My Favorite Spice Mix

My Favorite Spice Mix

This recipe can easily be modified according to your taste, preference and diet restriction. You can mix up once and have 3-4 uses before having to drag out all the spice jars again.

Salad Dressing/ Vegetable Marinade/ Pasta Salad Spice Mix

Ingredients
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon white sugar~
2 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 tablespoon dried parsley
½ teaspoon celery seeds
1 teaspoon crushed peppers
1-2 teaspoon salt*
¼ – ½ cup vinegar of your choice
¼ – ½ cup oil of your choice
2-4 tablespoon water or lemon juice
~substitute with Splenda or other sugar substitute if you on diabetic diet

*Leave out if you are on sodium (salt) restricted diet 1 teaspoon is about 2,300 mg of sodium!  Remember the more flavor you add from herbs and spices the less you would miss the salt. I like to use sea salt such as Celtic Sea Salt for additional mineral content.

Directions
For a Salad Dressing or a Pasta Salad
Whisk vinegar, oil, and water or lemon juice mixture together then add the spice mix.

Use 1-2 part vinegar to 1-2 part oil (a ratio you prefer), I like mine 1 part vinegar, 1 part oil, 2 part water.
I like unpasteurized apple cider vinegar and extra virgin olive oil you can use less oil by adding more water, or lemon juice
2-3 T of spice mix to your taste, store the rest in air tight container i.e. baby food jar for later use

Uses

• As a salad dressing
• A vegetable marinade
• For a pasta salad 1:1 ratio of pasta to fresh cut up vegetables (tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, celery, carrots, cauliflower or whatever you have in your garden or frig – great way to get a variety of vegetables to your diet.

Of course 1 part pasta to 2 parts cut up veggies would be even better!

Add lean ham, turkey, chicken breast strips or sliced hard boiled eggs for added protein. A mixture of cooked beans would add protein and a good soluble fiber source too.

Nutrition facts
1 tablespoon of most oils contains about 120 calories
2 oz pasta serving (~1 cup cooked) has about 200 calories depends on how it was made.

Example: if you use 2 cups of pasta, 2 cups fresh cut up vegetables, 2 tablespoon of oil in your recipe.  Then 2 cups of pasta salad is about 320+ calories.  The vegetables by themselves do not contain very many calories. Most 1 cup of raw vegetable has 25 calories.

Health notes

• Cold pressed extra virgin olive oil is best but you can use canola oil, peanut oil. You would want to use the higher monosaturaed fat containing oil for heart health.
• Unpasteurized apple cider vinegar is believed to have cholesterol lowering, and improve blood sugar effect. Be cautious about using apple cider vinegar as a regular medicinal treatment.  More research is needed for its safety for humans.
• I did not use whole wheat pasta or this time, but that would have been a healthier option for increase fiber.
• Low carb Tofu Shirataki noodles would be excellent for this recipe it only has 20 calories per 4 oz serving and a good source of soluble fiber.

Related posts:
Every Day Food Made Healthier
More Every Day Food Made Healthier
Lower The Salt (Sodium) in Your Food
Getting The Most From Your Lemons
Shirataki Tofu Noodles