Some people just eat to survive. At One Green Planet, we are not those people. We like to enjoy, savor, and appreciate our food! And if you’re here, you probably do too. Maybe you aren’t sure how to season your food or just want to learn more ways to combine spices to create delicious, irresistible flavor. Whatever the reason is that you might looking for flavor, you’ve come to the right place. Follow the tips below and make use of all the wonderful blends and combinations and you’ll be eating the best food of your life in no time!

To then use your newfound spice and seasoning knowledge in recipes, make sure you download our Food Monster App!

1. How to Make Your Own Spice Blends

Source: How to Make Your Own Spice Blends

There are problems with store-bought blends: you may not always like all the spices they put in the blend, many blends say “spices” on the label and don’t say what it actually contains, and many blends contain a lot of salt, additives and MSG. By making your own blends, you get to decide what goes in them and what doesn’t. You can adjust the spices if you want it spicier or saltier. They’re also fun to make and little seasoning jars make cute gifts! Follow these tips from Rhea Parsons to make your own spice blends!

2. How to Make Your Own Seasoning Mixes

Source: How to Make Your Own Seasoning Mixes

As much as any decent fly-by-feel cook likes to shake a bit of everything into a pot and see how it tastes, it is always nice to have some go-to seasoning mixes. The great thing about seasoning mixes is that they are already balanced, so there is no need for trying to add the right ratio of salt to spice to sweet to herb to whatever. To make your own seasoning mixes, follow Jonathon Engels‘ advice!

3. The Ultimate Spice Guide for Vegan Cooking

Source: The Ultimate Spice Guide for Vegan Cooking

Spices add flavors, whether it’s salty, sweet, smoky or spicy. They add beautiful aromas that make us hunger for the food and also let us recognize the type of cuisine. In some cases, spices, such as turmeric, paprika and saffron, can change or enhance the color of food and make it look as delicious as it tastes. Spices do not fit into just one flavor profile. A spice can be nutty, spicy and earthy at the same time. In fact, there are 15 identifiable flavor characteristics for spices – bitter, cooling, earthy, floral, fruity, herbaceous, hot, nutty, piney, pungent, sour, spicy, sulfury, sweet and woody – and spices may fall into more than one category. Check out Rhea Parsons‘ guide how to use spices in your vegan cooking.

4. The Best Spice Blends to Make Food Less Bland

Source: The Best Spice Blends to Put on Your Food to Make Them Less Bland

Let’s be honest — some foods just need a little somethin’, somethin’ to make them taste as grand as they often look in food photographs, or as good as we imagine they’ll be. Food marketers know this, which is why cheap sources of seasonings, sugars, and goodness knows what else from additives end up in our food. Whole foods such as apples, bananas, and even carrots and broccoli, actually taste pretty good without much fuss, if any at all. But others, such as whole grains, beans, legumes, and for those that eat it — meat — are are much better when seasoned or spiced up in some way. Say goodbye to bland food with these Spice Blends from Heather McClees.

5. Plant-Based Guide To Ramen Seasoning

Source: Plant-Based Guide To Ramen Seasoning

Instant ramen isn’t very good for our health, and while the instant stuff is hugely popular among those who are strapped for cash, time, or the energy to prepare their own meal, there’s an entire world of ramen out there that far-outstrips the flavor and nutritional value of the convenient college staple. In fact, authentic ramen is something of a national obsession. Learn to make your own delicious plant-based ramen seasoning with Lia Ryerson‘s guide.

6. The Ultimate Guide to Thai Curries + Learn How to Make a Curry Paste

Source: The Ultimate Guide to Thai Curries + Learn How to Make a Curry Paste

Most Thai curries contain chili peppers, garlic, and coconut milk, as well as galengal or “blue ginger”, a plant which is similar to ginger in aesthetics, but not in taste. Thai curries can be highly influenced by Laotian and Chinese cuisines, as well as general South Asian cuisine. Read Dennis Abell‘s Ultimate Guide to Thai Curries to learn about the various types of Thai curry, and check out the recipes too!

7. How to Add Ethnic Flavors to Dishes

Source: How to Add Ethnic Flavors to Dishes

Does the idea of making Asian dishes scare you? Do you see photos of Moroccan food or Cajun food and think you could never make those? Do you think that Italian food just has lots of garlic and basil? Well, fret no more. Many cultures have  a “flavor profile” for their culinary style. Once you learn which flavors tend to go together and become familiar with the different ingredients, herbs, and spices that may be new to you, it will be a cinch to start developing your own international culinary talents. Begin with this guide Add Ethnic Flavors to Dishes by Rhea Parsons.

8. 10 Mexican Spices to Spike Up Your Meals

Source: 10 Mexican Spices to Spike Up Your Meals

Part of the appeal of Mexican food is that delicious flavor which comes from several herbs and spices that are popular south of the border. Spices commonly used in Mexican cooking can transform simple and cheap plant-based ingredients such as rice and beans into flavorful, main course worthy dishes. Check out this list by Alexandra Evans to understand how to use Spices to Add Mexican Flavor to Your Meals.

9. How to Use Sofrito to Make Plant-Based Latin American Food Taste Authentic

Source: How to Use Sofrito to Make Plant-Based Latin American Food Taste Authentic

Sofrito is an indispensable seasoning used as the base in many Latin Caribbean dishes. Defined as an aromatic mix of herbs and spices, it is used as the secret ingredient to flavor beans, rice, stews, vegetables, meats, and fish in Cuban, Dominican Republican, Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Spanish cuisines. Learn How to Use Sofrito With This Guide by Lia Ryerson.

10. How to Use the Cajun Holy Trinity to Create Flavor in Your Cooking

Source: How to Use the Cajun Holy Trinity to Create Flavor in Your Cooking

Onions, celery, and green bell peppers: these three ingredients sound innocuous enough on their own, but when combined together they create the essential backbone of practically every Cajun dish. The mixture of the vegetables is called the Cajun “Holy Trinity” and brings an otherworldly complex layering of flavors to your cooking. Follow Lia Ryerson‘s guide to learn How to Use the Cajun Holy Trinity to Create Flavor in Your Cooking.

11. Tadka: The Indian Tempering Trick That Will Transform Your Cooking

Source: Tadka: The Indian Tempering Trick That Will Transform Your Cooking

You may love spices, but you may not know how to unlock their full flavor potential. That’s where “tadka” comes in; this Indian cooking technique has existed for hundreds of years, but many of us have never heard of it. But, it is part of what makes Indian cooking so richly spicy and aromatic. Once you master this technique we guarantee that not only will you taste spices in a way that you’ve never tasted them before, you will want to apply this technique to every dish you make. Follow Kat Smith‘s tips and transform your cooking with tadka!

We also highly recommend downloading our Food Monster App, which is available for both Android and iPhone, and can also be found on Instagram and Facebook. The app has more than 15,000 plant-based, allergy-friendly recipes, and subscribers gain access to new recipes every day. Check it out!

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