CHANGE #27
Substitute Sauces for Something Smarter
SIMPLY PUT… If you need to punch up the flavor of food, skip the sauce (which may contain extra calories, fat, and sugar) and use either a spice or a healthier sauce substitute instead.
My friend Marcy, bless her honest soul, always used to make fun of the food I ate. I guess you could call it food. She called it dirt. A fine array of kale, chia seeds, flaxseed, protein powder, Swiss chard, barley, bulgur, wheatgrass… Alright, I guess I can see how she could call it dirt. Clearly I ate more for nutrition and sustenance than taste and enjoyment.
I didn’t worry about taste as long as it was healthy. Marcy, like most humans, didn’t quite subscribe to the same food philosophy. So why was a boring culinary palate good enough for me? I just always assumed that drowning food in fattening sauces was the only way to add a little sex appeal. I knew no other option.
And then I met Stephanie. My partner in life. My lifesaver in the kitchen. My other option.
Steph loves food. She loves to make food out of other food. She loves interesting ingredients and subtle spices. And she opened my eyes to the wonderful world of taste. Oh, I still eat the same food—I just make it taste a little better so I eat a little more of it.
There are so many empty calories in the things we flood our food with, and it’s far too easy to overdo using them once the drenching begins. But seasoning your foods with herbs and spices instead can strip away excess calories at every meal, adding plenty of flavor without the sodium, sugar, cholesterol, or fat most sauces and condiments come with.
DON’T STOP THERE…
Whichever herbs or spices you end up sprinkling on your foods is purely a matter of taste. But if you’re staring at your wall o’ spices thinking you have it all covered, there are a few things to know that could help you benefit from this Change even more. It’s all about the planning.
How to Buy Them
• If you have the patience, purchase them whole. Whole spices last a lot longer than ground versions and taste fresher. If you go that route, you’ll need either a spice grinder (a coffee grinder works too) or a mortar and pestle.
• Don’t go crazy buying them in bulk. A little goes a long way with herbs and spices.
• Use your nose and eyes. When fresh, most spices are incredibly pungent and have a bright color. If a spice looks dull or smells musty, move on.
How to Store Them
If dry…
• Store them the right way. Always put them in airtight containers in a cool, dry, dark place. It may be convenient to have them hanging by your stove, but moisture, heat, and light can change their flavor.
• Mark them with a date. They may not spoil, but over time, herbs and spices become less potent and lose flavor. After you’ve had one for a year, it’s time to toss it and start fresh.
• What happens if the date rubs off ? Take a pinch and rub it between your fingers. If it has little to no smell, give it the heave-ho and get more.
If fresh…
• Timing is everything. Wait to buy them—or pull them from your herb garden—as close to the time you need to use them as possible.
• Snip and soak them. If storing them for a few days, cut the stems (when possible), place them in a glass of water (just like a flower), and refrigerate them. If you can’t snip them, stick them in an open plastic bag in your crisper drawer.
• Put them on ice. If you won’t be using them for a while, you can always freeze fresh herbs by washing them first, patting them dry, then removing the leaves and placing them in a freezer bag (either chopped or left whole).
How to Use Them
• Start strong and stay small. Stick with one strong herb or spice to start, then begin to add in one or two milder flavors if you need more. I learned this lesson the hard way when I thought it would be a good idea to use all the fresh spices in the house… at the same time… on the same piece of chicken. Even though it’s a matter of taste, mixing two or more powerful herbs or spices—or too many herbs or spices in general—can easily overwhelm your food… and Stephanie.
• Remember the rule: dried first and fresh last. When cooking with herbs, add the dried kind early but save fresh herbs for the end or they can lose their flavor.
• Dried is always stronger than fresh. If a recipe calls for dried and you’re using fresh, plan on using two to three times more fresh herbs.
• Sprinkle in your palm—not over your food. Shaking herbs or spices from a container onto anything steaming—a bubbling pot, a frying pan, even food that’s warm on your plate—can put moisture in the container, causing dried spices to cake up.
A Few Must-Have Herbs and Spices to Try
Allspice (not to be confused with Old Spice)
The Taste: A mixture of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg—with a hint of pepper.
Often used in/with: Caribbean and Latin American dishes, although allspice works in stews, chili, and desserts such as cakes, cookies, and puddings.
Side benefit: The spice may aid digestion, relieve pain, and might have compounds that help reduce the growth of prostate cancer cells.1
Basil (sweet)
The Taste: Spicy-sweet with hints of licorice and clove.
Often used in/with: Italian dishes (especially meals involving tomatoes, pasta, chicken, fish, and shellfish), lamb, salads, soups, eggplant, and zucchini.
