Do herbs/ spices have calories?

Most seasonings unless specifically marked low or sodium free will have salt, and often a lot of it. That being said, unless you have issues with blood pressure or have been directed to a low sodium diet, a bit of extra salt is typically not harmful.

Spices are usually low in calories, and for a meal, I don't log them. If I'm making a large batch and using multiple teaspoons or tablespoons, I'll often look them up to see if the amount I'm adding is significant enough to warrant including in the recipe.

I actually just thought about this recently and was surprised. A tablespoon of ground cinnamon is nearly 20 calories. Seems like it could add up quickly if all spices are like that - I hadn't been tracking them and have still be losing fine, but if my weight loss stalls, that's probably the first thing I'll change is to start tracking spices. I use a lot of them with my cooking as well.

Lizzles1986 wrote: »

A tablespoon of ground cinnamon is nearly 20 calories.

A tablespoon of cinnamon is also a lot of cinnamon, though. Most people would find that overpowering in a single serving. And if we're talking about a fraction of 20 calories, then that's such a minor difference that it might as well be a rounding error.

I only log individual servings of spice mixes if the mix contains sodium and it is listed in the database, because I track my sodium.

I do log all individual spices when I create recipes using the Recipe Importer/Old Recipe Calculator, because many spices do contribute micronutrients in addition to Calories.

I have posted this list before, but I will post it again. I listed them by tablespoon for comparison purposes.

Spices, Calories per tablespoon
Spices – Mustard seed, yellow, 53
Spices – Poppy seed, 47
Spices – Nutmeg, ground, 37
Spices – Fenugreek seed, 36
Spices – Garlic powder, 28
Spices – Celery seed, 25
Spices – Mace, ground, 25
Spices – Chili powder, 24
Spices – Cumin, 24
Spices – Onion, powder, 24
Spices – Turmeric, ground, 24
Spices – Anise seed, 23
Spices – Cumin seed, 23
Spices – Caraway seed, 22
Spices – Cloves, ground, 21
Spices – Curry powder, 20
Spices – Dill seed, 20
Spices – Fennel seed, 20
Spices – Paprika, 20
Spices – Ginger, ground, 19
Spices – Pumpkin pie spice, 19
Spices – Cardamom, 18
Spices – Cinnamon, ground, 18
Spices – Oregano, dried, 17
Spices – Pepper, red or cayenne, 17
Spices – Allspice, ground, 16
Spices – Pepper, black, 16
Spices – Coriander seed, 15
Spices – Poultry seasoning, 11
Spices – Rosemary, dried, 11
Spices – Dill weed, dried, 8
Spices – Saffron, 7
Spices – Thyme, dried, 7
Spices – Sage, ground, 6
Spices – Bay leaf, 6
Spices – Basil, dried, 5
Spices – Marjoram, dried, 5
Spices – Spearmint, dried (mint), 5
Spices – Tarragon, dried, 5
Spices – Parsley, dried, 4
Spices – Spearmint, fresh (mint), 3
Spices – Rosemary, fresh, 2
Spices – Thyme, fresh, 2
Spices – Basil, fresh, 1
Spices – Peppermint, fresh (mint), 1
Spices – Pepper, white, < 1

Thank you! @CyberTone

I don't bother unless it's in a recipe. When I'm using pepper on my veggies, it looks like I paint it with pepper yet the scale never moves off zero. I tried weighing out a serving (6 grams) of ground black pepper and that's a lot of freaking pepper.