Using herbs and spices when cooking will make your food taste amazing without adding fat, salt, sugar, or calories. Herbs and spices will make your foods pop with flavor and amazing aromas.
So… here are my Happy Diabetic tips for using herbs and spices:
- Avoid overdoing it. too many seasonings will smother your recipes. don’t use strong herbs together. Experiment with strong and mild flavors.
- When cooking, add dried herbs early in the process, but use fresh herbs at the end for the best flavor.
- When necessary, a mortar and pestle can be kept in the kitchen to powder dry herbs.
- If doubling a recipe, you may not need to double the herbs. Use just 50% more. You can always add more but, so easy does it at first.
- Dry herbs and spices can carry more flavor than fresh. Dry just needs more time to develop in the foods your cooking.
How to store herbs and spices:
Proper storage is essential to retaining the flavor of herbs and spices.
- Dried herbs and spices should be kept in a cool, dry, and dark place. Storing right next to the stove, although convenient for cooking, is not the best location, because heat, air, and bright light will make your seasoning die.
- Store dry herbs and spices in tightly covered containers.
- Try to use them within one year.
- If you smell the herb and it smells like what it’s support to be your good to go. If it smells like wet dog, trash it
| Basil | Italian foods (especially tomatoes, pasta, chicken, fish and shellfish) |
| Bay leaf | Bean or meat stews and soups |
| Caraway | Cooked vegetables such as beets, cabbage, carrots, potatoes, turnips and winter squash |
| Chervil | French cuisine, fish, shellfish, chicken, peas, green beans, tomatoes and salad greens |
| Chili powder | Bean or meat stews and soups |
| Chives | Sauces, soups, baked potatoes, salads, omelets, pasta, seafood and meat |
| Cilantro | Mexican, Latin American and Asian cuisine; Rice, beans, fish, shellfish, poultry, vegetables, salsas and salads |
| Cumin | Curried vegetables, poultry, fish and beans |
| Curry | Indian or southeast Asian cuisine; Lamb or meat-based dishes and soups |
| Dill (fresh) | Seafood, chicken, yogurt, cucumbers, green beans, tomatoes, potatoes and beets |
| Dill (seeds) | Rice and fish dishes |
| Ginger (dried) | Rick, chicken and marinades |
| Mace | Baked goods, fruit dishes, carrots, broccoli, brussels sprouts and cauliflower |
| Marjoram | Tomato-based dishes, fish, meat, poultry, eggs and vegetables |
| Oregano | Italian and Greek cuisine; Meat and poultry dishes |
| Paprika | Spanish dishes, potatoes, soups, stews, baked fish and salad dressings |
| Rosemary | Mushrooms, roasted potatoes, stuffing, ripe melon, poultry and meats (especially grilled) |
| Sage | Poultry stuffing, chicken, duck, pork, eggplant, and bean stews and soups |
| Tarragon | Chicken, veal, fish, shellfish, eggs, salad dressings, tomatoes, mushrooms and carrots |
| Thyme | Fish, shellfish, poultry, tomatoes, beans, eggplant, mushrooms, potatoes, and summer squash |
| Tumeric | Indian cuisine; Adds color and taste to potatoes and light-colored vegetables |
