Have you had much luck in getting your loved ones (not to mention yourself) to put down the saltshaker? I haven’t, even though my husband has high blood pressure and his doctor wants him to cut back on sodium. It seems crazy, but my husband is more bothered by the taste of bland, boring food than by the increased threat of a heart attack or stroke.
He’s not alone, of course. More than half of Americans age 60 and older have hypertension. If you or someone you cook for is among them, you may have tried to fool the taste buds with a commercial salt substitute but found the flavor too bitter.
Well, take heart. Nutrition researcher Judith Wylie-Rosett, EdD, RD, whose book The Complete Weight Loss Workbook includes many health-promoting recipes, suggested some much better ways to put zing into low-salt foods. To get started…
- It can take a lot of seasoning to make up for the missing salt — so when you drop salt from a recipe, try doubling one or more of the other seasonings the recipe calls for.
- For maximum flavor from herbs and spices, opt for fresh rather than dried.
- Choose herb-infused oils and vinegars instead of unflavored ones.