Chai Spice & Pumpkin Pie Spice Mixes (for yourself or as a gift)

Making your own spice mixes is easy and can save you money!

The Chai Spice or Pumpkin Pie Spice can be substituted for cinnamon in nearly every recipe, and enjoyed in oatmeal, your favorite homemade granola, sprinkled on roasted winter squash (slices or pureed), in a smoothie, on cereal, in a fruit crisp, on freshly fruit slices (apples, pears, persimmons, citrus), in pancakes, cookies, muffins, or French toast, on a baked sweet potato or stirred into warmed almond or soy milk for your own Chai/Pumpkin Spiced Latte.

Recipes by The Nutrition Professor, Timaree Hagenburger, MPH, RD, EP-c (www.TheNutritionProfessor.com) and published in The Foodie Bar Way: One meal. Lots of options. Everyone’s happy. available at www.FoodieBars.com

Chai Spice – Combine 1 tsp of each: allspice, cardamom, cinnamon, coriander with 1/2 tsp of each: black pepper, nutmeg and turmeric. (This blend is especially wonderful, as the black pepper improves your body’s ability to absorb turmeric by as much as 2000%!)

Pumpkin Pie Spice – Combine 4 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp ground ginger, 1 tsp ground nutmeg and 1/2 tsp ground cloves.

Keep spice mixes in air-tight containers and use them often, as they are packed with flavor and antioxidant power to keep your cells healthy!

To learn more about why it makes sense to use more herbs and spices in your meals, read my article that was published in the Lodi News Sentinel that featured this recipe, as well as an Italian Seasoning Mix.

Making your own spice mixes is fun and frugal!

Timaree Hagenburger, a plant-based registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN), certified exercise physiologist with a master’s degree in public health, has over 20 years of experience as a nutrition professor. She is a sought after speaker, media personality and author, who works with private clients, and in corporate wellness, has contributed to several cookbooks and published her own cookbook, The Foodie Bar Way: One Meal, Lots of Options, Everyone’s Happy (www.foodiebars.com)! Timaree is also the founder of an incredible online membership community, The Foodie Bar Way of Life, that makes loving the food (and living a life) that loves us back… simple, satisfying, sustainable AND FUN! You can contact her about working with her through 1:1 dietitian nutrition coaching, for hands-on cooking instruction and to inquire about arranging a speaking engagement.