BellaOnline Forums Food and Wine Healthy Foods Any suggestions for reducing salt in your diet?

My husband is trying to reduce his salt intake. It can be a bit challenging to find recipes that are flavorful by themselves and don't require the addition of salt. I know much of it is what you get used to so maybe time will make some dishes tastier. However, in the meantime, does anyone have any suggestions (or low salt recipes) for reducing salt in your diet?

Thanks!

I love Mrs. Dash seasonings. They are salt-free and come in a variety of flavors! I use them on veggies, eggs, soups, casseroles, etc.

Donna

Right definitely the key thing I would say here is that you very quickly get used to lower salt levels, so that things still "taste salty" even though they have less salt in them. So don't worry too much long term. Just focus on the short term.

On thing we've found is it makes a huge difference how you cook the food. For example say before you marinated in a ton of salt. Now say instead that you marinate in no salt but right before serving you sprinkle a few big-grain salt crystals (sea salt) on it. Your tongue tastes that salt on the outside and gets the same "salty flavor" but in reality the volume of salt you're ingesting is FAR less. So just the placement of salt on the outside layer where it'll hit the tongue can be so key.

Also if you go for any dish that is spicy - say a super oregano dish - than you'll get all that oregano flavor and not even notice any "lack of salt". If there's a lot of flavor - any flavor - you taste that. For example if you love garlic and the dish is really garlicky then you appreciate that without worrying about there being salt or no salt.

Need to include others fresh seasoning such as pepper, garlic and fresh spice (rosemary, parsley, cilantro, ginger, etc.) I recommend fresh whenever possible as it tastes much better than dry spices.

My fiance had to reduce salt in his diet years ago and a large part of it is just getting used to eating less salt (changing the taste buds). Now if he eats anything with a lot of salt in it he can't tolerate it.

If you are going to use any salt at all I suggest using either Kosher or Sea Salt - you get more saltiness with less salt and additives.

LOL, I was just getting ready to log on and suggest Mrs. Dash after I saw this post in the latest messages forum box.

Also, you can use salt free and low sodium canned diced tomatoes, soups, chicken and beef broths, etc.

I had no idea how much salt a can of soup had. I now look for ones that have reduced salt.

Good luck!

I agree that training yourself and your tastebuds to adapt to less salt is a great start. I grew up in a household where hardly any was used and am very senstive to high levels of salt. Other tricks besides using reduced sodium items or salt free seasonings is working with different spices to evoke new and more powerful flavors. For meats, many spice rubs do not contain any salt. One I love to use is ground cumin, dark brown sugar, garlic powder and chili powder mixed with some Worcestershire sauce. Other great suggestions are using olive oil, garlic and fresh rosemary and thyme for just about anything, meats, vegetables, etc. Oh and if using salt is habitual, don't put a shaker on the table!

Jill, those sound soooo good. I'm going to try them next time I cook meat.

Thank you!

I don't add salt to any of my foods. and also use mrs dash.
i also look for low sodium,
does any one use sea salt?
is that o.k to use, is it healthier for you?

I use sea salt and find that it is much milder than regular salt - but, I do not use it all the time. I use herbs a lot to flavor my foods and find I do not miss the salty taste. Savory is a really good herb to use as seasoning.

I agree with all these flavor substitutions. But, one of the easiest ways to reduce sodium is to read labels and stay away from processed and restaurant meals.

Most convenience foods rely heavily on salt, fat and sugar (or a combination thereof) to make them palatable.

And, restaurants do the same to their food. Of course, in nicer restaurants, you can request no salt, but in many places, most of the sauces are premade (even if on the same day) so the salt is already there, and many of the ingredients in them have added salt, too.

Wow! Thanks for the great tips and information!! This all seems very possible now.

I have not previously read labels looking for sodium content so I checked a few labels tonight. Sodium is in everything..even in sodas!

Thanks again!!