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Need some salty tasting suggestions

Posts: 7,574 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
So one of my weak spots is salty food (be it olives, chips, mozzarella cheese, you get the idea). However, sodium and I are enemies. Anytime I consume over about 1500mg, my fingers and hands swell as well as I feel more lethargic. I am looking for some suggestions of foods that taste salty but tends to have a lower sodium count. Currently I've been using pop hips since they seem to fit into my sodium budget. I am sure someone will suggest popcorn, but I find it just doesn't fill me up and a half hour later I am back in the pantry. Any ideas?

Eta: food suggestions must be gluten, wheat, barley and oat(even gf oat) free

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Replies

  • Posts: 17,456 Member
    I don't think you can replicate salty without salt but you can go for tasty herbs and spices and train your taste buds differently

    Eg lemon, ginger and garlic for chicken or thyme, rosemary, basil and oregano with tomato sauces. How are you with curry / spicy foods

  • Posts: 1,335 Member
    Have you looked into low sodium salt? Yes, there is such a thing. It uses potassium instead of sodium. Problem is, if you have any sort of heart or kidney condition, it can be dangerous. Also, it doesn't have iodine, which you need in your diet. Check with your doc.
    recipes.howstuffworks.com/fresh-ideas/low-sodium-dinners/is-low-sodium-salt-actually-healthy.htm
    2dah4vv9w02h.jpg
  • Posts: 7,574 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    I don't think you can replicate salty without salt but you can go for tasty herbs and spices and train your taste buds differently

    Eg lemon, ginger and garlic for chicken or thyme, rosemary, basil and oregano with tomato sauces. How are you with curry / spicy foods

    That's what I was afraid of. Although I have noticed some salty foods have lower sodium but taste like they have higher sodium (like some brands of chips).

    Hmm. I don't have a very diverse spice cabinet. I should look into expanding it.

    I have actually never tried curry. Family just never ate it when I was growing up. I only do so-so with spicy foods. Il they don't give me heartburn or anything but anything other than mild makes my mouth feel like it is on fire.
  • Posts: 7,574 Member
    Have you looked into low sodium salt? Yes, there is such a thing. It uses potassium instead of sodium. Problem is, if you have any sort of heart or kidney condition, it can be dangerous. Also, it doesn't have iodine, which you need in your diet. Check with your doc.
    recipes.howstuffworks.com/fresh-ideas/low-sodium-dinners/is-low-sodium-salt-actually-healthy.htm
    2dah4vv9w02h.jpg

    I had heard of lower sodium salt, but never used it before. Do you use the same amount you would use of reg salt? Luckily I have no heart or kidney issues.
  • Posts: 1,527 Member
    I like roasted seaweed!
  • Posts: 846 Member
    I don't know if it will work for you, but nutritional yeast is very salty-cheesy tasting to me.
  • Posts: 15,149 Member
    You said popcorn doesn't fill you up. Have you tried sprinkling parmesan on it?? YUM
  • Posts: 1,335 Member
    elphie754 wrote: »

    I had heard of lower sodium salt, but never used it before. Do you use the same amount you would use of reg salt? Luckily I have no heart or kidney issues.

    I have no idea. I've never tried this -- I just googled :)
  • Posts: 7,574 Member
    Raynne413 wrote: »
    I like roasted seaweed!

    Lol. Last time I tried seaweed it had too weird of a taste/consistency for me.
    Jolinia wrote: »
    I don't know if it will work for you, but nutritional yeast is very salty-cheesy tasting to me.

    I can eat yeast :). I'm assuming you add it to something else?
    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    You said popcorn doesn't fill you up. Have you tried sprinkling parmesan on it?? YUM

    Not really. If I eat popcorn it is usually "movie theater butter". However when I eat it I feel like I didn't eat anything lol.

    I have no idea. I've never tried this -- I just googled :)

    Ahh okay. I'll look into it. Ty!
  • Posts: 846 Member
    elphie754 wrote: »

    Lol. Last time I tried seaweed it had too weird of a taste/consistency for me.

