I was searching through the recipe section and have noticed several spices I don't normally rotate in my cooking and because I don't have time to go through all of these recipes and mark down the spices, I was wondering if anyone can share what spices they have added since starting a low carb way of eating and perhaps even what spices they no longer use.

What spices really bring out the flavor in meats and vegetables? I don't think there is a spice for cheese or eggs, but perhaps you have found one and could share it here!

I buy some of my spices pre-mixed but have noticed that most of them contain dextrose which is another name for sugar, so I would like to try to imitate some pre-mixed seasonings, like Jamican Jerk, Steak Spice, Chicken Seasoning, etc. Any ideas? Thanks for the input all.

Rosemary, marjoram, thyme are all beautiful on meat. I use them all fresh though, since I have them growing in my garden. I have one amazing chicken recipe that uses Herbs de Provance (a spice blend). The recipe is on my blog (see signature).

I like fish sauce in eggs. It is a Thai/Vietnamese cooking ingredient. It makes them slightly salty and adds a umami flavor they really need. It doesn't taste fishy, more like a very mild soy sauce. I once had a quiche made with thyme and it tasted fabulous.

Penzeys.com is an excellent source for spice mixes. I recommend Sunny Paris and their Turkish seasonings (tastes mexican to me). They don't add any fillers.

Once you use fresh spices, it's really hard to use them dried. But if you do use dried ones, especially the ones like nutmeg, cardamom, buy them whole and grind them yourself. The flavor is SO much better!

Here's one from Karen Barnaby: Slow Roasted Herb and Spice Cured Pork Shoulder. She's an uber chef. Recipes from her book are in the the green bar at the top of your screen under "Recipes".

I really like the refrigerated tubes of spices- basil, parsley, ginger, etc...also, the little refrigerated jars of garlic.

I love the combo of lime juice with red chile flakes too- it's great with seafood.

They aren't all "in the spice rack," but here is what I cook with frequently:

from the produce section: garlic, onions, shallots, ginger, lemon grass, cilantro, basil, mint, culantro, lime, lemon, various chili peppers, fresh coconut, oregano, sage.

Sauces: fish sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce, chili lime paste, Sriracha (often called "Rooster sauce"), coco rico, coconut cream, worchestershire, liquid smoke, horseradish, various mustards, various flavored vinegars.

dried spices: dried onion, garlic powder, star anise, cinamon, herbs de provence, cumin, black pepper, white pepper, various different salts, cayenne pepper, red pepper, sweet paprika, sage, mustard seed, celery seed, ginger, cloves (whole and ground), dried shrimp.

I used to use garlic in bottles but there's nothing better than fresh garlic. I got a super, heavy duty garlic press: Kuhn is the maker, and now I always try to use it fresh. You don't even have to peel the garlic. The skins stay inside.

Fresh garlic is so versatile: You can use a garlic press or use it whole or slice it into razor thin slices for flavor.

I *heart* fresh garlic: white, purple, elephant, etc.

Oh, I forgot about cardamon and tumeric. I used to use tumeric in rice (similar to saffron), but now I use it with fish. If you rub tumeric all over red snapper and then pan fry it to a golden yellow, it makes for a very tasty fish, especially if you fry very thinly sliced garlic in the oil first to infuse the oil with a light, garlicy flavor.

I use a microplane grater for my fresh garlic. I think that I must put it in everything that I cook.

I had to figure out what my favorite tastes were and then learn how to get it in my cooking. I like my foods tangy and spicy hot. I learned to use acidity (lemon juice , white balsamic vinegar)for the tangy and crushed red peppers for the spicy. Onion gives me that tang too.

GARLIC - on everything!!!

I make a lot of rubs and usually use either paprika or chili powder for the base, so I go through lots of that... for the rest of my herbs, at least in the summer, I step out in my herb garden to see what catches my fancy. I have cilantro, mint, basil, oregeno, thyme, tarragon, rosemary, lavender and chives (I think that's it).

For meat, I use a lot of thyme, rosemary and marjoram (oops, I have that too) and I've been very fond of making tarragon salad dressing with a bit of dijon mustard in it this summer.

I'm also a fan of Asian five spice this summer in my rubs.

I have too many to list: I am a Penzey's junkie! I use a lot of garlic (powder and fresh), lemon pepper, Pasta Sprinkle, red pepper flakes, onion powder, do-it-yourself rubs for ribs, sea salt, paprika, chives, chili powder...well, those are the ones I use the most! My spice cabinet is sick!

I use a fair amount of garlic and onion powder, along with cayenne pepper. Fresh garlic is better but powder is easier.

I also have ground chipotle, chili powder and various ground peppers (red, white and black). Actually the red is flakes.

Cumin, paprika, cinnamon, nutmeg.

Garlic powder has it's uses, that's for sure. I use dehydrated onions often when I don't have fresh ones on hand or don't feel like making my eyes sting.

Chell921, any chance you could give us an idea of your basic recipe for this dressing? I love tarragon but haven't used it in dressings ... yet!

Does everyone count each clove of garlic as 1 carb? I used to use tons! of it and I love it-but to put 5 cloves in a dish adds 5 carbs. (painful!) Do you count it this way?

And-I'm a spice and Penzy's junkie-especially for the chile powders!