Need ideas to give up salting my food

rjroubi

rjroubi

Cathlete
I use way too much salt and I need some ideas on how to replace it. Although I don't have high blood pressure, I noticed I went through an entire salt shaker by myself in less then 2-3 weeks (DH doesn't even use it). Yikes! I am so bad that I even salt my food before I taste it!!!

I'm hoping some of you have some great ideas on what I can substitute it with. I love Dr Fuhman's Vegizest, but it is way too expensive to use like salt every day and I don't care for Mrs Dash (yeck).

Oh, scaring me is not going to help....I already know it puts me at risk for stroke....and I still salt my food. Maybe, if I find some good replacements I will use it less;-) Any ideas?????

TIA,
Robin
 
We're going through this right now with my MIL. Because of her heart failure she is not allowed more the 2 grams of sodium per day. I think a low sodium diet is one of the most difficult to comply with. Let's face it...salt makes food taste good.

I use salt in all it's forms in my cooking but feel my consumption is very low. I rely heavily on flavorings like the zest of citrus fruits, garlic, shallots, onions, thyme, wine, mustard (mustard is great for a blast of flavor). Using a lot of aromatic seasonings, I think, greatly reduces the need for salt.

ETA that I seldom use salt at the table, my primary use is during the cooking process. Also, I like to use things like balsamic vinegar to add some punch to the flavor. Try mixing up some of your favorite dried herbs and use that as your special blend.

HTH:)

Michele
 
Hi Robin, I just quit salt about two months ago - cold turkey. It wasn't as hard as I thought. I bought Spike and some Mrs. Dash spices and they both work very well. Food without salt taste so good to me know and my taste buds are better then they ever were. Salt does something to your taste buds, thats why you always need to use it. Once you get use to not using it, you won't miss it.
 
Robin,
My FIL uses "Crazy Jane's Mixed Up Seasoning" or something like that. I believe that it is lower sodium, not sodium free and is a mix of herbs and sea salt flakes. He's also pretty cheap, so I don't imagine it's that expensive:p
I suppose that you could even make up your own once you find out what's in it.
You could also try adding something with more flavor like different flavored vinegars and/or Bragg's Liquid Aminos (still has sodium, but much less).
I also love salt on my food (my father and I have both been known to eat salt straight up), but I found that when I switched to course sea salt in a salt grinder that it tasted better and that I needed less of it.
HTH,
Mattea
 
Robin,

I just stopped cold turkey. But it helped that my doctor said your blood pressure is 190/110 - and this was with a lifetime of exercise and good eating habits and being thin...genetics just do not care. So now it's medication and no sodium.

I just season with any and everything until a dish suits my taste. It really wasn't that hard, but my poor DH had to suffer the loss of his love of salt because of me.

Best of luck. You're a determined person, you can do this.:) I mean, you've managed to lengthen your legs, right? How much more difficult can "no salt" be?;-)
 
i am a lifelong salt addict myself - salting everything before i taste it, salting fruit, salting ice (yikes!). after my last annual checkup, however, i had borderline high BP... at age 30. i decided to give up salt for lent and found it *much* easier than i expected. the only thing i really missed it with was tomatoes. now that easter is over, i believe it will be much easier for me to go easy on the salt shaker. my tastebuds seem to have adapted quickly.

oh, and i also find that using kosher salt is better for many things; i seem to use much less of it. good luck!
 
I've also been using Bragg's Liquid Amino. I also took a cooking class where the teacher talked about superfoods. One of the things she mentioned is to replace salt with a seaweed shaker. So now I use either nori or dulse flakes so that i get the minerals i need from them. If you are concerned about iodine be cautious in using them.

Also, she used Herbamare in her recipes, it has sea salt in it but because it has so many other herbs you don't need as much.

http://www.veganessentials.com/catalog/herbamare-organic-herb-seasoning-salt.htm

Also, the Himalayan Sea Salts or Celtic Sea Salts are supposed to be healthier.

Take care,
sham
 
I thought that salt doesn't cause high blood pressure but makes the problem worse if you already have it. My thinking could be way off course simply because I LOVE salt! If I am wrong then I should probably cut back too.
 
Elaine, that is my understanding as well, but I do keep it to a minimum, and since I've started doing this I am much more sensitive to and aware of the salt content of my food.

Michele
 
Robin,
Just cut back very slowly and gradually, and allow your taste buds to adjust. I don't like things very salty, and actually have to force myself to eat salty things to keep my blood pressure from getting too low! It seems to me like most prepared foods already have plenty of salt, i.e. salad dressing, canned soups, jarred sauces. Maybe you're not eating any prepared foods?
-Nancy
 
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