Garlic Might Be Stinky But It's Heart Healthy
It's no surprise that garlic is probably my favorite food. I love it so much that I eat a lot of it every single day. It's a good thing that my husband likes it, too -- otherwise we would be in trouble!
Garlic smells... wonderful, in my opinion! It's fragrant aroma when it hits the skillet with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil gets my heart pumpin'. Oh, and speaking of hearts (see my genius segway!), garlic is a heart-healthy herb that you should make sure you are eating.
I do understand, though, that some people are allergic to garlic or cannot eat it. If that is you, then I'm sorry. But - also, I am happy to know that you are avoiding eating something that is making you not feel good!
Also -- YES! That is a giant garlic bulb hat on my head at my favorite restaurant that just happens to be garlic everything! They even have garlic ice cream! hah! Learn more here.
Okay, back to garlic.
(Insert dramatic narrator voice) Since the beginning of time, garlic has been used mostly for it's medicinal properties. Okay, so maybe I am stretching that "beginning of time" part, but throughout history garlic has been used as medicine. Today, it's used for warding off vampires, emo kids and making recipes great again.
Garlic contains a compound called allicin which has some amazing medicinal properties. It’s antimicrobial, antiviral and antifungal properties can fight the common cold and boost the function of the immune system. So if you have a cold increase the amount of garlic you are having in your meals. Of course slathering bread with a lot of butter and adding garlic or garlic salt to it is not at all how this works. Though it definitely will taste good, choose real, fresh garlic, instead. Adding fresh garlic to your soups, meats, sauces, veggies and dips is what will help. If you can eat it raw, go for it!
Allicin, the active compound in garlic, only forms when garlic is crushed or diced when it’s raw. If you cook the garlic before crushing it then it won’t have the same benefits. Something I learned from Delicious Living and Kyolic is that you should allow your garlic to rest for about 5 minutes after chopping it before heating it.
If you believe "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food" then you will be interested to know of some of the other amazing heart healthy herbs in the infographic from Delicious Living. Click here to learn more.
Here are a few of my favorite recipes that use garlic. I could probably link almost every recipe on my blog because just about every recipe has garlic in it but I am going to pick a few of my favorites.
