Best Ways to Use Turmeric From Our 2020 Program Coaches
ByAcademy of Culinary NutritionLast updated onReading Time: 8 minutes
Registration for the 2020 session of the Culinary Nutrition Expert Program closes September 15th and we cannot wait to get started on Thursday, September 17th! Given the global circumstances, the importance of food and cooking has come to the forefront and this term is feeling extremely special and important. We are buzzing with excitement around here, and so are our dedicated program coaches who are here to help our students achieve their full potential. Our program coaches live in cities across Canada, the US, Europe and Africa, and we are pleased to introduce them to you! Today, they’re sharing their favourite ways to use turmeric so you can explore using this anti-inflammatory spice in your cooking.
Our coaches are all honours graduates of our program, and support our students through the 14-week guided curriculum, ensuring no one is left behind. If you’re still thinking about joining us this fall, it’s not too late! Registration closes soon, so hop on over here to find out more.
And, without further ado, enjoy these delicious ways to use turmeric from our 2020 program coaches!
ways to use turmeric from our culinary nutrition Expert program coaches
Sondi Bruner
City: Vancouver, British Columbia Year Graduated: 2012 Favourite Way to Use Turmeric: This may seem unconventional, but I love using turmeric in dairy-free ice cream recipes. I have a vegan golden milk ice cream recipe that I enjoy making – I also freeze it in ice cube trays for a delicious addition to my smoothies. Culinary nutrition focus: Digestive health and allergen-friendly cooking. I aim to help people focus on abundance, not deprivation.
Jaclyn Beaty
City: Clarksville, Tennessee Year Graduated: 2017 Favourite Way to Use Turmeric: Sprinkled on top of an egg fried in ghee or in my carrot zinger smoothie! Culinary nutrition focus: Pre/postnatal nutrition, family and children’s nutrition, and gut health.
Nicole Benson
City: Brantford, Ontario Year Graduated: 2014 Favourite Way to Use Turmeric: Turmeric is a great spice that has a mild enough flavor that can easily be added to many different soups or stews to “up” the nutrient content. I also really enjoy making a juiced elixir shot of carrot, ginger, turmeric and lemon! Culinary nutrition focus: Helping people see that they can make healthy nutritious meals easily at home, that actually taste delicious!
Melanie Connolly
City: Quakertown, Pennsylvania Year Graduated: 2013 Favourite Way to Use Turmeric: My favorite way to use turmeric is to make a sauce with a coconut milk base for veggie noodles or pasta. Culinary nutrition focus: Hormone health for women over 50.
City: Oakville, Ontario Year Graduated: 2016 Favourite Way to Use Turmeric: My favourite way to use turmeric is in soups. Along with onions, garlic, and ginger, I add turmeric to pretty much every soup I make. I love how it will give the soup a nice golden colour as well as give it a great anti-inflammatory boost. Culinary nutrition focus: My culinary focus is to encourage my community to reduce or eliminate all refined sugars from their diet. Our signature program “Sugarless in the Kitchen” motivates participants to avoid all added sugar for two or three weeks. My secondary focus is to encourage people to eat whole foods and to get back in the kitchen. Cooking classes and educational workshops help with this aspect.
Theresa Diulus
City: Seabrook, Texas Year Graduated: 2014 Favourite Way to Use Turmeric: I have a tie for my favorite way to use turmeric. I love to use turmeric to make a fragrant and delicious Indian Butter Chicken. It’s comfort food that my whole family loves and makes the entire house smell warm and inviting. My other favorite recipe using turmeric is perfect for summer and is a Ginger Turmeric Lemonade. I make a simple syrup with honey, ginger, and fresh turmeric and combine it with fresh lemon juice and water. To take it up a notch, sparkling water. It’s refreshing and so delicious! Culinary nutrition focus: Blood sugar balance. I focus on helping moms with pre-diabetes learn to plan and prepare delicious meals for their families by teaching them recipes, skills, and tips to save them time and energy and balance their blood sugar.
Ashleigh Grange
City: Tiny, Ontario Year Graduated: 2013 Favourite Way to Use Turmeric: I love using turmeric in hot and cold beverages like my Iced Turmeric and Honey Chai Latte. I also love it in the Curry Powder blend, which I make all the time, from the UnDiet Cookbook (which students also make in the program!). Culinary nutrition focus: My focus is on eating for fertility and pre-conception care.
Caitlin Iles
City: Quispamsis, New Brunswick
Year Graduated: 2012 Favourite Way to Use Turmeric: Turmeric is one of those spices that you can use in virtually any recipe to get an added boost of antioxidants, just make sure you add a couple twists of black pepper and some healthy fats, like coconut oil, to boost absorption. I have turmeric every single day in what I call my loaded, stress-busting hot chocolate. Or if I’m feeling more savoury, I’ll whip up a batch of my Turmeric Coconut Rice and use it as the base for a curry, Buddha bowl, or salad jar. Culinary nutrition focus: Female hormone balance, digestive healing, and adrenal support.
