A nicely flavored dish doesn’t have to have salt. If you’re trying to cut out salt from your diet, you may wonder what seasoning you should reach for.
Don’t worry it isn’t hard to create the perfect meal, sans-salt. Here are some great ways to avoid adding salt to your dish.
Wean Yourself Off of Salt
If your palette is used to getting salt daily, it may be difficult for you to go without salt completely at first. Berkeley Wellness notes that some of the easiest ways to reduce your salt intake, while still getting the salt taste, are to use no salt and lite salt.
No Salt is a salt substitute that consists mostly of potassium chloride. Potassium chloride taste similar to salt though it is not the exact same taste. Potassium chloride, while giving you all the taste of salt, won’t increase your blood pressure.
Lite salt still contains a bit of sodium chloride, table salt. However, half of the content is potassium chloride. This gives you a more genuine salt taste while cutting at least half of the sodium out of your diet.
It is important to know that potassium chloride destabilizes when heated. If you use either of these options, it is best to salt your food after you are finished cooking. If you salt it prior to cooking, you may notice a strange flavor to your food. That is the destabilized potassium chloride.
Ground Kelp
Kelp granules are a salt alternative that help deliver iodine, like iodized salt does, but without as much sodium. Kelp granules don’t typically “taste fishy” and you can add it to everything from meats to salads.
While Marine Coast kelp granules may not be available everywhere, this is a great way to keep your iodine content high when skipping out on the iodized salt.
Nutritional Yeast
Another seasoning substitute that may come as a surprise to you is Nutritional Yeast. This is primarily known for a cheesy flavor, but many people find it can taste a bit like salt as well. Nutritional yeast packs protein and fiber in every serving and also has an assortment of B vitamins, thiamine, and zinc.
Onions and Garlic
Whether using them raw or cooked, onions and garlic are the perfect complement to any savory dish. Caramelized onions can add a great Umami flavor to stews and braised meats. Umami flavors go well in vegetarian dishes as well.
Lemon Juice
Capable of adding flavor to both deserts and main dishes, lemon juice may be great at replacing salt in meals. Lemon Juice is such a good replacement because of the acidity it offers. Many times, when a dish feels like it is lacking flavor, it is actually lacking acid and not salt.
Season Based on Meat
When cooking certain seasonings are going to replace salt better based on the meat they are paired with. Here is a list of salt replacements based on the meat you’re cooking.
- Beef: Bay leaf, Marjoram, Thyme, Sage, Pepper, Onion, Nutmeg
- Lamb: Curry powder, Garlic, Mint, Rosemary
- Pork: Onion, Garlic, Sage, Oregano, Pepper
- Veal: Bay leaf, oregano, curry powder, ginger, marjoram
- Chicken: Ginger, Oregano, Poultry Seasoning, Sage, Marjoram, Tarragon, Thyme
As you can see there are plenty of alternatives to salt that you can add to your favorite dish. Just because you are going sans-salt doesn’t mean that you’re going to eat flavorless food. These substitutes for salt may provide you with more nutrition than salt would have and give your food an even greater depth of flavor.
Experiment with the variations of spices and herbs to see what your favorite combinations will be. Life without salt is still a great way to eat. Your dishes will have greater appeal once you know how to avoid the salt and provide bold flavor.
