Reduce Your Sodium Intake with Do It Yourself Spice Blends!

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When following a healthy meal plan often one of the hardest things to tackle is lowering the amount of sodium in your diet. This means consuming less salt. This is a challenge since salt can add a lot of flavor to your dishes, but there are many other ways to create flavorful dishes with little or no salt. One way to do this is to create your very own spice blends!

To start, take a look in your pantry or spice cabinet and see what you have. Some chefs recommend keeping the following spices as staples in your kitchen: garlic powder, onion powder, basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, bay leaves, dill weed, paprika, cayenne, allspice, thyme, chili powder, dill weed, curry, cumin, crushed red pepper, and cinnamon. Many of these spices can be used on their own to add flavor, but when used in combination, you create whole new flavors. Try out some of these combinations.

Italian Blend
Basil
Oregano
Thyme
Rosemary

Dry Rub
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Black pepper
Paprika
Chili powder
*For more of a kick add in some cayenne

Jamaican Jerk
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Ginger
Paprika
Cayenne
Chili powder
Cinnamon
Allspice
Thyme
Parsley

Moroccan
Ginger
Cumin
Black pepper
Coriander
Cayenne
Allspice

Tex-Mex
Cumin
Garlic
Chili powder
Black pepper
Crushed red pepper to taste

Curry Blend
Turmeric
Cardamom
Coriander
Cumin
Cayenne or chili powder
Dry mustard
Ginger

The amount of spice used in each blend varies, but the advantage of making your own blend is that you can make it just how you like it. Play around with the amounts, you can even add, remove, or substitute the spices. Once you have found a good blend that works for you and your taste, you can make a larger amount to store in an airtight container and use it for other recipes later.

Happy cooking!

Comments

  1. UnknownFebruary 7, 2017 at 9:41 AM

    I love these blends. I can get fresh spices at local co-op in bulk dept and make a "designer" spice blend that is fresh, reasonably sized and at fraction of cost of marketed blends found in stores. AND reduce sodium. win/win!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. LiveWell VermontFebruary 7, 2017 at 10:40 AM

    Absolutely...these are great and easy to make. Enjoy!

    ReplyDelete

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