    I can eat yeast :). I'm assuming you add it to something else?

    Not really. If I eat popcorn it is usually "movie theater butter". However when I eat it I feel like I didn't eat anything lol.
    Ahh okay. I'll look into it. Ty!

    There is a vegan cheese recipe with nutritional yeast you might want to check out, but no, when I eat sweet potatoes, I just throw it on there. Delicious!

  • Posts: 7,574 Member
    Jolinia wrote: »

    There is a vegan cheese recipe with nutritional yeast you might want to check out, but no, when I eat sweet potatoes, I just throw it on there. Delicious!
    Vegan cheese? Sounds like an oxymoron lol. I think my adversion to seaweed is more mental than anything. I always get this image of grazing on seaweed on the ocean floor lol.
  • Posts: 4,059 Member
    If you want to try that lower sodium salt, or use regular salt (but less of it), cucumber slices sprinkled with a little bit of salt is a great snack that I like!
  • Posts: 846 Member
    elphie754 wrote: »
    Vegan cheese? Sounds like an oxymoron lol. I think my adversion to seaweed is more mental than anything. I always get this image of grazing on seaweed on the ocean floor lol.

    True, I guess it's vegan cheese substitute! It's tasty too, though. The powdery version has the nutritional yeast, ground cashews, and powdered garlic in it. I've seen some recipes that add water and/or other liquid, so I assume they come out more as a dip.

  • Posts: 7,574 Member
    If you want to try that lower sodium salt, or use regular salt (but less of it), cucumber slices sprinkled with a little bit of salt is a great snack that I like!

    Great idea! I remember when I was younger I used to do this, but combined it with sliced tomato. I used to love it.

  • Posts: 1,527 Member
    elphie754 wrote: »

    Lol. Last time I tried seaweed it had too weird of a taste/consistency for me.

    I can eat yeast :). I'm assuming you add it to something else?

    Not really. If I eat popcorn it is usually "movie theater butter". However when I eat it I feel like I didn't eat anything lol.
    Ahh okay. I'll look into it. Ty!

    You have to find the right seaweed! I like Sea's Best and SeaSnax (the onion flavor and the chipotle).

  • Posts: 2,817 Member
    elphie754 wrote: »

    That's what I was afraid of. Although I have noticed some salty foods have lower sodium but taste like they have higher sodium (like some brands of chips).

    Hmm. I don't have a very diverse spice cabinet. I should look into expanding it.

    I have actually never tried curry. Family just never ate it when I was growing up. I only do so-so with spicy foods. Il they don't give me heartburn or anything but anything other than mild makes my mouth feel like it is on fire.

    I eat low sodium, i dont add salt to my food at all. So only get the natural salts out of food.

    But i use a lot of spices and herbs to replace this. Its fun, adventurous to cook with different herbs and spices. A dis with the same meat, vegetables changes to something totally different by using different kind of herbs and spices.
    I still love my salty foods but i cant really have them. So i really replaced it with the spices & herbs and i am totally used to it now.

    But i know it is hard.
  • Posts: 8,029 Member
    Jolinia wrote: »

    There is a vegan cheese recipe with nutritional yeast you might want to check out, but no, when I eat sweet potatoes, I just throw it on there. Delicious!

    Oh, that vegan cheese is delicious, but calorific. It's got a boatload of cashews in it.

  • Posts: 8,029 Member
    Trader Joe's has 21 Seasoning Salute which is a salt-free seasoning mix and it's delicious. You could maybe make roasted cauliflower or chickpeas or even edamame and have a lot of that seasoning blend on there with just a little bit of salt in the mix for a snack.
  • Posts: 7,574 Member

    I eat low sodium, i dont add salt to my food at all. So only get the natural salts out of food.

    But i use a lot of spices and herbs to replace this. Its fun, adventurous to cook with different herbs and spices. A dis with the same meat, vegetables changes to something totally different by using different kind of herbs and spices.
    I still love my salty foods but i cant really have them. So i really replaced it with the spices & herbs and i am totally used to it now.

