SPICES (part 2 of pantry, condiments, etc)

Variety they say, is the spice of life. When it comes to eating plant-based-or mostly plant based- spice and herbs are everything. Spice is what takes any food and turns it from dull to delicious in an instant-it can also ruin a meal-if you've ever had too salty of a soup or too spicy hot of something, you know this is true.

Spices and herbs-fresh or dry-have their own health and medicinal properties. Entire books have been written on that alone. Many people swear by Oil of Oregano, for example, and turmeric pastes to heal all kinds of ailments. Tinctures of garlic, rosemary-whether elixirs or made into teas or simply added to smoothies-not only do spices add classic tastes to so many dishes, but also act as their own little health boosters along with the foods made with them.

Back in the day, spices were pretty autonomous from each other. Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme was a popular song in the 60's, but that's how spices came-by themselves. Salt, pepper-they stood alone. In our culture. Many years ago, parsley was simply something restaurants threw on a plate as a garnish to make it 'look nice'. Now we know that parsley has some amazing health properties to it, and in other cultures entire salads are made with it (Tabbouleh).  Cultures like Asia were mixing  up spices for a long time-Chinese 5 spice, curries.

Now along with individual spices, there are 1000's of different spice 'mixes.' Spices specifically for hamburgers, steaks, chicken, fish. Spices for salads, to add heat, to add garlicky goodness. Spices and 'rubs' for bbq's and roasts, spices for soups and stews-you name it, there is a combination for whatever palate you are feeling-an Italian herb blend perhaps, or a zingy fiery dash of Mexican?

And this is great, wonderful and makes ethnic cuisine a bit less complicated for some-after all, when you can just reach for the "Greek spice" bottle or the "Cajun blend"-you already have the essential spices to that particular cuisine all prepped and ready to go for you. Instead of YOU having to figure out the 5 spices to put into a dish, all the work is done for you. Which can be great. Except one thing:

The majority of these blends are rich with salts and sugars. I know right? Sucks, because what should be a pretty straight forward no-brainer means now you're stuck reading the labels even on freakin' spice bottles now. BUT-(and that's a big but so you know that I cannot lie)-there are also 100's of spice blends now that include NO salts. In fact, Mrs. Dash- her whole line of spices is salt-free. Since so many folks are in fact watching sodium intake, there have been many companies that have followed suite and have implemented a low or no sodium blend.

Even spices known for salt-the infamous Sazon and Adobo seasonings found in Hispanic cooking, now come with a no sodium 'natural' mix. So no despair-you can still have a huge spice cabinet. As pictured here-I like to keep all my spices in glass but I also mix up some of my own 'blends' so I keep those in little tiny tupperware. (Yes, I will share the recipes.)

 I put them all on 'lazy susans'-the trays that move around in a circle, for ease in finding the spices I want to use. The possibilities of course are endless when it comes to spicing things up, and it's incredible how spices can truly change the taste of a product. A can of black beans for example, can be made up to taste Latino or from the Caribbean or from Africa-just based on the spices one uses. Spice really makes dishes regional-you can have a Chilean stew, an Brazilian stew or an American stew, just by tweaking a few spices and veggies.

As far as salt goes-well that's controversial. Sea salt is all the rage, in the belief that it is somehow healthier. I have a bottle in front in this picture of Pink Himalayan salt-touted for its richness in minerals and with some pretty incredible health claims. Trendy hype? Possibly. Sodium is sodium. Regular table salt gets a very bad rap, however it does contain iodine which at one point was necessary to supplement in our foods to prevent goiter. That problem has obviously been eliminated. Now I do -did-like to roll my baked potatoes in a coarse kosher salt, but until I actually try a vegan sour cream, I don't think I'll be making baked potatoes anytime soon because without butter and/or at least sour cream or cheese, I mean, what's the point. In any event, the jury has concluded for now that the pink Himalayan salt is the only salt we should touch at all. Far from being hard to find, I actually got mine at Wal-Mart. Funny because if you Google about it, it seems gourmet trendy could only find at a Whole Foods or upscale-type grocer. It is expensive even at the Wal-Mart compared to a big thing of regular old salt......but I would still err on the side of caution and use ANY salt very sparingly. 

TIP: Turmeric, which is the base of many curries, is thought to be an anti-inflammatory possibly anti-cancer property spice. It too, should be Googled for more information. Anyway, it is said that if used in conjunction with black pepper, the pepper enhances the bioavailablity of the Turmeric 10 fold so makes it that much more healthy in our bodies.