How To Season Food

Let's figure this out together! I know that my biggest thing that I get snobby about at restaurants is bland food. It has taken me years to come to terms with getting seasoning my food right. It is not an exact science I sometimes still make a mess of a meal. It is more rare now though. I want to give you solid tips for how to make your meals a success.

Spices can last a while and buying the ones you use the most in bulk is recommended. I like the Tone's brand pictured for the common spices I use all the time. I only wish I could get Nature's Seasoning in giant tubs.

A bowl of chili seasoning is the bomb!

If you do not feel comfortable mixing spices it is okay to buy pre-mixes. I have a couple things I do not mix up myself and instead buy. Cajun, curry, lemon pepper and taco seasoning are good examples.

I bought the large Cajun one pictured from SAM's Club.


When trying to figure out what best seasonings to pair together stick with other like minded spices. Pairing Italian spices together such as fennel, onion/garlic powder, oregano and thyme all work well together. There are plenty of spice charts out on the internet that can get you started.

Here are my favorite seasonings to have paired up.

Italian mix: Garlic/onion powder, oregano, fennel, thyme, Mrs. Dash, salt.

This is good for spaghetti and lasagna. Fennel has been a game changer for me and I really love it. I will sometimes omit the fennel if I am making soup and use the others left.

Curry mix:
Curry powder, Gram masala and everglades seasoning. Everyglades can be subbed out with Mrs. Dash or Nature's seasoning too. This makes a good base for curry and also sometimes I put it on roasted veggies or mashed veggies. I have even used it in  a frittata once.

Grilled smoke mix:
Applewood rub and smoke paprika.

This is perfection on roasted veggies in the winter months when you cannot grill. Tasty on burgers and red meat too.





Now a couple of friendly seasoning reminders:

• Anytime anything is added to your pan you need to season that ingredient.
• Taste your food as you go as well. This way you can find a happy balance of flavor.
• Pictures in the above smoked paprika you can often buy small seasoning containers to try out a spice and see if you like it or not before buying a ton of it.

I hope this is helpful to you. You can really transform basic meals and side dishes with spices. One you get into the world of seasoning you will not want to go back to boring basic meals. A little salt and pepper goes a long way too.

Until next time~
XoXo Emily