    But i know it is hard.

    I've been adding some new spices this week, but only adding one new one at a time so if one doesn't agree with me I will know which one lol. It's not the same as the salt but I'm hoping I'll grow to love it.


    Trader Joe's has 21 Seasoning Salute which is a salt-free seasoning mix and it's delicious. You could maybe make roasted cauliflower or chickpeas or even edamame and have a lot of that seasoning blend on there with just a little bit of salt in the mix for a snack.

    I don't have a trader joes by me but will look for alternatives at my local stores. The closest trader joes is about an hour away, but i do go there every so often (I absolutely love their frozen jasmine rice and haven't found a decent replacement).

    Follow up question for those who use potassium salt- where do you buy it from? Went looking for it at my two closest supermarkets (shoprite and stop and shop) and they didn't have it. Even worse, I asked the store manager of they ever carry it and he looked at me like I was crazy lol.
  • Posts: 13 Member
    I've been thinking about this too, as I need to avoid too much sodium due to high blood pressure. I haven't quite worked out an answer yet. However, I have noticed that pickles taste intensely salty for what's really not that much sodium. Just taking a quick look in my fridge, I see that 1 pickle contains 280 mg of salt, while a glass of milk (not salty at all) contains about 120 mg. So maybe pickles could help satisfy your salt cravings without actually giving you an over-abundance of sodium, or maybe getting cucumbers and making homemade low-salt pickles could be an option.
  • Posts: 1,335 Member
    elphie754 wrote: »

    I've been adding some new spices this week, but only adding one new one at a time so if one doesn't agree with me I will know which one lol. It's not the same as the salt but I'm hoping I'll grow to love it.



    I don't have a trader joes by me but will look for alternatives at my local stores. The closest trader joes is about an hour away, but i do go there every so often (I absolutely love their frozen jasmine rice and haven't found a decent replacement).

    Follow up question for those who use potassium salt- where do you buy it from? Went looking for it at my two closest supermarkets (shoprite and stop and shop) and they didn't have it. Even worse, I asked the store manager of they ever carry it and he looked at me like I was crazy lol.

    I found it on Amazon! Here is the iodized version of what I posted earlier: amazon.com/LoSalt-Iodized-Salt-12-35-Ounce-Pack/dp/B005F3I8O2/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1423235237&sr=8-4&keywords=lo+salt
  • Posts: 1,938 Member
    Cook with no salt, and then use "finishing salt" on top...go for Kosher salt or get a grinder for the big sea salt crystals...you'll get an amount of sodium comparable to cooking with regular granulated table salt, but each flake of salt will really pop on your tongue and give you more salt flavor bang for your sodium intake buck.
  • Posts: 6,208 Member
    green mango dipped in salt
  • Posts: 846 Member

    Oh, that vegan cheese is delicious, but calorific. It's got a boatload of cashews in it.

    That's why I started eating just the nutritional yeast and leaving out the cashews! Little cashews, how I love thee, why so many calories?
  • Posts: 7,574 Member

    I found it on Amazon! Here is the iodized version of what I posted earlier: amazon.com/LoSalt-Iodized-Salt-12-35-Ounce-Pack/dp/B005F3I8O2/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1423235237&sr=8-4&keywords=lo+salt

    Great, thank you!
    EWJLang wrote: »
    Cook with no salt, and then use "finishing salt" on top...go for Kosher salt or get a grinder for the big sea salt crystals...you'll get an amount of sodium comparable to cooking with regular granulated table salt, but each flake of salt will really pop on your tongue and give you more salt flavor bang for your sodium intake buck.

    I rarely cook with salt. Most of my sodium comes from cheese and my "snack" foods.
    OdesAngel wrote: »
    green mango dipped in salt

    I am very hesitant about eating mango since the skin has urishiol and I react violently to poison ivy.

This discussion has been closed.