Picky eater loves salt

saladforlunch

I’ve started logging everything I eat and cut out drinking starting New Year’s Day. It turns out my diet is fairly healthy other than usually being way over on sodium. I am trying to discover ways to lower sodium intake but need some advice on getting good flavor into the meals. The other challenge is there are quite a few foods I just can’t seem to learn to like:
Avocado
Beans
Mushrooms
Kale
Sour cream

Any help would be very appreciated.

JeromeBarry1

Taste sensitivity improves when you reduce the frequency of eating sugary sweet things. Imagine thinking of raw carrots as sweet. I do. I consume kale in a smoothie with stuff to conceal the bitter taste.

L1zardQueen

Do you health issues regarding sodium intake? Did your doctor tell you to cut back? If yes, don’t salt your food and read the product labels. Buy more raw foods and cook them yourself.

AnnPT77

saladforlunch wrote: »

I’ve started logging everything I eat and cut out drinking starting New Year’s Day. It turns out my diet is fairly healthy other than usually being way over on sodium. I am trying to discover ways to lower sodium intake but need some advice on getting good flavor into the meals. The other challenge is there are quite a few foods I just can’t seem to learn to like:
Avocado
Beans
Mushrooms
Kale
Sour cream

Any help would be very appreciated.

There a thousands of healthy foods in the world; it shouldn't be necessary to eat foods you don't like. The whole "superfoods" idea is just clickbait-y. If you need particular macro/macronutrients, there are typically multiple foods you can potentially eat to get them. Find some you like, eat those.

Unless you have high blood pressure or have otherwise been given medical direction to reduce salt, and you have no negative symptoms from it, it may not be that big a deal to go over the MFP default goal.

If you do need or want to reduce it, some alternatives are herbs (fresh or dried), a squeeze of citrus juice on some things, spices (either spicy/hot or simply spicy/savory like cumin, mild paprika, mustard, etc.), and flavored or various plain vinegars. Onions, garlic, browned/carmelized veggies or meats can add flavor.

Cooking methods like roasting (rather than frying/steaming/boiling) can enhance flavor. There are also salt subtitutes on the market, either alternative formulations that taste a little salt-like, or spice blends.

whitpauly

Salt isn't the devil its been made out to be,like its been said here if you haven't got any medical issues your sodium intake really isn't that big of a deal,may cause some bloating but extra water should help

wilson10102018

Salt is your electrolyte. Without it really bad things happen. Like kidney failure.

Too much salt can cause water retention. If your shoes won't fit, you might want to cut back. Big deal. Also, if you are a cardiac event recovery patient, there is some evidence that lower sodium is a good thing. Other than that, all the hoopla about salt and sodium is just CLICK BAIT!

thisPGHlife

Everyone has given good advice about the sodium. As some have mentioned, if you don't like those foods, don't eat then. If you want to fit them in your diet because you think they would be good for you, try hiding them. Make a stew or chili that has really strong flavors and as some button mushrooms. Maybe you could learn to tolerate some guac on your tacos. Side note: guac in general isn't "bad" for you despite it being a dog. High in fat, yes. But it's vegetables with some like juice (and technically a bunch of berry).

But if even hiding those ingredients in other foods is intolerable, don't eat them. That's the beauty of this whole thing. You can eat what you want and find ways to fit it all into a calorie allotment and nutritionally diverse menu.

estherdragonbat

I generally go way over my sodium limit. Not that surprising; I prefer salty snacks to sweet overall. I've still lost weight and my blood pressure has improved from borderline pre-hypertensive/hypertensive to the low side of normal. I see my GP twice a year (due to a complication I developed when I was at obesity-level III, I need compression stockings and I have to get the prescription renewed every six months) and he's got no issue with any of my test results and hasn't mentioned a thing about a need to watch my salt/sugar/cholesterol etc. More like, "Whatever you're doing, it's working; keep it up!"