Replace the Salt in your Food with Herbs

Unless you're planning on selling the bulk of your herb garden harvest, it's always good to know just how to use them in cooking. Although experimenting turns out well for a lot of people, some need advice and recipes if for no other reason than having someone else to blame if a piece of meat is not to everyones liking.

With a little patience and creativity, you can produce herbal blends to complement your dishes so that you can reduce, and even eliminate salt from your cooking. In fact, try substituting a lesser amount of low-sodium herb margarine for butter in popcorn. Use about half a teaspoon each of onion powder, garlic powder, and basil per half cup of diet margarine (for approximately 10 cups of popcorn) and see if anyone notices the lack of salt.

Enhance the flavor of beef with your own blends of scallions, onions, garlic, marjoram, rosemary, oregano, bay leaf, thyme, parsley or basil.

Eggs perk right up with the addition of thyme, tarragon, chives, marjoram, rosemary and basil. The only spice to add is pepper and/or paprika.

Instead of salt, flavor poultry with thyme, sage, marjoram, garlic, basil, tarragon or thyme.

Mint is a favorite herb to add to lamb, but you can also try scallions, garlic, rosemary, thyme, sage or marjoram.

Vegetables also benefit with the addition of herbs. I love mashed potatoes with garlic and potatoes fried with onion. Mint or rosemary will also compliment the spud.

Savory, dill, dry mustard, garlic or onion all go well with green beans. Spritz lemon juice and dry mustard on asparagus, or steam with thyme or marjoram.

Carrots seem to be a vegetable you just can't ruin, no matter what you add, even maple syrup. For a lighter carrot dish, try spearmint and marjoram, thyme or dill.

What's your favorite?