Hey, do you eat a low-salt diet? And if so, do you have some good recipes to give me? My mother-in-law eats low-salt, and I’m always thinking, “Hey, no prob, I’ll just leave the salt out!”—but of course it’s more complicated than that. Things have more salt than I think of them as having (my chili recipe has salt in the tomato soup, the crushed tomatoes, the chili powder, and the kidney beans, in addition to in the salt itself), and/or reducing the salt makes the recipe all blicky because there’s nothing to make up for the loss of flavor. Plus, I love salt, so most of my favorite recipes are salty ones.
I am…not a very good cook. Taking away salt makes me a worse cook. I am hoping you have some recipes that will help me fake it.
Okay, so I won’t exactly call this sending you a recipe but if you don’t know about foodieview then I think you will still find it’s helpful. Here’s a link:
http://www.foodieview.com/search.jsp?query=%22low+sodium%22+category%3Aentrees+category%3Atop_rated&recipe=y&Search=Search
That will give you low sodium entrees that are top rated, pulled from across lots of different recipe sites. I just love foodieview, especially if I’m looking for something or for not-something (you can use the “-” before a search item to exclude it). I hope it’s a good starting place for you.
I don’t have any recipes but I can suggest using Mrs. Dash. The seasoning adds good flavor without the salt. Good luck! :)
Sorry I don’t have a personal recipe to share but this may help : http://www.hearthealthyonline.com/healthy-recipes/low-sodium-recipes/index.html
I was gonna say Mrs. Dash. I think that’s all I’ve got. Also, I believe campbells, dole, etc. make no or low salt varieties of the soups/tomatoes/etc. That might help too?
Rinsing canned beans or cooking your own dried beans (soak first) can reduce salt in bean recipes. I cook dried beans all the time (cheaper than buying canned) and I usually cook them in plain water, then add a boullion cube when I take them off the heat. You can leave the boullion cube out for low-salt beans.
I’d say that as you go without salt, your tastebuds will adjust and you’ll add a little parmesan and be wowed by the saltiness. And use more lemon and garlic to perk things up.
When my in-laws visit, they visit for 3 weeks, leave for 5 days, then come back for 2 days. They live FAR west, and Mr. P has a couple of sisters to the east of us. I feel your pain. We eat the most bland food ever when they visit, plus they make us do chores AT. OUR. OWN. HOUSE.
Remember that just because you are cooking with less salt doesn’t mean that you can’t add more salt to your own serving.
I think someone already mentioned my two tips in regards to canned beans (rinse them to remove the salt, or buy the low-salt version).
Tomatoes — there are low sodium canned tomatoes out there, and I use them regularly.
Also, I’ve got some great recipes for marinated chicken (mint yogurt — think Greek — and lemon kebob). Both are great low salt alternatives and are super easy to make. Let me know if you want the actual recipes. For us, we’re at the end of grilling season, but you may be still cooking outside :)
I don’t have much advice, as I looove salt, too. But I will say, I am sorry…so so sorry. Is she visiting again?
I’ve started THREE different meal suggestions in here, only to discover that each had one very salty and totally irreplaceable ingredient. Yeesh. I give up. Good luck!
Onion, garlic, chillies, lemon and fresh herbs are your best seasoners.
As a commenter previously said, you could do a lovely tomato based sauce (for pasta, chilli, stews, etc.) by chopping up a small onion and couple of cloves of garlic, softening them in a bit of oil, then adding some low salt canned tomatoes and simmering for a good 30 min. Once the sauce is ready, add a bunch of chopped fresh basil or oregano for pasta, tarragon or rosemary for stews, or coriander and parsley for chilli. Delicious! You can also use fresh chillies for an added kick. Remember to remove the seeds first and then throw them chopped in with the onions.
Also, your MIL is bound to be used to not eating salt so don’t worry if you think it’s a bit tasteless. She won’t. (you can add salt to your own serving)
I have loads of basic recipe ideas that you can do without any salt at all (I actually took salt out of recipes for a living -sort of) Email me if you’d like more details. We can even do a daily menu if you want! It is easy, really.
Make easy side dishes that everyone can season themselves at the table, or else set aside her portion:
baked potatoes
rice
noodles
salad
frozen veggies
Do main dishes that have individual servings (chicken breasts, salmon filets) so you can season them separately. (I know this is a pain.)
Or, would she be offended if you all ate chili and she had a chicken breast?
I buy Morton’s lite salt (small, paler blue container) which is lower in sodium than the regular table salt but gives you (so they say) the same flavor. And you can get low-sodium or no-salt-added tomato products. So, uh, no recipes, but I think you can alter the ingredients in your usual recipes to meet your MIL’s needs. Or at least lower the salt enough so you don’t give her an immediate heart attack.
