of the post class to use for the
    returned posts. Default `Timber\Post`.
    @return array|bool|null
    
    Defined in <ROOT>wp-content/plugins/timber-library/lib/Term.php:487
    public title()
    @api
    @return string
    
    Defined in <ROOT>wp-content/plugins/timber-library/lib/Term.php:495
    public update($key, $value)
    
    @param string  $key
    @param mixed   $value
    
    Defined in <ROOT>wp-content/plugins/timber-library/lib/Term.php:348
    protected static get_tid($tid) -> int|array
    @internal
    @param int $tid
    @return int|array
    
    Defined in <ROOT>wp-content/plugins/timber-library/lib/Term.php:199
    protected get_term($tid) -> mixed
    @internal
    @param int|object|array $tid
    @return mixed
    
    Defined in <ROOT>wp-content/plugins/timber-library/lib/Term.php:161
    protected get_term_from_query()
    @internal
    @return integer
    
    Defined in <ROOT>wp-content/plugins/timber-library/lib/Term.php:108
    protected get_term_meta($tid) -> array
    @internal
    @param int $tid
    @return array
    
    Defined in <ROOT>wp-content/plugins/timber-library/lib/Term.php:150
    protected init($tid)
    @internal
    @param int $tid
    
    Defined in <ROOT>wp-content/plugins/timber-library/lib/Term.php:125
Called from <ROOT>wp-content/themes/zoomer/blocks/related-items/display.php:54
  1. <ROOT>wp-content/plugins/advanced-custom-fields-pro/pro/blocks.php:831
  2. <ROOT>wp-includes/class-wp-hook.php:341 [acf_block_render_template()]
  3. <ROOT>wp-includes/class-wp-hook.php:365 [WP_Hook->apply_filters()]
  4. <ROOT>wp-includes/plugin.php:522 [WP_Hook->do_action()]
  5. <ROOT>wp-content/plugins/advanced-custom-fields-pro/pro/blocks.php:794 [do_action()]
  6. <ROOT>wp-content/plugins/advanced-custom-fields-pro/pro/blocks.php:679 [acf_render_block()]
  7. <ROOT>wp-content/plugins/advanced-custom-fields-pro/pro/blocks.php:590 [acf_rendered_block()]
  8. <ROOT>wp-includes/class-wp-block.php:599 [acf_render_block_callback()]
  9. <ROOT>wp-includes/blocks.php:2383 [WP_Block->render()]
  10. <ROOT>wp-content/plugins/blocksy-companion-pro/framework/premium/features/render-custom-post-type.php:276 [render_block()]
  11. <ROOT>wp-content/plugins/blocksy-companion-pro/framework/premium/features/render-custom-post-type.php:215 [Blocksy\CustomPostTypeRenderer->get_content_unfiltered()]
  12. <ROOT>wp-content/plugins/blocksy-companion-pro/framework/premium/features/content-blocks/renderer.php:11 [Blocksy\CustomPostTypeRenderer->get_content()]
  13. <ROOT>wp-content/plugins/blocksy-companion-pro/framework/premium/features/content-blocks.php:457 [Blocksy\ContentBlocksRenderer->get_content()]
  14. <ROOT>wp-content/plugins/blocksy-companion-pro/framework/premium/features/content-blocks.php:427 [Blocksy\ContentBlocks->output_hook()]
  15. <ROOT>wp-includes/class-wp-hook.php:341 [Blocksy\ContentBlocks->Blocksy\{closure}()]
  16. <ROOT>wp-includes/class-wp-hook.php:365 [WP_Hook->apply_filters()]
  17. <ROOT>wp-includes/plugin.php:522 [WP_Hook->do_action()]
  18. <ROOT>wp-content/themes/blocksy/inc/components/single/content-helpers.php:476 [do_action()]
  19. <ROOT>wp-content/themes/blocksy/template-parts/single.php:74 [blocksy_single_content()]
  20. <ROOT>wp-includes/template.php:816
  21. <ROOT>wp-includes/template.php:749 [load_template()]
  22. <ROOT>wp-includes/general-template.php:206 [locate_template()]
  23. <ROOT>wp-content/themes/blocksy/single.php:17 [get_template_part()]
  24. <ROOT>wp-includes/template-loader.php:125
  25. <ROOT>wp-blog-header.php:19
  26. <ROOT>index.php:17

Generation Health Clinic delivers programs to families across British Columbia, on the territories of many distinct First Nations. We are grateful to all the First Nations who have cared for and nurtured the lands and waters around us for all time. We acknowledge the rights, interests, priorities, and concerns of all Indigenous Peoples - First Nations, Métis, and Inuit - respecting and acknowledging their distinct cultures, histories, rights, laws, and governments.