Lots of people trying to eat healthier soon discover that the easiest way to do so is to prepare your own food. One of the easiest ways to stay on track with healthy eating is to stick to simple meals that you eat regularly. Unfortunately, eating the same food over and over can quickly get boring. Chicken and broccoli with rice can only be exciting for so long.

Spices to the Rescue!

Using a broader variety of spices are one of the best ways to keep things from getting bland. Spices have the advantage that they add basically no additional calories to your food and don't mess up your macro-nutrient count. Most herbs and spices contain no fat or protein and add a maximum of one or two grams of carbohydrates to your food per teaspoon. Just be careful with premixed spice blends. Many of them contain unnecessary fillers or too much salt.

The nice thing is that there's a huge variety of herbs and spices available these days. Spices are so versatile that you can enjoy them with many different types of proteins-. tofu, eggs, chicken or pork can be seasoned with the same blends, making it convenient to have them on hand. Most spices taste great on their own and perk up any bland dish. If you're not up for experimenting with blends, just a few simple spices are enough to add flavour to your food.

How much spice or seasoning you use depends on your tastes. As a rule of thumb, you should use less of very intense flavours like garlic, onion or herbs such as oregano or basil. You can always adjust and experiment a little over time until you find your groove. Salt can also have a big impact on how flavourful your dishes taste. Here's a few common seasoning blends to get you started!

Italian

Combine garlic powder, onion powder, basil and oregano. This spice combination can be used for meat, sprinkled on egg dishes or even mixed in tomato sauce or pasta sauces.

Mexican

Mix coriander, cumin, garlic powder, and chilli. This mixture is ideal for meat, rice or eggs.

Thai

Combine basil, curry powder, ginger, garlic powder and cumin for a Thai curry taste. Perfect for meat or rice, or make a simple curry sauce by mixing these spices with coconut milk.

BBQ

For barbecue flavour without using a sauce, mix paprika, cumin, cinnamon, black pepper, garlic and onion powder. Use the mixture to as a rub before grilling or pan searing meat or sprinkle it on egg dishes or veggies.

Enjoy experimenting!!