Salt substitute?? During prep or After??

NancyAnne1960
NancyAnne1960 Posts: 500 Member
edited September 28 in Food and Nutrition
Didn't really realize how much I love salt, and what it does to food. Really didn't know how much 'sodium' a pinch of salt holds! Is there a salt substitute out there and if so, how do you use it? And is it better to salt when preparing food, or salt your own at your plate after it's served up?

Replies

  • Pandorian
    Pandorian Posts: 2,055 Member
    I only add salt to my stew now, and even that may only be habit. There's enough sodium in what processed food I do still eat to make up for it.
  • quietlywinning
    quietlywinning Posts: 889 Member
    I don't cook with salt, but what really tastes bland without it, I lightly salt on my plate. That way I don't use much at all but still TASTE it.
  • gillianjoon
    gillianjoon Posts: 96 Member
    There are a lot of no salt flavorings which taste quite good but I did find a low sodium salt at my grocery store which is amazing I dont have the name of the brand with me I am at work but if you want it I can let you know later.
  • lil_pulp
    lil_pulp Posts: 701 Member
    I don't cook with salt, but what really tastes bland without it, I lightly salt on my plate. That way I don't use much at all but still TASTE it.

    This is what I do also. My husband has not noticed that I no longer use salt when cooking and I'm pretty sure he shakes the same amount onto his food now as before.
  • nburns325
    nburns325 Posts: 174
    Hey Nancy!

    One of the guys I work with uses No Salt and swears by it! He has used it for years and tells me he can't tell a difference from real salt - except for the health benefits!!!
  • Grumpelina
    Grumpelina Posts: 56 Member
    I never use salt in my recipes - and can really taste the difference now. I can barely eat anything my Mum makes because it tastes too salty.

    However, if I cook anything potato-y I load the salt on after it's cooked like there's no tomorrow. There's nothing nicer than lovely sea-salted potatoes...
  • TrainingWithTonya
    TrainingWithTonya Posts: 1,741 Member
    I don't cook with salt and only add it to a few things after cooking. There are salt substitutes available, like the No Salt mentioned above, but you need to be careful with them too. They are potassium chloride instead of sodium chloride (salt). While that sounds great since we all seem to be lacking in potassium, you can go overboard with it too. Potassium also effects the heart which is why it is often beneficial for someone with high blood pressure to eat a food item with high potassium. But, potassium chloride is also what they use for lethal injection. Yep, that's right, death row inmates are killed with salt substitute! It's an excessively high dose so that it literally stops their heart. Normal usage of salt substitute shouldn't cause any problems, but if you are use to using high doses of regular salt and then think that you can switch to salt substitute and not worry about the amount you use because it is "healthier" then salt, you are at risk for excessive use. If you have high blood pressure, it can be beneficial to switch but be careful. If you have low blood pressure, avoid it as it can lower the blood pressure too much. Personally, I have low blood pressure so my doctor told me to eat salt (technically, he said a bag of potato chips, but I use salt on something healthier generally) to bring it up if I start feeling bad and I'm not allowed to use salt substitutes.
  • NancyAnne1960
    NancyAnne1960 Posts: 500 Member
    I don't cook with salt and only add it to a few things after cooking. There are salt substitutes available, like the No Salt mentioned above, but you need to be careful with them too. They are potassium chloride instead of sodium chloride (salt). While that sounds great since we all seem to be lacking in potassium, you can go overboard with it too. Potassium also effects the heart which is why it is often beneficial for someone with high blood pressure to eat a food item with high potassium. But, potassium chloride is also what they use for lethal injection. Yep, that's right, death row inmates are killed with salt substitute! It's an excessively high dose so that it literally stops their heart. Normal usage of salt substitute shouldn't cause any problems, but if you are use to using high doses of regular salt and then think that you can switch to salt substitute and not worry about the amount you use because it is "healthier" then salt, you are at risk for excessive use. If you have high blood pressure, it can be beneficial to switch but be careful. If you have low blood pressure, avoid it as it can lower the blood pressure too much. Personally, I have low blood pressure so my doctor told me to eat salt (technically, he said a bag of potato chips, but I use salt on something healthier generally) to bring it up if I start feeling bad and I'm not allowed to use salt substitutes.

    I'm glad to know about the low blood pressure thing.... My is on the low side. I'll check it out with my Dr.
    Thanks!!!
  • puertoricanlady18
    puertoricanlady18 Posts: 77 Member
    I USE MRS. DASH. IT DOESN'T CONTAIN SALT BUT IT HAS OTHER FLAVORS WHICH MAKES FOOD TASTE GREAT! GOOD LUCK!
  • JALangston
    JALangston Posts: 10 Member
    My family has backed off the salt wagon for about a year now, and I can share with you what we do:

    First, a lot of processed foods are made with salt. 6 oz. of Yoplait Light Yogurt has 85mg of sodium!! for a yogurt; something meant to be sweet!! Making yogurt at home takes less than an hour for a whole quart of it, and no salt goes into it at all.

    That's just one example. DH and I make our own broths (OMG, those are the WORST!), hummus, cheese, salad dressings and bread products. Baring the single tsp needed in bread to stop the production of yeast, these can all be made sooooo deliciously without any salt at all.

    Second, is the use of other flavors beside "salty." I uses "sours" a lot, like vinegar (only 59mg sodium for 2 cps - when am I gonna eat 2 cps by myself??) and lemon/lime juices. And I also make use of my herb garden. Freshly picked Italian parsley, dill, thyme, basil and oregano can make a dish so flavorful, you won't even miss the sodium. DH is a spicy-holic, so even the oddest foods (Swedish meatballs, anyone?) has enough cayenne kick to make you forget the salt shaker. For example, you can drizzle a tablespoon of balsamic vinaigrette on your choice of meat (either as a marinade or afterward), add a teaspoon of lemon juice to your baked potato with sour cream and chop up some basil to sprinkle over a tomato salad. Yumyum!

    As a very last resort, when something is tasting too bland for me to really get on board with, I usually go with a celery or a garlic salt. Not that they have any less sodium than straight up salt, but I find I need less of it to get the flavor I want. Obviously, I keep regular salt on hand for my bread and any other foods that would taste weird with a savory aftertaste, but I'll go through three things of my garlic salt before I go through one of my regular salt.

    Oh, and any salt I do add is after the dish is prepared. That way DH (who doesn't have BP issues) and I can salt our plates differently. I also, when I absolutely have to, choose sodium-free or low-sodium options in my prepared foods... I kinda feel like my grandmother at the checkout, but it's worth it!

    My only complaint w/ MFP is that they don't have enough low-sodium options. I was going through all the hummus the other day, and I couldn't find a one that had low sodium in it. Same with the venison broth that I just made (well, I searched for beef broth as they don't have venison broth at all). There were some low sodium options, but I couldn't find a no sodium option.

    Ah, well. One of these days I'll stop being lazy and upload my own recipes onto MFP, then I won't have to worry about it!

    Hope this helps!
  • maria1993
    maria1993 Posts: 112
    There are two things that I LOVE love, love! Bragg liquid aminos and Bragg sea kelp delight. Liquid aminos tastes a lot like soy sauce but has almost half the sodium. You can squirt it over rice, put it in soup, meat or potatoes.. Just about anything that you'd put salt in. The sea kelp delight is free from sodium but will pass for a herbed salt
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