Saturday, April 16, 2016

Mrs. Dash Table Blends: Sweet Southern BBQ & Roasted Garlic with Herbs

I tried both these salt-free blends several months ago and became an immediate fan. I normally don’t use many Mrs. Dash products. (I prefer Penzeys for NSA spice blends.) But I decided to give these two a try, and I’m glad I did.

First, the Sweet Southern BBQ. Years ago, in my college days and way before low sodium, I used to buy Lawry’s barbecue flavored seasoned salt to sprinkle on cottage cheese. (This combo was my emergency diet mainstay.) The flavored salt tasted just like the stuff sprinkled on BBQ potato chips.

Sweet Southern BBQ & Roasted Garlic with Herbs

When we first started eating low sodium, I could buy BBQ and lemon pepper flavored Terra brand unsalted potato chips. But, alas, they’ve stopped making them. (Unfortunately, that often happens with favorite low sodium products.) So, for years now, I’ve been missing that BBQ flavored spice blend. But, no more!

Mrs. Dash Sweet Southern BBQ Table Blend has captured the barbecue flavor I so fondly remember. It’s great on cottage cheese, grilled chicken or pork chops, oven baked French fries, etc.
There’s only one drawback – It has a tendency to clump together in the shaker bottle. That’s because of the sweeteners used in the blend: sugar, tomato powder, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, dried molasses, and honey powder. So I put one of those moisture-absorbing silica packets (from supplements) inside the jar to help keep it free-flowing and eliminate moisture from opening the jar. I also keep the jar stored in my freezer.


Sweet Southern BBQ on Roasted Boneless/Skinless Chicken

On to the Roasted Garlic with Herbs. I know what you’re thinking. Who needs another garlic & herb blend? But this one is slightly different. Most garlic & herb blends are super strong with the garlic powder and weak with the herbs. That’s the reason I gave up on them. I figured I might as well use just plain old-fashioned garlic powder.

What makes this blend different is that the garlic flavor is not overpowering. For one thing, the garlic is roasted, so it’s a lighter flavor. For another thing, the blend is finely ground. It’s meant to be for table use, so it’s easy to get just a sprinkle. It just seems more delicate and subtle to me, yet you still get a good garlic flavor.

I especially like to use it with cooked vegetables ‒ a sprinkle and then toss them with a bit of butter. It’s also good on grilled or roasted meats. And it makes a fine last minute garlic bread spread when mixed with butter.

2 comments:

Dishy said...

These sound delicious, Shambo! I miss those flavored Terra chips too, so I'll have to try making my own. Thanks so much for the heads-up!

shambo said...

Christy, I think the Terra company gave up on the unsalted potato chips a little too soon. If they had waited a few years and launched a major ad campaign, I think they'd be a hit now. There's a lot more awareness and conversations about eating low sodium now. I was also sorry to discover that Utz stopped making their unsalted BBQ chips. Bummer!