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  #1   ^
Old Mon, Mar-18-19, 12:59
CampingCat's Avatar
CampingCat CampingCat is offline
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Posts: 8
 
Plan: Atkins-ish
Stats: 165/165/145 Male 56 inches
BF:
Progress: 0%
Location: Central Massachusetts
Default I've just discovered spices.

Other than salt, pepper, and some garlic salt on my steak, I really haven't messed around with spices.

I recently tried cinnamon on my sweet potato and was amazed! What else can I try that won't be too complicated? And please remember than I'm a guy. No measurements and no more than two at a time. They have to be easily obtainable from the cooking isle at my grocery store.

Thank you!
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  #2   ^
Old Mon, Mar-18-19, 13:21
Ms Arielle's Avatar
Ms Arielle Ms Arielle is offline
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Posts: 19,176
 
Plan: atkins, carnivore 2023
Stats: 200/211/163 Female 5'8"
BF:
Progress: -30%
Location: Massachusetts
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Oh you are in for a lot of taste sensations!!!

If you liked cinnamon on your sweet potatoes, you might also like cinnamon and nutmeg, just a pinch. Also a pinch of salt brings out more flavors.

On sweet potatos, cinnamon and ground ginger, just a pinch. Ginger is a little peppery too.

On sweet potatoes, cinnamon and ground cloves, just a half pinch on the ground cloves as it is much stronger.

Adding butter and or salt, also changes the flavor profile.

Have fun. Since starting the LC journey nearly 20 years ago, my spice rack has overflowed, and now have two spice racks, plus large sized containers on a shelf.

Im always looking for ways to add onion, scallions, garlic or chives or shallots----allium family. Good sauted with most meats, or fresh in a green salad.

If you do eggs: fried up a couple eggs in butter, with scallions or chives, and add a pinch of TURMERIC and a turn of black pepper. ( Beware: Turmeric stains.) I keep a 2 cup container on the spice shelve-- supposed to have very good healthy properties. Add sliced mushrooms, as they are anti cancer.

Enjoy!!
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  #3   ^
Old Mon, Mar-18-19, 13:21
Ms Arielle's Avatar
Ms Arielle Ms Arielle is offline
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Posts: 19,176
 
Plan: atkins, carnivore 2023
Stats: 200/211/163 Female 5'8"
BF:
Progress: -30%
Location: Massachusetts
Default

Add basil to any tomato dish-- I put fresh basil in the freezer. THen crush it and keep in freezer. About 1/2 tsp per 2 cups sauce. Or per 2 LC servings of a LC pizza. Fresh basil is strong. BLends well into a sauce when simmered for 10-15 minutes.

LC pizza: spoon on dieisred amoung of tomato sauce, then add about 1/4 tsp frozen basil sprinkled over sauce; sprinkle on powdered garlic, 1.4 tsp, pinch of dried onion, pinch of dried oregano.

( Ive been teaching my kids to cook lately....)

Last edited by Ms Arielle : Mon, Mar-18-19 at 13:58.
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  #4   ^
Old Mon, Mar-18-19, 13:30
Merpig's Avatar
Merpig Merpig is offline
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Posts: 7,582
 
Plan: EF/Fung IDM/keto
Stats: 375/225.4/175 Female 66.5 inches
BF:
Progress: 75%
Location: NE Florida
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I love Badia garlic and parsley powder on just about any meal. And I love smoked paprika.
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  #5   ^
Old Tue, Mar-19-19, 06:52
JEY100's Avatar
JEY100 JEY100 is online now
Posts: 13,368
 
Plan: P:E/DDF
Stats: 225/150/169 Female 5' 9"
BF:45%/28%/25%
Progress: 134%
Location: NC
Default

Already suggested for eggs... Chives are common and good fresh or dried, but there are also pre-made spice blends. In Mass you might be near a Trader Joe's, they have an Everything But the Bagel blend which now has cult status, plus a Chili-Lime, and Seasoning Salt. Or any bottle labeled Italian Seasoning blend...a can't miss spice combo used on pizzas that most everyone likes. One bottle, but many flavors. If you like spicy, there also are the sauces to top when serving, like the TJ's Sriracha sauce or Green Dragon over scrambled eggs.

