My hands retain the smell from the cinnamon sticks that I ‘posed’ for their photo shoot. I do love the smell! Especially when you have apple pie in the oven and the smell of cinnamon wafts through the house!

Where does cinnamon originate from? Sri Lanka appears to have the better quality cinnamon compared to that from India and other countries. The Chinese cinnamon cassia does not look like what we know of of cinnamon (above photo).

Looking at pictures of the cinnamon tree, I am thinking to myself that there were trees growing near to where I used to rent in the British Virgin Islands! I would have been trespassing if I had gone over the fence to harvest the bark of the tree. Maybe it is just as well that I know that now.

As with all things that we consume, we need to study the benefits & side effects before using it as an alternative or supplement to our diets. The ‘cinnamon challenge’ and what did and could happen is humbling and I hesitate to recommend ingesting the ground powder to anyone albeit prior to this challenge, I had tried mixing ground cinnamon (a quarter teaspoon) with a tablespoon of honey to cure a bad cough. It did not work for me.

Many years ago I was told that adding a teaspoon of ground cinnamon to your diet helps to lower your blood pressure. You could add it to your cereal or smoothies in the morning.

Please do read up on the benefits & side effects of ingesting ground cinnamon or cassia. In the meantime, I will continue to use a dash or two on my instant oats with mashed banana and/or blueberries, my apple bakes and cooking.