Side benefit: The fragrant herb also contains vitamin A, vitamin K, and lutein.
Cardamom
The Taste: Strong, fragrant, spicy, and sweet—merged into one!
Often used in/with: Indian and Scandinavian dishes, rice, pork, chicken, curry dishes, fruit, duck, lentils, peas, and squash.
Side benefit: It’s rich in fiber, iron, and manganese, helps digestion, and may even fight cancer.2
Cayenne Pepper
The Taste: Hot… hot… hot!
Often used in/with: Mexican and Southwestern dishes, but also great used with soups, vegetables, fish, lean meats, eggs, and the obvious—chili.
Side benefit: The spice gets its heat from capsaicin, a compound found in many hot peppers that’s been shown (among other perks) to relieve aches and pains, improve circulation, and boost your metabolism.
Celery Seed
The Taste: Ummm… like celery, only a smidge bitterer.
Often used in/with: Soups, stews, and burgers, or as a rub on steaks.
Side benefit: It’s got calcium and iron, may lower blood pressure, and could help prevent arthritis.3
Chili Powder
The Taste: It’s a mix of other spices (typically chili pepper, cumin, garlic, and oregano).
Often used in/with: Beans, rice, vegetables, stews, and soups, as a rub on chicken (or other meats), and the obvious—chili.
Side benefit: Because of its mix of spices, chili powder contains both vitamin A and vitamin C.
Cilantro
The Taste: Sage meets citrus!
Often used in/with: Asian, Latin American, and Mexican dishes, but also with poultry, fish, lamb, vegetables, pasta, salsas, salads, beans, rice, or shellfish.
Side benefit: It has fair amounts of both vitamin A and vitamin K.
Cinnamon
The Taste: You really don’t know?
Often used in/with: Mexican and Greek dishes, desserts, coffee, oatmeal, toast, pork, carrots, fruit, cottage cheese, yogurt, sweet potatoes, and squash.
Side benefit: Extremely high in antioxidants compared to other spices (it’s rich in calcium, iron, and manganese), it’s also been shown to lower blood sugar and reduce inflammation.4
Coriander
The Taste: Toasted citrus that’s mildly spicy.
Often used in/with: Curries, meat and seafood dishes, burgers, fish, shellfish, soups, stews, and many baked goods.
Side benefit: Coriander may help lower your blood sugar and cholesterol.
Cumin
The Taste: Nutty and mildly bitter.
Often used in/with: African, Indian, Middle Eastern, and Moroccan dishes, beans, rice, chili, stews, soups, vegetables, poultry, lamb, and fish dishes.
Side benefit: It may help with killing bacteria, controlling your blood pressure, and aiding digestion.5,6,7
Curry Powder
The Taste: This tangy spice is typically a blend of a variety of different spices, including cardamom, coriander, cumin, nutmeg, and turmeric—just to name a few.
Often used in/with: Indian or Southeast Asian dishes, meat, chicken, fish, rice, lamb, tomatoes, tofu, soups, and baked potatoes.
Side benefit: Although it depends on what mixture of spices is used, its multi-spice combo contains an array of antioxidants that could help minimize inflammation and aid digestion.
Dill
The Taste: A subtle mix of anise, celery, parsley, and lemon.
Often used in/with: Seafood, chicken, breads, soups, rice, pasta, vegetables (especially potatoes, cucumbers, and beets), egg dishes, and as a rub.
Side benefit: Dill has vitamin A, vitamin C, and quercetin, a flavonoid that helps reduce inflammation.8
Fennel
The Taste: Just like licorice (peppery and sweet).
Often used in/with: Italian dishes, sausage, fish, pork, pasta, and vegetables (especially beets and squash).
Side benefit: High in vitamin C, fennel has been shown to help with heartburn and is a natural appetite suppressant.
Garlic
The Taste: Again… you really don’t know?!
Often used in/with: Lean meats, fish, poultry, soups, salads, and vegetables.
Side benefit: What doesn’t it do? From boosting your immune system to fighting cancer, one of its compounds (allicin) has also been shown to lower your risk of heart disease and stroke.9
Ginger
The Taste: Slightly citrusy, but spicy-sweet.
Often used in/with: Asian, Indian, and Middle Eastern dishes, rice, meat, poultry, fish, soups, vegetables (especially carrots and squash), desserts, and oatmeal.
Side benefit: It eases your digestive system, prevents nausea, helps the absorption of essential nutrients, and it even has an anti-inflammatory effect.
Nutmeg
The Taste: Sweet and nutty.
Often used in/with: Indian and Middle Eastern dishes, veal, fish, chicken, vegetables (especially broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and spinach), milk- or cream-based dishes.
Side benefit: The essential oils found in nutmeg have been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties.
