For the most part, anyway. The salt cellar is now sulking in the corner of a cupboard, and we have been off added salt for about two weeks now. For heavy users like us, this is saying something. We still use salted butter, and I can’t see giving that up. But none on our eggs (we substitute hot sauce), or other foods we prepare. I’ve even had a burger and fries and pushed aside the salt shaker. Not that the fries are exactly health food, but still…
The main motivator is that my BP was elevated in my recent checkup (156/94). While the follow-up check was lower, it’s still on the cusp at 140/82. So my evil ways must change, at long last. I guess with my 65th birthday coming next month, it’s about time to stop eating like a teenager. I may even have to increase my ::gag:: exercise level.
Have any of you gone this route, and how far did you take it?
As a kid growing up in the 60s, it was salt and pepper on everything, sometimes only salt. These days I use salt to cook, but never afterwards. It’s pepper only, please! The idea of putting salt on prepared food makes me want to puke.
I never use it unless a recipe specifically calls for it, but I don’t care for it as a seasoning. I love unsalted fries.
What I had to do was go even further and try to stay under the DASH diet minimum. Salt is in friggin EVERYTHING, and a LOT of it. I did not do well. It’s just such a hassle keeping up with the tally every day, I ended up just going for no seasoning, fresh or frozen unseasoned veggies, fruits and pastas with low sodium sauces. That got boring fast.
I’ve been doing what you’ve started for about 35 years. No salt shaker on the table. No salt in recipes. Salted butter is OK (it has less salt that what most recipes call for, anyway). I also use salt in my potato latke recipe (not much) and when making bread (to control the rising, though I always cut back). I ignore salt in all other recipes, though.
We use something called “Crazy Mixed-Up Salt” on our meals, and heretofore (one of my favorite words! ;)), I’ve always thought it had no sodium, but it does.
So what’s a good substitute then? That “Mrs. (whatever) stuff”?
All the other so-called “salt-substitutes” taste like piss smells.
In my family, I can pretty much eat everything bland, but sometimes I do need a little seasoning.
Also, I don’t sit and eat the entire meal all at once. I eat till I’m full, put the plate in the kitchen and snack on it as the evening progresses.
I know I just hijacked this thread to Katmandu, so please excuse me!
I could never give up salt in my cooking since it’s so fundamental to flavouring, but I would assume cutting processed and pre-packaged foods would cut most excess salt from a diet. There’s a tonne more salt in pre-packaged macaroni than anyone would add cooking with fresh ingredients, which means if you stick to the fresh stuff you probably don’t need to sacrifice on flavour.
When I was about 10 my mom instituted a new rule- no more salt shaker on the table and she minimized it whenever possible in her food preparation. We complained, and for a couple weeks everything tasted bland. But then we got used to it, and pretty soon we didn’t miss it. My wife had a similar experience.
I can’t remember the last time I added salt to my food. The idea of it seems really strange to me- there’s so much flavor in the food itself and whatever herbs and spices were used to prepare it, why would I add salt? That would make it all taste like, well, like salt! Gross.
Now, I have the opposite problem- just last night, in fact. My wife made stir fry, and I splashed on a little low sodium soy sauce. For the rest of the night, I was thirsty. I was joking that either someone has to develop an even lower-sodium soy sauce, or I have to start adding salt to my food so that it doesn’t affect me so much.
Penzey’s might be your friend - they’ve several no salt seasoning blends to spice up and add flavor to pretty much anything. (Odd that their 33rd & Galena blend isn’t on that list.) I used the Arizona Dreaming to good effect on some roasted chick peas/garbanzos - delicious.
I use salt liberally while cooking, but rarely at the table (unless it’s needed). Since I’ve started cooking more and using salt judiciously during the cooking process, I go through boxes of Morton’s Kosher like it’s going out of style. (Mostly to salt pasta water - it needs more than you think.)
I’ve been buying from Penzey’s since about 1992, so am familiar with their blends. Salt in a recipe is still not off the table, just salt added afterward. We eat very little prepared foods, other than a can of soup now and then, so that’s not a significant source of sodium for us. Bacon is probably the biggest culprit, but when we have it, it’s only one strip each and maybe twice a week. Since I use a lot of spices and herbs, I don’t think there will be much pain to this grand experiment.
I accidentally forgotten salt from bread recipes before. It makes no difference, as far as I can see, to the structure of the final product, nor have I noticed any difference in rising. Perhaps it affects the rising time, but I rise bread by waiting for it to double in volume.
The big difference is taste. Bread without salt tastes weird and bland. The first time I forgot salt I wondered what in the hell I did wrong, because something just tasted off about the bread, although the bread looked exactly like it’s always looked. Then I went through my mental checklist and realized I forgot the salt.