Functional Ingredients Complimented

By Author: Aaron Fuente
Total Articles: 2
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When we hear of a diet, chances are, we start thinking of the functional ingredients, add some proteins here, and subtract some calories there. However, small steps like adding food flavorings can actually help you gain more nutritional value from your meal.

When we hear of a diet, chances are, we start thinking of the functional ingredients, add some proteins here, and subtract some calories there. However, small steps like adding food flavorings can actually help you gain more nutritional value from your meal. The beauty of this is that besides the nutritional value they add taste. You can go further and find food texturizers just to add a little more texture to your meal. With texture and taste you are going to like eating healthy. Good food can taste better. This is possible with the use of flavorings:

Spices: Its definition tends to be a grey area for many culinary aficionados, as one definition is inclusive of herbs. The American Spice Trade Association has it that, flavoring is “any dried product used primarily for seasoning purposes.” The other widely and most accepted definition is whether fresh ...
... or dried or derived from the bark, stem, root, seed or fruit of a plant. They tend to be grown in tropical climes. They are highly regarded for their medicinal value and in preparation of cosmetic products. Examples include garlic, ginger, cloves, pepper, cinnamon even wasabi.

Herbs: Herbs are different in that they are derived from leaves. They may be whole, grinded a little to be flaky, or well grinded to be powder. When consumed whole they tend to give texture to food and hence are a great natural food texturizer. Herbs do not favor tropical climes and are commonly found in more temperate areas. Herbs are similar when it comes to their medicinal values and also cosmetic properties. Examples of herbs are parsley, basil, oregano, thyme and rosemary.

Condiments: They tend to be simple sauces; good examples include mustard, ketchup and barbecue sauce.

Others: Salt is a mineral, but it would be unfair to ignore it when talking of seasonings. Salt has preserving qualities, commonly used to preserve fish before refrigerators, hence the term salted fish. There are many different types of salt, from rock salt to sea salt. Iodized salt is usually recommended so as to limit the salts’ dehydrating properties. Some like to confuse sugar as a seasoning, but it is considered as part of functional ingredients as food can be made out of it. To be fair sugar changes the taste of whatever it is mixed in, but it is more commonly referred to as a sweetener.

Small increments of food flavorings on a daily basis ranging from ginger to pepper to garlic will richly improve your food’s nutritional value. With your food texturizer in the mix you will be able to get the best out of your functional ingredients. Small but sure and sturdy use including those of artificial foods will assist you in having healthy meals. A good example of this is artificial sugars which tend to be sweeter and have no calories. Other than the raw nutrients you derive from food you also enjoy eating tasty food and it is to your benefit to realize this.
Resource: http://www.piasa.com/spices/foodingredients.aspx