Last edited by JEY100 : Tue, Mar-19-19 at 06:57.
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  #6   ^
Old Tue, Mar-19-19, 09:21
LCer4Life's Avatar
LCer4Life LCer4Life is offline
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Posts: 692
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 155/143/125 Female 63
BF:33.2/28.7%/24%
Progress: 40%
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I am just getting more comfortable with using spices. I love the Italian seasoning. I used to put the individual spices in sauces like sketti sauce to make Italian seasoning until I found it all in one bottle. 🤣 I’m growing oregano and basil for the first time. Do y’all just pick it and chop it up to use? I thought a friend of mine had s special herb cutter or something. Is that right?

Last edited by LCer4Life : Tue, Mar-19-19 at 10:01.
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  #7   ^
Old Tue, Mar-19-19, 11:00
Ms Arielle's Avatar
Ms Arielle Ms Arielle is offline
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Posts: 19,176
 
Plan: atkins, carnivore 2023
Stats: 200/211/163 Female 5'8"
BF:
Progress: -30%
Location: Massachusetts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by LCer4Life
I am just getting more comfortable with using spices. I love the Italian seasoning. I used to put the individual spices in sauces like sketti sauce to make Italian seasoning until I found it all in one bottle. 🤣 I’m growing oregano and basil for the first time. Do y’all just pick it and chop it up to use? I thought a friend of mine had s special herb cutter or something. Is that right?


Basil-- pick a few leaves and stack them. ROll into a cigar, and CAREFULLY chop with sharp knife.

Chives-- use a scissor, also scallions.

Oregano-break with fingers or layout on a cutting board and CAREFULLY cut up with a knife.

Rosemary is like pineneedles-- best use a knife.

I love the look of those cutters.... but see it as another thing buy, and wash. Tearing the softer ones like basil and oregano or a knife; a knife for others......
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  #8   ^
Old Tue, Mar-19-19, 11:22
Meme#1's Avatar
Meme#1 Meme#1 is offline
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Posts: 12,456
 
Plan: Atkins DANDR
Stats: 210/194/160 Female 5'4"
BF:
Progress: 32%
Location: Texas
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ms Arielle
Basil-- pick a few leaves and stack them. ROll into a cigar, and CAREFULLY chop with sharp knife.

Chives-- use a scissor, also scallions.

Oregano-break with fingers or layout on a cutting board and CAREFULLY cut up with a knife.

Rosemary is like pineneedles-- best use a knife.

I love the look of those cutters.... but see it as another thing buy, and wash. Tearing the softer ones like basil and oregano or a knife; a knife for others......


I don't use the hard/woody stems of any of the herbs like rosemary, oregano or Thyme. I just strip the tender leaves off and chop. Basil and mint are tender stemmed so I use all of them.

I have a bay leaf tree and always have a supply that I use fresh and I also dried a batch by striping from the stem, laying the leaves out in a single layer for a couple of days when I had to prune some limbs back. They can be used whole in soups, stews and gravies and removed after use.

Of course store bought herbs will be clean, dried and ready to go.
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  #9   ^
Old Tue, Mar-19-19, 22:42
LCer4Life's Avatar
LCer4Life LCer4Life is offline
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Posts: 692
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 155/143/125 Female 63
BF:33.2/28.7%/24%
Progress: 40%
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ms Arielle
Basil-- pick a few leaves and stack them. ROll into a cigar, and CAREFULLY chop with sharp knife.

Chives-- use a scissor, also scallions.

Oregano-break with fingers or layout on a cutting board and CAREFULLY cut up with a knife.

Rosemary is like pineneedles-- best use a knife.

