There are several alternatives to salt that work wonderfully to add flavour to your food. If you are cutting back on your sodium intake, read on for flavourful ideas for enhancing your meals while managing your salt consumption. Whatever you do, make sure to avoid substitutes that have less-than desirable additives.
Sea vegetables have some of the highest mineral content of any plant on earth, says personal trainer Kevin Gianni. Plus, since they're from the sea, they're salty! Consider kelp for a salt alternative that is also packed with essential minerals. You can find kelp powder at health food stores. Sprinkle it over vegetables, mix a spoonful into sauces — use anywhere you'd normally use salt.
While salt is the prime culprit that adds sodium to our diets, it is not the only one. Check food labels for sodium (Na), monosodium glutamate (MSG), sodium citrate, baking soda, baking powder and sodium bicarbonate. They are all forms of sodium.
Don't expect to be able to dramatically cut the amount of sodium you consume overnight — or even over a week. It takes time for your taste buds to adjust and begin to recognize the subtle flavours masked by salt. Until then, everything that doesn't have salt will seem bland tasting.
When cooking, slowly cut back on the amount of salt you add to dishes. Another way to get on the path of less sodium intake is to mix low-sodium foods with regular salted foods.
Mix no-salt peanuts with regular salted peanuts, unsalted peanut butter with regular peanut butter, or "lite" salt with regular salt, suggests Lila Ojeda, a bionutritionist at Oregon Health Services University.
Slowly increase the amount of the salt-free product as you decrease the amount of the salted version until you're only eating the salt-free food.
If you select the right condiments, you'll have the underpinnings for wonderful sauces, low-fat marinades and even low-salt flavourings that will greatly improve the taste of your meals. Some of these condiments have a high salt or sugar content, so the secret is to use them judiciously to add flavour or to look for low-sodium or sugar-free versions.
One great benefit of these tasty meal flavour-adders is that they'll help you stay away from less healthy fatty condiments, such as mayonnaise, butter, stick margarine and creamy salad dressings. These delightful flavourings include:
•flavoured ketchups and barbecue sauces, chili sauce and salsas (look for sugar-free varieties)
•horseradish and various types of mustards
•jarred spaghetti, bruschetta and pesto sauces (the latter is luscious spooned atop salmon and baked)
•jarred olives, capers, sun-dried tomatoes, anchovies and roasted red peppers
•Worcestershire, hot pepper, soy and teriyaki sauces (look for low-sodium varieties)
•extra-virgin olive, sesame and walnut oils (the healthy oils)
•flavoured vinegars and various kinds of marmalades.
