Although spices and herbs provide a lot of vitamins and nutrients, there are those who cannot digest them.
Remember that almost any food has a flavor of its own.
You just need to capitalize on them.
With meats you can marinate and tenderize with an acid (lemon juice, vinegar, yogurt, beer or wine) and any oil.
For more flavor add honey.
If you can handle it, add soy sauce or any other premixed sauce.
Be careful, however, as many packaged sauces contain spices.
Cheese is the cure-all for many.
Full of salt and fat it is no wonder that it adds a little extra to almost any vegetable.
Since most of us keep prepared mustard on hand for our burgers (and may not consider it a spice), cheese and mustard are a truly easy and flavorful combination.
If it gets too thick add a little melted butter.
If you are in a hurry, keep some crumbled feta cheese on hand.
A little bit sprinkled over the top goes a long way to add tang to those ordinary veggies.
Other dairy products can also provide flavor and a salvation if your meat or vegetables are overcooked.
Just mix equal parts flour and cream cheese (1 tablespoon of each is an easy start) in a pan and warm until a paste is formed and add ½ cup milk for a cream sauce.
Add other cheeses like pepper jack for even more flavor.
You can use the sauce as a gravy, or you may cut up the meat, add the overdone veggies and pasta or rice for a one-dish meal with a lovely sauce over the top.
Whether you prefer organic, canned or fresh from the garden tomatoes, you can use this vegetable to flavor almost anything.
Simmer stewed tomatoes over pork in a fry pan.
Cut up fresh tomatoes in a crock pot to use as a liquid base and add meat or beans or both.
Choose some other fresh ingredients like the standard carrots and potatoes or the not so standard like parsnips, beets or radishes.
Many depend on coffee to get us started in the morning, but coffee can add a smoky flavor to a meal.
Use the dregs from the morning coffee pot to add to a stew or a sauce.
Talk about tantalizing your taste buds! Or use coffee extract in baking for that mocha flavor that goes so well with chocolate.
Mushrooms have a very earthy taste, but they are also perfect for expanding a flavor.
They tend to absorb the taste in oils or other liquids that you soak them in.
Try any of the marinating fluids already mentioned.
Fruits, such as raisins or cranberries, can add either a sweet or tart taste to your meal.
Both can be used to make a salad more interesting to your palette.
Likewise, nuts increases not only flavor, but "good" fats and great texture to salads and stir-fries.
And finally, try a tablespoon of molasses to your beans or stew.
You'll be surprised how it adds a little smoky richness to the mix.
So next time you run out of a certain spice or herb or have to avoid them for health reasons, try to think outside the obvious and get creative with other things you have on hand.
There is nothing that says you can't make substitutions or alterations to a meal.
Who knows you might just create a whole new taste sensation for your family and skip that trip to the store.