I can’t help with recipes either but I order a lot of spices from The Spice House, and they have a line of salt free seasoning blends that might help you out. The URL is http://www.thespicehouse.com/spices-by-category/salt-free-blends
Due to having to have an emergency six-way bypass two years ago, my dad is on a very restricted low-sodium diet (as in, he cannot have more than 700 mg of sodium per meal). That’s caused my entire family to really rethink our own sodium intake, not just because we need to be able to make tasty food when our parents come to visit, but also because eating a lower sodium diet is just plain better for you in the long run (grin). One of the easiest steps to take is to just use half the salt a recipe calls for. The good thing is that your tastebuds really will adjust quickly to less salt. Try using other things to add flavor – herbs and spices, flavored oils and vinegars, and so on.
It can be really hard to keep the sodium intake down if you’re using a lot of processed foods (it’s in everything, canned stuff, frozen stuff, etc.), but it can be done. Look for low-sodium versions of things. The good news (for you) is that as the baby boomer generation ages, there are a lot more low-sodium foods coming onto the market, since more and more of them are having to pay attention to that.
But..you asked for recipes, so here you go. I have made this Potato and Corn Frittata for my dad, and he really likes it (http://stonegoose.com/cookbook/?p=50). Just make sure you use low-sodium or salt-free corn.
another not-really-cooker, although i’m a naturally low-salt kind of gal b/c my mom hardly used any growing up. i’m on board the garlic & onion train though – tons of flavor there, with just a pinch of salt. parmesan is another good fake :-)
Sea salt? (You can use less with more flavor…)
Sorry, that’s all I’ve got.
Good luck!
There are some on here.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipes/Healthy-Cooking/Low-Sodium-Recipes/Main.aspx
Good luck!
I was going to suggest sea salt as well, but marivic just beat me too it! Good luck finding the recipes you need :)
Ahhh… sea salt was my go-to, as well. Good luck! My MIL is coming for a visit shortly, and she hates everything anyone cooks but her, yet she refuses to cook for us. So I feel your pain in some respects.
This really is easy to make, and always goes over well. As well you can easily find low-sodium chicken stock at the grocery store to make it…. BONUS? My 2 year old eats it by the bucketful. AND you can freeze it if you want for future meals.
http://drowninginlaundry.wordpress.com/2007/11/03/so-easy-butternut-squash-soup/
Hi, your post came up on a Google alert for “low salt”, so I figured I’d jump in. I’ve been on a low sodium diet (1200-1500 mg per day) for 9 years and after a year of bland food, I decided to try to make some of the kind of things I always liked low sodium, but good tasting. I’ve got a website at http://www.lowsodiumcooking.com if you want to take a look there. You’ve gotten a lot of good advice already. You do lose your taste for salt in about month for most people, so regular food taste way too salty. Onion and garlic are good ideas as is Mrs. Dash or other salt free seasonings. Vinegar or lemon juice are good too. The taste tuds have a hard time telling sour from salty. A tablespoon of vinegar will do wonders to that flat tasting chili. Most stores here in Maryland carry salt free tomato products and one or two kinds of beans. A store that specializes in organic foods like Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods would likely have more. If you are looking for something in particular and don’t see it at the website, drop me an email.
Are you kidding?! For That Woman?!?! I think you should put EXTRA salt in everything!!!! Salted toast, salted oatmeal, hell, hide little cubes of it in the chicken when you bake it!!!! Yeesh!
Ok, so I saw there were 24 comments before mine, and I confess to not reading them all before I posted. Sorry! Anyway, garlic can make an awesome substitute for salt in a lot of recipes. Or onions, sometimes, depending on what kind and how you cook them. Easiest low-salt recipe I know is a lentil casserole. (Bonus, it’s cheap, high in protein and fiber, and takes about 30 minutes to make.)
2 c broth (I use low-sodium chicken)
1 1/2 c water
Toss the broth and water in a pan, and get it boiling. While that heats, chop up 1 cup each of carrots, tomatoes, celery, and mushrooms, and 1/2 c onion. Rinse 3/4 c of lentils and 1/4 cup of brown rice.
To the boiling broth and water, add 2 tsp garlic powder, about 1/2 cup basil if fresh or 1 Tbsp if dry, 1 tsp pepper, and a pinch of dried oregano. (I like just a hint of it, but my friend likes a lot; she uses 1 tsp, I think.) Stir thoroughly. Toss in the lentils, rice, and veggies. Bring it back to a boil, then cover, and lower heat to simmer for ~20 minutes. It may take a little longer or shorter, depending on your rice, mostly. You’ll know it’s done when there’s only a small amount of free-standing liquid at the top. Let it sit for about 5 minutes before serving, and it should absorb the last of the liquid. This makes 6-8 servings (1 cup size). I usually only have 1 1/2 cups as pretty much an entire meal, with some fresh bread and a salad. It works well as a side dish, though, too if you want to grill some meat or something. And you must have brownies for dessert when you have this dish. (Honest!)