Salt, when consumed too much, has been proven to have a bad effect on the heart. It also contributes to bloating which isn't pleasant for anyone. The problem with trying to omit salt from the diet is that food can taste very bland. The simple solution to that is to start experimenting with different spice blends. One combination that adds a real zest to a dish is lemon pepper. It goes with both chicken and fish along with many other things.
A trip down the spice aisle of your local grocery store will yield several already made products that contain these two flavorings. Mrs. Dash has a wide selection of salt-free spice blends including lemon pepper. If you'd prefer to make your own it's a fairly simple endeavor. All you need to do is zest a lemon, combine it well with crushed pepper corns and dry the mixture out in the oven.
Once you have the spice blend in your kitchen you're ready to get down to the business of cooking. A great dish that everyone in the family will love is lemon pepper chicken. This uses the spice as part of a simple marinade that also includes olive oil and some other fresh herbs such as rosemary and a clove of garlic. If you grill this you'll want to baste the chicken with a bit of marinade during the cooking process so whip up extra as you don't want to baste with the mixture that the raw chicken was in. Safe handling of food is really crucial
Fish seems to go hand-in-hand with this spicy combination. If you've ever purchased frozen fish dinners you'll have noticed that many are lemon pepper flavored. The reason is that lemon is just a natural complement to fish. There are several ways to go about cooking fish with this spice added. You can use the same marinade recipe as you used for lemon chicken or you can just sprinkle some of the seasoning over the fish before frying or grilling. Served with a little fresh lemon on the side, this is not only a delicious dish it's incredibly healthy as well.
Experimentation is always fun in the kitchen, so why not get creative? Adding this spice to a side dish can tie the entire meal together. Both rice and couscous taste wonderful with a bit of lemon pepper added to them. When you are preparing the liquid to cook either in, add a dash of the spice in place of salt and you'll have an even more flavorful result. The best part is that the dish will contain absolutely no sodium which means everyone can eat it.
|
