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What spice combination(s) work well for someone who (for health reasons) can't have salt, oil/butter, sugar, msg, vinegar, or alliums (onions, garlic, etc)? This person is additionally (for religions reasons) a lacto-vegetarian.

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not a real answer, but wikipedia's spice/herb mixture section might be a good place to start looking: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Herb_and_spice_mixtures – baka Oct 2 '11 at 22:09
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Spice combinations for what? There are dozens of different spices. – Aaronut♦ Oct 3 '11 at 2:03
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To extend what Aaronut said: sure, we use things like salt and oils for basic flavors a lot, but common spices aren't on your exclusion list. Go look at the spices section at a grocery store. With a few exceptions (garlic powder, celery salt, some premade blends...), all of those little bottles are fair game. – Jefromi♦ Oct 3 '11 at 16:42

closed as not a real question by rumtscho♦, BobMcGee, justkt, Aaronut♦ Oct 4 '11 at 1:18

It's difficult to tell what is being asked here. This question is ambiguous, vague, incomplete, overly broad, or rhetorical and cannot be reasonably answered in its current form. For help clarifying this question so that it can be reopened, see the FAQ.

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There is the French quatre épices (four spices): pepper, cloves, nutmeg and ginger. And of course you can go crazy with the herbs: parsley, basil, rosemary, sage. French again: bouquet garni, look it up here.

Let me just add something about the MSG: monosodium glutamate is practically everywhere (tomatoes, cheese, seaweed, ...), not just in Chinese cuisine or soy sauce. If you really cannot eat MSG, your choices are going to be extremely limited. Read more here.

Broadening the field of your question, you could look into culinary traditions that, for religious or philosophical reasons, eschew those ingredients. Some Indian cuisines might help you here, but I am definitely not an expert.

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I'm guessing the question is referring to a person who has forbidden added salt/sugar/msg/... in their diet, and though that's a bit surprising, we can't really speculate on whether it's reasonable or not. Obviously many of those things are naturally present in foods. – Jefromi♦ Oct 3 '11 at 16:46

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