Need to add some excitement to plain vegetables and fruits? Try herbs, spices and citrus to add mouth-watering flavors with the bonus of extra antioxidants! Best of all, you won’t add any extra calories, fat, sodium or sugar.
You can purchase fresh herbs at your supermarket year-round or grow your own herbs in warmer weather. Dried herbs will impart a slightly different flavor and are great to use too. Ground spices are convenient and you can also try whole spices that you can grate as needed.
These pairings will enhance the flavor of fruits and veggies …
Fruits
- Add lime juice and zest to a mixture of cantaloupe and honeydew balls.
- Sprinkle sliced apples with cinnamon.
- Poach pears in apple juice with a twist of lemon peel and a pod of star anise.
- Defrost frozen blueberries in the microwave and bring them back to life with some lemon zest and grated nutmeg.
- Try a dash of ground cloves on canned peaches.
Vegetables
- Carrots taste even sweeter with a touch of tarragon.
- Add chopped dill and chives to sliced cucumbers.
- Sprinkle chopped parsley or mint over grilled summer squash.
- Grow nasturtiums and toss some petals into your salad for color and a mild radish-like bite.
- Tomatoes with fresh basil, fresh garlic and balsamic vinegar are a classic. For a twist on spaghetti or pizza sauce, add minced garlic, oregano, freshly ground pepper and crushed fennel seeds to pureed tomatoes.
- Toss potato slices with rosemary, garlic powder and ground pepper and roast in the oven.
- Grate orange zest over mashed sweet potatoes.
- Toss steamed Brussels sprouts with Dijon mustard and a pinch of thyme.
- Caraway seeds are a traditional favorite with cabbage.
- Add Herbes de Provence to green beans.
- Try other no-salt-added herb blends on cooked vegetables.
With flavors such as these, who can resist eating fruits and vegetables? Experiment with other combinations!
