Ah garlic! I wasn’t a huge fan of garlic… loved the taste but hate having to prep it for use. I found that it was stinky, sticky and having to peel it and chop it was a waste of time. So I started buying the pre-chopped one. To save time prepping, that was amazing. However, I would be limited on the it’s use. Not to mention that it was chopped so finely that the minute it would hit the pan it would burn. Not good! What if you are looking only for the taste? You can use garlic powder… but you are missing out on several great properties fresh garlic can offer you!
If you search the web, you will find several articles on the benefits of garlic. I am no doctor or expert so don’t think that you will learn something new when reading this post. I don’t intend either to give you a listing of the different things eating garlic will bring you as benefit because in resume, garlic is a medicinal food! Why do I call it that? Well eating garlic will help to:
- Combat heart disease
- Cancer fighter
- Prevent High blood pressure
- Helps with diabetes by regulating blood sugar levels
- Treats cold & flues… and we know that season it at our door!
I think that simple list – without going in too much details, sums up why it is important to eat garlic. On my end, before doing all that reading, garlic was mainly used for marinades. That would be the only time I would use garlic. I didn’t care much to eat it, yet alone prep it for cooking. A tsp of pre-chopped garlic in a marinade to give it taste made me happy. However, when my husband did a major food allergic reaction, I had to rethink the whole way I was cooking!
Several foods are no longer permitted in his diet. Everything that is processed or contains gluten is now out of the picture. Although I love making homemade meals, it is difficult to not use some sort of process product in meal preparation. Whether it is a sauce or a pre-mixed spice envelop, several things contains conservation products now a days. We had to make a 100% natural turn overnight!
Now, don’t think that we went bio nuts! Not at all… I still buy the regular fruits and vegetables but just prepare them differently. The main issue I found was how do I give taste to food without using all of these commercial taste enhancement products? This is when garlic cloves became a regular thing in my pantry!
Have you ever roasted a full head of garlic? Oh my the smell is simply amazing… and the taste is out of this world! It is also so simple to do:
- 1 head of garlic
- 1 Tbsp of olive oil
Chop the top of your garlic head off. Drizzle with the oil. Bake in a 350 F oven for 45 minutes. That’s all!
The garlic melts like butter. It becomes almost spreadable. Combine that with any meat and vegetables and it is heaven!
You can also use this garlic to bring taste to dishes or other food such as mashed potatoes, cream cheese, butter on toast, plain hummus… the possibilities are endless!
With everything I have learned about garlic and the multiple use I found for it, I having fun using garlic in a lot of new recipes in my kitchen. Sometimes, we need to live a little and try new things!
