Often when we diet or are trying to eat healthier while camping out, we eat foods that have little to no flavor and that can be boring and without taste. So, what to do? There are many spices and herbs that can help put flavor and aroma into plain foods and make eating bland foods enjoyable and tasty. Not only do some herbs and spices add flavor to food, they also give several great health benefits, too. In addition, most spices and herbs are low in calories and that makes them easy to use.
Research has shown, too, that some herbs are rich in antioxidants and that may prevent cancer cells from growing and lessen the chances for heart disease. Such herbs that are helpful in this way are: cloves, dill, fennel leaves, parsley, sage, allspice and basil. When preparing red meats, besides trying salt and pepper, try using dill, garlic, nutmeg or oregano for more flavor. For fish and chicken, try using cumin, mustard, lemon juice and mint.
For vegetables, use various mixtures of mint, basil, nutmeg, salt or dill. Be careful not to mix all of these spices at the same time. Try just one or two when wanting to add flavor to vegetables. In addition, when making chili, try making it with chicken, pork sausage or turkey. Adding lemon juice when cooking and marinading chicken, will also give it a juicier and more flavorable taste.
In addition, by adding some lemon juice to lettuce, along with some olive oil and salt and pepper, you will have a less expensive, healthier and tastier salad. Some have also found roasted red pepper sauce makes grilled pork or chicken a very tasty meal. Black pepper or cayenne and red pepper flakes add great flavor to such foods as steamed or creamed corn and grilled meats. Also, red pepper flackes are great when topping pizzas and also works wonders when sautéing vegetables and are delicious when preparing spaghetti sauce.
Some have also found that certain spices or an herb rub can add great flavor to turkey. Such spices in herb rub can be smaller amounts of cloves, nutmegs and cinnamon and to balance the rub, add cumin and paprika.
Diet food doesn’t have to be bland and by adding a few spices you will have a better tasting meal and a healthier one! For more information on spices and food check out this website:
