Low-salt recipes

[Pan]

Hi, everyone. I've been on a low-salt diet (<2 grams of sodium per day) for just over a month now. I have mostly been making Indian and Indian-influenced recipes and also doing simple things like frying eggs in good extra virgin olive oil with some fragrant spices and a splash of vinegar. However, I was hoping there would be some low-salt recipes in RecipeGullet. I did a search for "low salt" in that forum and came up with nothing at all. Did I miss anything? If not, the advice I've gleaned from some other threads was to use sour and acidic ingredients, which I'm already doing (vinegar and lemon juice, and yogurt has some sourness), herbs (I've used basil, cilantro and curry leaves, so far) and spices (which I use plenty of). I also posted to another forum, where I got various kinds of recommendations, including some for Italian dishes (I love Italian food). But if any of you have any other ideas or favorite sites for recipes that would adapt well to a low-salt diet, I'd love to know about them.

Edited January 21, 2016 by Pan (log)

[Thanks for the Crepes]

As someone who really loves salt and is still able to eat it, I won't have a lot to say on this matter, but will be watching for replies, since I do cook for a person who needs restricted salt, and loves his nemesis as much as I do, and refuses to limit it (or anything else that would help him that he likes).

 

Mrs. Dash (as referenced by Shel_B up thread/topic), a very pedestrian salt-free condiment, that's available at US groceries everywhere, I think, turns lightly cooked green beans into something special without any salt. I actually prefer it to the salted version, and so does the apparently suicidal person I cook for. 

 

It's also good on sliced, fragrant ripe tomatoes, and the salt-restricted person will eat them this way, and I do too, but I have to admit, I still prefer a little sprinkle of kosher salt when he's not looking.

 

I haven't found anything else that really works, except the vinegar idea for salads, etc. If I undersalt, he's going to go for the shaker, and we both know it.

 

So please bring on the ideas. I'll definitely be reading. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Pan]

Oh, one thing I've been thinking about: I like to drink hibiscus tea, which is also a diuretic known to lower blood pressure. Do any of you have good ideas of ways to use it in cooking? Like, do you think it would be good to use some highly concentrated hibiscus tea along with lemon juice, herbs, spices and onions when roasting a chicken?

[Pan]

Thanks for the Crepes, I hope you can somehow induce him to stop using salt (or at least so much of it). It took a really scary blood pressure crisis to scare me straight, and I think I did it without any serious permanent damage, but I am now under the care of a cardiologist and going soon for a battery of tests. I was literally afraid I might die that night, and it took me a while before my blood pressure (even under heavy medication) got closer to normal again. Today, it was 124/85 about an hour and a half after I woke up and 124/82 a half hour ago. I hope the person you cook for doesn't wait until he suffers a scare like that or something worse before he wises up.

 

Does he like spices and herbs a lot, so that, for example, he might like Indian food with a lot of spices? If so, that's a way you can go.

[Thanks for the Crepes]

Thanks Pan,

 

Unfortunately this guy doesn't like hot spices. He'd be in clover, if he could achieve your blood pressure stats. He's also my husband of 17 years. 

 

I am all ears for any helpful suggestions out there. For him they have to be just as tasty as the salted version, or he's not eating it without wielding his personal shaker. I have no control over that except to make the food just as tasty without it.

[IowaDee]

I love the salt free flavorings from Penzeys  Not all are spicy but they are all good.  They have an excellent website and also outstanding customer service.  And I so agree about watching that high blood pressure. They don't call it the silent killer for no reason.  

Edited January 21, 2016 by IowaDee
typos, many typos! (log)

[Anna N]

There is another topic on this subject

Click

[Smithy]

6 hours ago, Pan said:

Oh, one thing I've been thinking about: I like to drink hibiscus tea, which is also a diuretic known to lower blood pressure. Do any of you have good ideas of ways to use it in cooking? Like, do you think it would be good to use some highly concentrated hibiscus tea along with lemon juice, herbs, spices and onions when roasting a chicken?

 

Pan, this sounds like an excellent idea.  Another possibility is to grind those hibiscus petals finely and add them directly to a spice rub.  I haven't tried it, but I think it would work brilliantly.  I do wonder whether hibiscus AND lemon juice might be a bit of overkill toward tartness.

 

We keep working in our household toward lower-salt cooking, small steps at a time.  The easy things are not to buy prepared foods, which almost inevitably have high sodium, and not to add salt during cooking.  This is practical up to a point, but I'm fond of being able once in a while to grab a jar of prepared sauce or cooked beans, and the occasional deli meats.  (2 steps forward, 1 step back...) Then there is the issue of bread...which needs some salt in the dough.  As for the salt substitutes: he's perfectly happy with one of the potassium chloride-based fake salts.  I hate 'em.

 

I'm glad you're still with us and able to get this topic started again.  Thanks for giving the rest of us a wake-up call. I think this is a great topic for a brainstorming sesson.

Edited January 21, 2016 by Smithy (log)

[Pan]

4 hours ago, Anna N said:

There is another topic on this subject

Click

Thanks, Anna. That's one of the topics I read before starting this one.

[Pan]

It's OK to use a bit of salt in bread, as long as it isn't very much. I spent a couple of weeks over New Years visiting relatives in California, and one of the things we found out is that Wasa crackers are quite low in salt (the Whole Grain "crispbread" has 50 mg per cracker).

 

In terms of beans, you can get dried ones and soak them (or just cook them longer).

 

Deli meats are a rough one. I don't know how much salt a small amount of bacon adds to a big dish, but I am avoiding those. I don't love them so much that that's a hardship for me, though. The really difficult things for me are not being able to go to Xi'an Famous Foods or get most types of Sichuan food, and having to avoid cheese.

[Smithy]

This recipe from Fine Cooking is a favorite:  Citrus-Marinated Roasted Chicken.  I've posted about it here (with the finished product here), and several others have done so as well. @Darienne comes to mind as one; maybe she can find some of her posts.  At any rate, the marinade includes soy sauce but I think you could reduce or eliminate the soy and still have an excellent meal.  Does this sort of thing appeal to you?

 

What about pastas stuffed or tossed with vegetables?  I'd hate to do without cheese (I feel your pain there) but with well-roasted vegetables you'll get a good Maillard reaction and deep flavors. 

 

Roasted cauliflower, with or without a yogurt and spice coating?  If that appeals, I have a couple of links for you.

[Katie Meadow]

When I first discovered I had high blood pressure I seriously worked to reduce my salt intake. It helped, but not enough to stave off use of a bp lowering med, which works very well. The result of my trials to reduce salt was that across the board my taste for salt became highly sensitized and I found that I needed very little salt for something to taste salty. I see that as one of the great benefits of reducing salt intake: that a very tiny percent of what used to be needed to salt food works exactly the same magic after you have adjusted to lower salt levels.

 

Rarely do I use processed products and the food I make probably is considered under salted. You will know you have adjusted to new salt levels when restaurant food routinely starts to taste too salty. Often high end restaurants that use fresh healthy ingredients add an alarming amount of salt to everything. I don't avoid salt entirely, but I am positive that cutting back on processed foods and restaurant meals can really help wean one off a salty diet and when you reduce the amount of salt in your own cooking you won't notice it as much.

 

My other weapon is to use good flaky salt. Gray salt, Maldon, etc. Just a tiny sprinkle adds lots of flavor when using them as finishing salts; they become a great thrill that way. A good emergency tactic for quick meals is to cook up your own pasta sauces using minimal salt as desired and freeze it in convenient batches. That way you won't have to reach for commercial sauce when you want a quick pasta fix. And of course I agree with anyone upthread who suggests using flavorful or strong ingredients like lemon and garlic. For potato salad be generous with dill or cilantro or smoked paprika. For dry rubs on meat compensate by adding coffee grounds, chile or paprika etc. I generally use far less salt than any given recipe suggests, and then allow myself the luxury of a little special salt after serving. Cheers!

[Pan]

Thanks, Katie. Good thoughts all-round. I hope to get off some of my meds, but for that, I believe I will have to lose more weight (I lost about 15 pounds pretty quickly just by mostly not eating in restaurants, as I tend to be undisciplined and eat the whole portion of whatever I order for myself, whereas when I cook, I am more restrained). One of my goals for the year is to get my weight under 190 for the first time since my senior year of high school. I started out weighing about 220-221.5, and the last time I checked, I was down to 206, but it was fluctuating between 204 and 208.5. I might have gained a bit of weight back in the last few days since I've had a respiratory ailment, so I haven't been exercising and have been getting some delivery of the couple of dishes Grand Sichuan St Marks can do saltlessly for me (Sauteed Spicy Chinese Broccoli and Braised Pumpkin with Ginger and Scallion).

 

By the way, one of my problems right now is that my refrigerator is too small, and my freezer can freeze water but little else, so in the medium term, I need to create enough additional space in my apartment for a regular-sized refrigerator and buy one.

Edited January 22, 2016 by Pan (log)

[Pan]

Thanks, Smithy. That chicken looks good and I think it would be good without soy sauce, too (yes, I'm avoiding soy sauce completely).

 

I have some good Indian cauliflower recipes, but I'd always like another good one.

 

I'm not being strictly low-carb right now, but I will tend that way and may need to become strict to lose all the weight I want to lose, so though I'll consider pasta recipes now and then, I'd rather cook other kinds of Italian dishes (more in the nature of secondi and contorni - for example, I can make a good simple dish of sliced zucchini and yellow squash with fresh tomatoes, garlic, onions, fresh basil and oregano and pepper, plus possibly a splash of wine if I get some good wine and have a good way to keep it fresh-tasting).

[Smithy]

1 hour ago, Pan said:

I have some good Indian cauliflower recipes, but I'd always like another good one.

 

I'm not being strictly low-carb right now, but I will tend that way and may need to become strict to lose all the weight I want to lose, so though I'll consider pasta recipes now and then, I'd rather cook other kinds of Italian dishes (more in the nature of secondi and contorni - for example, I can make a good simple dish of sliced zucchini and yellow squash with fresh tomatoes, garlic, onions, fresh basil and oregano and pepper, plus possibly a splash of wine if I get some good wine and have a good way to keep it fresh-tasting).

 

I did a loose version of this recipe a couple of weeks ago and liked it: Spicy Roasted Cauliflower with Tahini, from Saveur.com. I had a couple of quibbles with the recipe: the leaves didn't come out well enough to justify leaving them in, but then I cut the cauliflower into 8ths instead of quarters and may have messed things up there.  The salt can be omitted.  The tahini, according to my jar, has 25 mg sodium for 2 Tbsp.  I plan to keep tweaking this and put it into regular rotation.

 

Your sliced zucchini and yellow squash treatment makes me wonder about winter squash treatments.  They may not be very low-carb, but they can be low-sodium and savory.  Have you checked out the eG Cookoff #71: Winter Squash topic?

 

 

Edited January 22, 2016 by Smithy
Reconsidered the 'carb' status of winter squash. (log)

[Pan]

I think if I made this recipe, I'd make my own tahini without salt 1/2 cup is 8 tbsp, which - well, actually, 200 mg of salt isn't terrible. I'll see whether some store like Trader Joe's sells low-salt tahini.

 

I'll have a look at the Winter Squash topic. I'm not going really low-calorie, as I'm eating things like full-fat yogurt; instead, I'm just eating less (and, when healthy, exercising more). But I see you were talking about low-carb in relation to squash, so I think this requires a longer explanation. I think that on my diet, it's important to have fruits and vegetables for good nutrition, so while I may seek out lower-glycemic fruits and vegetables and have less really high-glycemic ones, I don't see a good reason to avoid things like zucchini, cauliflower, even pineapple.

Edited January 22, 2016 by Pan (log)

[kayb]

21 hours ago, Smithy said:

 

Pan, this sounds like an excellent idea.  Another possibility is to grind those hibiscus petals finely and add them directly to a spice rub.  I haven't tried it, but I think it would work brilliantly.  I do wonder whether hibiscus AND lemon juice might be a bit of overkill toward tartness.

 

We keep working in our household toward lower-salt cooking, small steps at a time.  The easy things are not to buy prepared foods, which almost inevitably have high sodium, and not to add salt during cooking.  This is practical up to a point, but I'm fond of being able once in a while to grab a jar of prepared sauce or cooked beans, and the occasional deli meats.  (2 steps forward, 1 step back...) Then there is the issue of bread...which needs some salt in the dough.  As for the salt substitutes: he's perfectly happy with one of the potassium chloride-based fake salts.  I hate 'em.

 

I'm glad you're still with us and able to get this topic started again.  Thanks for giving the rest of us a wake-up call. I think this is a great topic for a brainstorming sesson.

 

I had the beginnings of a BP problem, to the point that my doctor put me on the "beginner" dosage of a basic maintenance med. The single thing I did that dropped my BP to a level that makes the meds just about unnecessary? Quit drinking diet soda. The amount of sodium in those things is unconscionable.

 

Learning to drink water is tough; I found it hard to get past W.C. Fields' admonition against it. But I'm getting there!

 

I second the upthread recommendation for Mrs. Dash. Another good salt-free seasoning, from a tiny regional company in my area, can be found at this site. (They also make a kick-ass barbecue seasoning and good steak and pork seasonings, too.) And I use more lemon pepper than I used to.

 

[Pan]

I'm glad that worked for you! I never drink sugary soda at all and drink lots of water, which is advisable for a wind player. I'm sure W.C. Fields had something very funny to say about water. Something about whiskey being better, perhaps?

 

Be careful about lemon pepper. The type my mother used to use has loads of salt in it.

[Anna N]

Host's note: this post and several responses were moved from the Cooking with the Anova Precision Oven: What did you make? topic.

 

On 1/19/2023 at 8:41 PM, JoNorvelleWalker said:

And I question that ground mushrooms can really take the place of salt. 

Yeah. I tried to find some support for this but was not successful.

Edited January 25, 2023 by Smithy
Added host's note (log)

[TdeV]

37 minutes ago, Anna N said:

Yeah. I tried to find some support for this but was not successful.

 

Cooking with Mushrooms: A Fungi Lover's Guide, by Andrea Gentl, named a Best Cookbook of 2022 by Bon Appetit.

[Anna N]

3 minutes ago, TdeV said:

 

Cooking with Mushrooms: A Fungi Lover's Guide, by Andrea Gentl, named a Best Cookbook of 2022 by Bon Appetit.

Yes, you did mention that book but that is the only source for this claim. That makes it suspect. And I think you reached the conclusion that it was not a good substitute for salt. You said that the meatballs "lacked pizzazz".   

Edited January 20, 2023 by Anna N (log)

[TdeV]

Yes, @Anna N, but I don't define pizazz as "salt" 😅

[weinoo]

On 1/20/2023 at 9:36 AM, TdeV said:

Yes, @Anna N, but I don't define pizazz as "salt" 😅

The thing about pizazz is you don’t get pizazz…without adding some salt.

[Anna N]

1 hour ago, weinoo said:

The thing about pizazz is you don’t get pizazz…without adding some salt.

Exactly. 

[TdeV]

10 hours ago, weinoo said:

The thing about pizazz is you don’t get pizazz…without adding some salt.

 

In a no/low salt world, I believe there is plenty of tasty food, no?