Shiru Macharia
City: Nairobi, Kenya Year Graduated: 2017 Favourite Way to Use Turmeric: My favorite way to use turmeric is in a latte! It’s so addictive, warming, a little spicy and delicious. It’s the perfect way for me to relax and end the day. I have also tried turmeric oats, a recipe in my cookbook, and it’s unexpectedly delicious. Culinary nutrition focus: My culinary nutrition focus is pre and postpartum nutrition, strength and recovery postpartum and teaching women a balanced lifestyle.
Lizette Marx
City: Moraga, California Year Graduated: 2017 Favourite Way to Use Turmeric: I love to juice turmeric with ginger and lemon to make a concentrate that I use for teas, as a booster in green juices or smoothies and as a flavoring in various soups, stews and braises. I also like to use turmeric powder to add color with benefits to icings and fillings. Culinary nutrition focus: I focus on making healthy food worth savoring and teaching my students how to do this for their own clients. Seasonal, organic, unrefined and local foods are abundant with rich and vibrant flavors and when you can harness the power of healing foods, your food will be transformational because it will be healthy and unforgettably delicious.
Lori Moore
City: Kingsport, Nova Scotia Year Graduated: 2018 Favourite Way to Use Turmeric: I love to use turmeric in hot drinks. Sometimes it’s a tea with pepper, ginger and maple syrup; it might be golden milk with warmed coconut milk, honey and cinnamon or cardamom; and on a cold and snowy day, it’s turmeric hot chocolate. Culinary nutrition focus: Optimal digestion and its impact on mental health. I also create customized meal plans for people who are seeking support as they navigate health conditions or changes in their diets.
Jessica Pecush
City: Calgary, Alberta Year Graduated: 2015 Favourite Way to Use Turmeric: I especially love using turmeric as part of a ‘Golden Hot Chocolate’ elixir – a combination of reishi mushroom tea, raw cacao powder, maca powder, cinnamon, cacao butter and ground turmeric, of course! I love to garnish this beverage with a sprinkling of cacao nibs, too! Culinary nutrition focus: I teach ambitious women suffering from bowel issues how to nourish their uncomfortable symptoms and regain the life of their dreams. This includes supporting women managing Celiac Disease, Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis. My education and empowerment stems from a plant-rich, Paleo-inspired approach and the use of from-scratch culinary techniques, in supporting the establishment of sustainable (and fun!) lifelong habits.
City: Leusden, Netherlands Year Graduated: 2014 Favourite Way to Use Turmeric: My favorite way to use turmeric is to make golden milk. I sip on turmeric mixed with cinnamon, ginger, cloves and coconut milk most evenings. Culinary nutrition focus: Family nutrition and helping parents get wholesome meals on the table in a quick, easy and delicious way.
Veronica Jean
City: Kitchener, Ontario Year Graduated: 2014 Favourite Way to Use Turmeric: Alongside garlic and arrowroot starch as a breading for fish sticks. It’s a typical “kid-food” that’s a big hit in our house! Every few months we use the same ingredients to bread other things, like chicken strips or even Rocky Mountain oyster nuggets – that’s nose-to-tail eating for you! Culinary nutrition focus: In private practice, I work with a few different populations, all of which I am (or have been) a part of. My focuses include pre-conception, prenatal, post-natal and pediatric nutrition, hormone balance, autoimmune thyroid conditions, and brain and spinal cord injuries.
Wendy Rose
City: Tilbury, Ontario Year Graduated: 2014 Favourite Way to Use Turmeric: Adding a teaspoon to a smoothie with mango, pineapple, frozen cauliflower and banana, MCT oil powder, marine collagen, bee pollen, and hemp hearts and some water! Culinary nutrition focus: Digestion, as that is where I have the most issues with my own health. Brain health, inflammation, children’s nutrition, and allergy-friendly cooking are always on my mind as a parent/caregiver. What you eat matters, and there’s no reason why you can’t eat healthy foods that taste good, too.
Melissa Torio
City: Toronto, Ontario Year Graduated: 2016 Favourite Way to Use Turmeric: I love using turmeric whenever I can – in smoothies, dairy-free elixirs, soups, stir-fries, and scrambled eggs. Culinary nutrition focus:Fermentation and gut health.
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City: Clarksville, Tennessee
City: Brantford, Ontario
City: Quakertown, Pennsylvania
City: Oakville, Ontario
City: Seabrook, Texas
City: Tiny, Ontario
City: Quispamsis, New Brunswick
City: Nairobi, Kenya
City: Moraga, California
City: Kingsport, Nova Scotia
City: Calgary, Alberta
City: Leusden, Netherlands
City: Kitchener, Ontario
City: Tilbury, Ontario
Melissa Torio
Melissa Torio