I love the look of those cutters.... but see it as another thing buy, and wash. Tearing the softer ones like basil and oregano or a knife; a knife for others......


Ms A, thanks for tips. Agree about cutters but I’m a gadget girl. 🤣
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  #10   ^
Old Wed, Mar-20-19, 06:54
Ms Arielle's Avatar
Ms Arielle Ms Arielle is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 19,176
 
Plan: atkins, carnivore 2023
Stats: 200/211/163 Female 5'8"
BF:
Progress: -30%
Location: Massachusetts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by LCer4Life
Ms A, thanks for tips. Agree about cutters but I’m a gadget girl. 🤣


Then GO FOR IT !! IT looks fun!
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  #11   ^
Old Tue, Mar-19-19, 09:52
Meme#1's Avatar
Meme#1 Meme#1 is offline
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Posts: 12,456
 
Plan: Atkins DANDR
Stats: 210/194/160 Female 5'4"
BF:
Progress: 32%
Location: Texas
Default

Over the weekend I bought a few herb plants.
Dill weed, which I love in chicken salad, Greek Oragano for lots of sauces and stews and English Thyme also sauces and stews.
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  #12   ^
Old Tue, Mar-19-19, 10:24
CampingCat's Avatar
CampingCat CampingCat is offline
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Posts: 8
 
Plan: Atkins-ish
Stats: 165/165/145 Male 56 inches
BF:
Progress: 0%
Location: Central Massachusetts
Default

Thanks for the tips. Will have to experiment.
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  #13   ^
Old Tue, Mar-19-19, 12:17
Ms Arielle's Avatar
Ms Arielle Ms Arielle is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 19,176
 
Plan: atkins, carnivore 2023
Stats: 200/211/163 Female 5'8"
BF:
Progress: -30%
Location: Massachusetts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by CampingCat
Thanks for the tips. Will have to experiment.

Yes, definitely experiment!! You will find what tastes best for you.

Mint goes great with lamb. As does rosemary.
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  #14   ^
Old Tue, Mar-19-19, 13:41
Kristine's Avatar
Kristine Kristine is offline
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Posts: 25,581
 
Plan: Primal/P:E
Stats: 171/146/150 Female 5'7"
BF:
Progress: 119%
Location: Southern Ontario, Canada
Default

Hi. I hear you on spices being a recent discovery in life; my parents - gawd love 'em - ate an extremely bland diet and raised us the same way.

I recommend Montreal steak spice. Is that widely available in the US? I'm not a fan of the chunky texture, though, so I cheated and put it into a pepper mill.

I bought a second coffee grinder for spices like rosemary. I love rosemary + garlic powder. I do my pork tenderloin with a rub like that.

My go-to for sweet potatoes is a vegetable rub I buy at my grocery store, but it does contain sugar. It's mostly sage, garlic powder, paprika, and I assume salt and pepper. I should try making my own minus the sugar. That said, I only use a little sprinkle. You might have to do a bit of label-reading, but there are a lot of pre-mixed spice blends and sauces that you might like.

Are there any particular foods that you're looking to spice up?
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  #15   ^
Old Wed, Mar-20-19, 05:20
CampingCat's Avatar
CampingCat CampingCat is offline
New Member
Posts: 8
 
Plan: Atkins-ish
Stats: 165/165/145 Male 56 inches
BF:
Progress: 0%
Location: Central Massachusetts
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kristine
Are there any particular foods that you're looking to spice up?


While I do really like the sweet potatoes with cinnamon, I understand that they are still pretty high on the GI scale (albeit better than white potatoes or a Snickers bar).

I do like vegetables, but I get bored quickly with raw salads. I'm trying to learn to cook more things. Broccoli and spaghetti squash are pretty easy, but, like the raw stuff, eating it too frequently can get really dull. And if food is boring, I'll look for something more interesting, carbs be damned!

So, to get specific, if I go out tonight and get a spaghetti squash, any spices you'd recommend? Usually, I just put butter and pepper on it, but... boring after the first serving.
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