I am limited to 12-1500mg of salt a day. That is only 1/8th a teaspoon a day.
It is near impossible to buy canned or prepared food within my needs.
If I fail to do so I fill with fluid and have to take a good bit of Lasix to pee out the liquid or I will go into congested heart failure. This serious stuff.
Meats are basically tasteless and not at all enjoyable. I am using potassium chloride without much success and Mrs. Dash salt free are just spices which do not fool me.
Any suggestions?
Canned and pre-prepared foods are evil. Once you teach your system not to crave salt it won’t be an issue. Replace salty with acidic. Vinegar, citrus, tend to be flavorful and flavor enhancing without adding sodium. More salads, fresh fruits and vegetables with lean proteins all go together nicely. Just avoid the canned stuff as that is packed with sodium. Once the salt is flushed from your system things without salt will start showing great flavor you never noticed before when they were hiding behind all the additives.
pepper?
totally agree with the above. Eliminate prepared and canned food. Eat fresh food at home, restaurant meals are full of salt. Want sliced turkey, cook a turkey breast not pre-pumped with salt.
Unsweetened cocoa powder is, like salt, a natural flavor enhancer. You can use it in many ways like you use salt.
In addition to that and the above suggestions from others, plus herbs and spices (I know, they don’t fool you, but once you’re not craving salt they will please you more), try caramelizing a bunch of onions and adding them to everything from meats to salads. They are flavor bombs. Garlic and black garlic, ginger, and hot peppers spring to mind as well.
pepper and spices
I don’t have any suggestions that haven’t already been made, just wanted to give you my sympathies. Not much fun to have this condition…
I say this not to be mean or callous, but to be truthful and helpful, having gone through something myself.
Cut back on cumulative daily food portions, to limit both salt and calorie intakes.
Weight reduction itself can be a dramatic health promoter, for serious heart and circulatory diseases, diabetes, joint stress, respiratory ailments, etc.
We wish you good health for many New Years to come.
Granulated garlic and cilantro.
My sister is in the same boat and she uses a lot of Penzey’s spices to bridge the flavor gap. Here’s a link to there salt free herb mixes… Search | Penzeys . Sumac spice is a good way to perk up flavors…http://www.thekitchn.com/inside-the-spice-cabinet-sumac-67042 .
Nutritional Yeast Flakes are your friend. They add a ton of flavor. I sprinkle it on popcorn, but you can add it to just about any savory dish as a flavor enhancer.
After a month, you will be surprised at how much the desire for salt falls away.
I find dried seaweed snacks (pure seaweed, not seaweed covered carb) is low in sodium and is satisfying because it tastes of the ocean. As with anything not fresh, check the label, but the product I’m thinking of are 100mg and 60 cal a box )they call it two servings, but I call it one).
They also have Turkey Brast in a box, precooked but not loaded with sodium/ much lower than “low sodium” turkey cold cuts.
Lots of fish are low sodium. Low-Sodium Seafood | Healthy Eating | SF Gate. Just eat high quality low sodium fresh stuff and you’ll be surprised after a month.
+1
When dining out, be sure to ask the staff to avoid salting the dishes. It is my first request at the table.
in a month new tastebuds (constantly regenerated) will be salt-sensitive and you will be fine. For the first month that salt consumption is cut, food tastes flat.
Chiles
Olive Garden
Bolivias
Uruguays
Another vote for nutritional yeast. Still can’t believe how “salty” it tastes when added to popcorn.
Poppy, thanks, how is it on eggs?