A review of cinnamon, a must have spice for any grappler.

Summary:

We all know cinnamon in the sense of its most common uses you’ll commonly find it in applesauce, hot apple cider, or in French toast. Surprisingly enough it is in a lot of other foods, or should be, that you would not expect. Why is that? Because it is a powerhouse of health benefits and its so damn common. There are plenty of ways to fully utilize this spice in your daily life, and more importantly plenty of reasons. In this review we will look into those very reasons and give out a recipe.

 General Information

What is cinnamon besides the hilarious star of the internet sensation that is “The cinnamon challenge?” Cinnamon is one of the most common spices out there. It is the dried bark of the cinnamon tree which we know more commonly as “cinnamon sticks.” These can be found floating in your fancy little hot apple cider drinks in the cold winter months. But get ready for this knowledge bomb I am about to drop on you…cinnamon is also commonly found as a powder which is…you guessed it ground up cinnamon sticks! Ok enough sarcasm for now. There are upwards of 100 different varieties of the cinnamon tree. The most popular is what you find at your local store as a fragrant spice that reminds you of big red gum or your grandmother’s candles. The next most used would be Cassia which is a Chinese variety less commonly found in the US.

When is the best time to eat cinnamon?

Time of year:  Seeing as this is a dried spice it has a pretty unlimited window of usage. But I feel the best time of year for cinnamon is the fall through winter because of the other foods available during this time that it go well with, such as apples.

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Cinnamon challenge is not the best method of consumption. Submission via cinnamon choke.

Time of ingestion: I personally feel that breakfast is the best time of the day to ingest it. Why? Because it is delicious in smoothies, on oatmeal, sprinkled on toast with flax oil and honey or in smoothies. Also the smell of ground cinnamon has commonly be known to enhance brain function. I feel why not wake up the brain along with the body in the morning!

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Dont try and pass on cinnamon because of numbers, it has a sneaky closed guard game.

Important to note: To reap the benefits of cinnamon you should be consuming it on a daily basis. I am not saying by the spoonful but 1 – 6 grams of it per day. So a good way to do this is to try and reach these goals within one or two meals rather than having to sprinkle cinnamon on everything you eat throughout the day. That will get tiring. Also adding cinnamon to hot foods rather than cold will take away some of the harsh taste and make it more palatable. For instance sprinkling some cinnamon and lemon into your green tea, which you should be drinking daily anyways.

 Benefits

• Cinnamon aids in anti-clotting actions, aiding in the prevention of unwanted clotting, so for us in the combat sports it helps in swelling, bruising and general blood related issues by being an anti-inflammatory.
• The smell of raw cinnamon boosts cognitive brain function.
• Reduces pain involved with arthritis.
• Cinnamon essential oils have anti-microbial effects on bacteria.
• Cinnamon is a great post-digestive. What does that mean? In studies it is shown that cinnamon slows down the rate in which your stomach “empties” thus resulting in added digestion that way you are absorbing as much nutrients from your food as possible.
• Along the same lines of digestion cinnamon added to high carb meals slows the intact of sugars resulting in lower blood sugar levels.
• When added to warm beverages cinnamon has anti flu and anti-microbial benefits.

 Cooking tips and tricks:

Best complimentary ingredients:  Apples, rice, lamb, chocolate, honey, berries, fruit compotes/jams, chicken, oranges, zucchini

Food Pairing: Curry, French toast, oatmeal, toast, or beans for taco/burrito/nacho night

Drink pairings:  Coffee, green tea, cider, mulled wine or warmed up soy milk.

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The easiest brown belt roll.

Tips

• Store cinnamon in cool, air tight and dry containers to ensure the preservation of its quality, oils and benefits.
• Buy organic cinnamon to avoid any irradiation which decreases some of the benefits of cinnamon. Primarily lowering vitamin C and carotenoid. Why each so much cinnamon if you are not maximizing the effects?
• Have both ground and sticks available because they have different uses and not having to grate sticks will be a time saver if you are cooking in a rush.
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  We need all the help we can get for 7 am classes

• Add 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon to your coffee before brewing it for a great way to start your day.

Recipe idea:

Powerdouble morning smoothie

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Contrary to the name this is much more appealing in the morning than a sick double leg.

Makes 1 smoothie

INGREDIENTS
Main Components

Frozen mixed berries: 1/2 bag
Almond milk: 1/2 cup
Banana, peeled: 1
Orange, peeled: 1
Honey: 2 tsp
Cinnamon, ground: 1 tsp
Oat bran or rolled oats: 1/3 cup
Flax seed, ground: 1 Tbsp
Ice cubes(optional): 3-4

METHOD

Main Components

Allow your berries(laugh it up) to thaw out for a little bit. Once they are not rock solid add them and the almond milk into the blender and pulse until the berries are blended.
Add in banana, orange and honey and blend again until everything is fully blended.
Add in oats, flax cinnamon and ice cubes if you are using them and give it a few more pulses to combine.
Crush it.

EQUIPMENT
Knife and cutting board
Blender

PROTIP

You can double or triple the recipe and make it for a couple mornings out. Just note that the color will change and you will need to stir it or shake it before drinking it the next day. Dont be alarmed by the color the next day, its still good.

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Cinnamon is a high level competitor but has its draw backs

Images via: Yumsugar
NPR
Guideglobal
Darapoznar