10 Secret Ingredients I Always Have in my Kitchen

1. Fennel Seed- I love to add this to ground beef dishes to get that spicy Italian sausage flavor. Use it in gluten-free Italian dishes like Lasagna or soups.
2. Lemon or Lime Juice- This adds zest to meats, salsa, vegetable or fruit juice, and even soups. I also love to put it in herbal tea with honey.
3. Nutmeg- During the fall, I add pumpkin and apple to everything while the rest of the year, I use bananas. Either way, nothing brings out those flavors like a dash of nutmeg. Nutmeg rocks in gluten-free muffins, pancakes, French toast and oatmeal.
4. Raisins- These little guys are usually dismissed as a shriveled, second-rate fruit, but they’re extremely versatile. I usually eat them in oatmeal, but they’re awesome in stir-fries; I like to cook them up with some chicken and vegetables with a Vidalia onion marinade. I’ve had raisins in beef tacos too. Experiment with different meat dishes but also add them to gluten-free bready things like muffins, cookies, and scones for a sweet burst of fiber.
5. Cream Cheese- This summer, my husband acquired a ton of cream cheese for free and we put it in all kinds of stuff. Add it to sweet or savory dishes. Our favorite experiments were fresh blackberry and cream cheese pancakes, omelets, chips and salsa, and wraps. I even put chunks on salads with black beans, avocado and salsa.
6. Red or Vidalia Onion- Red onion kicks up any stir-fry and is amazing in egg dishes. My husband loves to sauté red onion with mushroom and put it on meat or even eat it plain. Use it as a colorful addition to a bunless burger or chop it up and add to salads, wraps, and my favorite, broccoli slaw (Put raisins in it).
7. Garlic- Who doesn’t drool when they smell sautéing garlic? Garlic is a powerful antibiotic and may lower cholesterol. Put it in soups, sauces, stir-fries, and marinades. One of my favorite tricks is to marinade chicken in a mixture of olive oil, garlic, and rosemary. Give it a shot.
8. Tomato Sauce- I love soup and sometimes, I get to creative for my own good. Tomato sauces seems to erase my bad ideas and get conflicting flavors to blend better, so if you make one too many Oopsies with your leftover soup, keep this at arm’s length. Also, tomatoes are full of lycopene, a potent antioxidant that may prevent certain cancers, so you may want to add anyway, even if you didn’t mess up.
9. Milled Flaxseed- For a boost of fiber and omega-3 fatty acids, I add milled flaxseed to muffin and pancake batter, oatmeal, and yogurt (hint: add to slightly sweetened yogurt with fruit and it tastes like pie crust). Flaxseed can also replace half the fat in most baking recipes; just add three tablespoons for every tablespoon of oil or butter in a recipe. I actually swap flaxseed for all the oil in my standby muffin recipe, so experiment. Make sure to keep this in the fridge to prevent oxidation.
10. Cinnamon- I’m a cinnamon freak. Whenever a recipe calls for cinnamon, I always double or triple the amount, and sometimes I throw some in even when it’s not called for. For that unique sweet and spicy kick, add cinnamon to yogurt, smoothies, oatmeal, fruit, and gluten-free pancakes, muffins, and scones.