Oregano
The Taste: It’s that smell wafting in every pizza place you’ve ever been to.
Often used in/with: Any Italian and Greek cuisine, meats, poultry, stews, salads, pizza, vegetables, and any tomato-, egg-, or cheese-based dish.
Side benefit: This common spice is thought to protect against cancer, reduce inflammation, and kill bad bacteria.10,11
Paprika
The Taste: Rich and smoky—although some types can have a little heat, ranging from mild to hot.
Often used in/with: Hungarian, German, and Spanish dishes, seafood, vegetables, goulash, eggs, soups, stews, rice, and as a rub.
Side benefit: Paprika contains vitamins A and E, as well as capsaicin, which helps rev up your metabolism.
Rosemary
The Taste: A fragrant lemony-pine flavor.
Often used in/with: Any meat, chicken, or fish dish (especially grilled), omelets, roasted or mashed potatoes, and most vegetables (particularly peas and mushrooms).
Side benefit: Not only might the herb improve your memory,12 but it’s believed to have antibacterial and antioxidant properties as well.
Sage
The Taste: Bitter and woody.
Often used in/with: Seafood, poultry, pork, soups and stews, vegetables, and baked goods.
Side benefit: It’s great for your digestion and could help with memory and lowering cholesterol.
Tarragon
The Taste: Licorice.
Often used in/with: Egg and cheese dishes, tomato dishes, soups and stews, chicken, veal, fish, shellfish, meats, vegetables (especially asparagus, carrots, green beans, and mushrooms).
Side benefit: The tasty sprig has plenty of antioxidants and iron.
Thyme
The Taste: Mildly minty and lemony.
Often used in/with: Cheeses, egg or bean dishes, vegetables (especially eggplant, mushrooms, or summer squash), stews, soups, fish, chicken, shellfish, or rubbed on beef, pork, or lamb.
Side benefit: Plenty of vitamins and minerals, and one of the oils in the herb (thymol) is a strong antioxidant that could improve brain health.13
Turmeric
The Taste: Pungent and bitter.
Often used with: Indian and Moroccan dishes, meats, poultry, lamb, curries, stews, rice, salads, dips, and vegetables.
Side benefit: The mustard-yellow spice has been shown to have pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory properties and could help reduce memory loss in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease.14
Tips and Tricks
If spices aren’t cutting it for you and texture is what you crave, you do have a few options at your disposal that can still cut calories—without losing a bit of flavor.
Barbecue sauce: Most are sugar-laden and pile on calories that can go into the triple digits per serving. Instead, marinade your meat in a mix of low-sodium soy sauce and minced garlic for at least an hour, or try horseradish sauce, which can add some kick without the calories and sugar.
Ketchup: It may be made from tomatoes, but every tablespoon of the red staple is also loaded with sugar (4 grams’ worth) and calories (on average, about 20)—and whoever pours out only one tablespoon’s worth?! Seriously!
Instead, try a thin layer of sun-dried tomato hummus, salsa, or an actual slice of tomato. Or grab the bottle of yellow mustard right next to the ketchup (it’s free of fat and sugar and has practically no calories).
Mayonnaise: Packed with preservatives and sugar, one tablespoon of the real stuff has about 90 calories and around 10 grams of fat. (The same spoonful of the light kind can still weigh in between 35 and 50 calories and 3.5–5 grams of fat—and even the fat-free kind has more than 10 calories a tablespoon.)
A few better options? Spread on some hummus, blend an avocado—it creates a similar texture and it’s heart-healthy—or mix up a little Greek yogurt with a splash of lemon juice, a little mustard, and some pepper.
Ranch dressing: That delicious taste is usually an unhealthy combo of mayonnaise and sour cream. A better option: Stick with black bean dip, some hummus, plain yogurt flavored with a few spices (such as dill, garlic, and rosemary), or mix up some Dijon mustard, Parmesan cheese, and balsamic vinegar.
Salad dressing: Best of luck finding one that doesn’t have fat, sugar, or soybean oil. Your best bet is to use olive oil or vinegar instead, or just make your own: Mix some lemon juice and a little olive oil, add salt and pepper, shake well—and voilà!
Spaghetti sauce: Sure, it’s delicious, but most jarred versions have loads of sugar. Make it yourself or go with chopped tomatoes, fresh basil, and a hint of olive oil instead.
Tartar sauce: That fishy classic is just mayonnaise with a few things like parsley, chives, or capers thrown in. If your fish needs some flavor, try some pureed steamed veggies or Greek yogurt, or marinate your fish for at least three hours in a mix of soy sauce, vinegar, lime or lemon juice, a hint of olive oil, and a few spices and herbs.