These are fun and healthy ways to spice up your meals

Joel Orcutt of Hood River Lavender Farms says “Lavender is so much more versatile as an Herb and an accompaniment to food and drinks than what we here in the United States know.” “It is often used in Parisian Bakeries, as a Spice Herb and even ice cream in Europe. Extremely versatile in cooking, it also adds nice color and garnish to a dish.

Herbs - The Cook's Guide to Flavorful and Aromatic Ingredients. An in-depth review of a culinary cookbook which features herbs and spices.

the tasty north indian delecasy of preparing mutter panner with herbs and spices.

Spices and various plants used in Thai cooking are herbs, which have medicinal properties that can heal illness. The benefits of herbs used in Thai food may not always be obviously known, so the following are examples of herbs used in Thai cooking are cited for reference below.

Five-spice powder is a convenient seasoning in Chinese cuisine. It incorporates the five basic flavors of Chinese cooking — sweet, sour, bitter, savory, and salty. It consists of Chinese Tung Hing cinnamon (actually a type of cassia), powdered cassia buds, powdered star anise and anise seed, ginger root, and ground cloves. Another recipe for the powder consists of huajiao (Sichuan pepper), bajiao (star anise), rougui (cassia), cloves, and fennel seeds. It is used in most recipes for Cantonese roasted duck, as well as beef stew. The five-spice powder mixture has followed the Chinese diaspora and has been incorporated into national cuisines throughout Asia.The formulae are based on the Chinese philosophy of balancing the yin and yang in food.Although this spice is used in restaurant cooking, many Chinese households never use it in day-to-day cooking. In Hawaii, some restaurants have it on the table.A versatile seasoned salt can be easily made by stir-frying common salt with Five-spice powder under low heat in a dry pan until the spice and salt are well mixed.