Nothing says winter quite like the smell of cinnamon, ginger, or turmeric. Each of these spices is warming, grounding, and nourishing - three essentials for a stressful holiday season. Smelling the sweet aroma and tasting the flavors can help keep you feeling present in your body and connected to the moments around you. This feeling and experience may also be known as feeling grounded.

When you’re feeling grounded it allows you to feel in balance even if there is chaos around you. If you aren’t feeling grounded you may be thrown off balance easily. Feeling present and connected in the winter allows you to reduce stress and enjoy the season. Having foods that can reduce feelings of stress and bring memories of relaxing can produce a grounding effect. We partnered with Registered Dietitian, Rhyan Geiger (RD), to help us learn more about why these cozy, nourishing ingredients are considered to be grounding spices. 

Ginger

During the winter, you may find yourself traveling more than you had in the months prior. Ginger can be a great element to include in your travel bag due to its ability to alleviate nausea. Not only does ginger provide therapeutic benefits but it smells and tastes great. Winter is the perfect time to add ginger into your routine because it is in season. Eating in season has many benefits especially on the environment. Because it is in season that is why many recipes may call for ginger. You may see whole ginger or even ground ginger in the ingredients list, but both are perfect must haves for this season. Here are some ways you can enjoy ginger at home this winter:
 
- Hot ginger tea with Simple Mills Crunchy Cookies
- Sprinkle ginger into a stir fry recipe or marinate your protein in a ginger sauce
- Add fresh grated ginger to Simple Mills Chocolate Cake Mix

Turmeric

Golden milk lattes (here's a recipe for inspiration) are undoubtedly one of the best drinks for winter. Golden milk lattes taste delicious but their popularity during this time of year isn’t just based on taste. Turmeric is used in winter months because of its immune supporting benefits. It may also help with inflammation and joint pain which can worsen during cooler months. Although it is popular at the end of the year turmeric is a great element to add into your routine year round to support healthy body functions. Turmeric will typically be found fresh or ground. Here are a few ways to enjoy turmeric at home this season:

- Golden milk latte with Simple Mills Crunchy Cookies
- Add turmeric to Simple Mills Almond Flour Pancake & Waffle Mix
- Add it to tofu scrambles or a chickpea frittata

Cinnamon

One of the most widely used spices during the winter months is cinnamon. The sweet smell and the warm taste of cinnamon can help with feelings of grounding. Cinnamon has been around for a very long time and has a spot in everyone's spice drawer. Not only does cinnamon taste great and belong in many dishes, but it has unique benefits to the body. Cinnamon can help reduce inflammation which is needed around cooler months with more travel frequency. It can be used ground up or some recipes will even call for cinnamon sticks. A popular way to create a feeling of balance in your home is creating a mixture of cinnamon, fruits and other spices to water and heat on the stove and create an ambiance of comfort. Here are some other ways to enjoy cinnamon at home this season:
 
- Sprinkle cinnamon onto your bowl of yogurt or oatmeal
- Slice apples and top with cinnamon and nut butter
- Add cinnamon to Simple Mills Vanilla Cake Mix and Vanilla Frosting
 
Though ginger, turmeric and cinnamon are some of the more popular spice, other holiday spices such as cardamom and nutmeg shouldn’t be left out either. This winter, think of which spices make you feel most grounded and warm and try adding those into your recipes.