If you think that eating nutritious food with less salt means sacrificing taste, think again! Healthy, home-cooked meals, made with quality ingredients, are packed with vibrant flavors. Whether you’re new to cooking or you’re an experienced chef looking to reduce the salt in your meals, these easy tips will help you make healthy meals even more delicious.
1. Add acids:Citrus fruits, such as lemons and limes, and vinegars play an important role in healthy cooking. Acids act a little like salt in that they help bring out the natural brightness of foods and work to meld flavors together. Try making a quick salad dressing with lemon juice and zest or red wine vinegar with a smidge of oil—or toss veggies and grains with citrus or vinegar to brighten them up. With this added pop of flavor, you’ll think it’s summer all year long!
2. Spice everything nice:Spices are a great way to add flavor and character to a dish without adding calories, fat, and salt. Spices can add a unique flavor profile to any dish—a simple chicken breast becomes Tex-Mex chicken when you add cumin and chili powder, Jamaican chicken with a little cayenne, cinnamon, and allspice, or Morrocan chicken with some ginger and coriander.
Check out this article onDIY spice blendsto learn how to create your own multi-use spice mixes!
3. Cooking with spices:While herbs can be used fresh or dried, spices tend to be dried and jarred, enabling you to build a diverse collection over time. While dried herbs and spices don’t “expire”, per se, they start to lose their flavor after about 6 months. Be sure to date your spice jars and replace them every 6–12 months for maximum flavor.
4. Adding flavor on a budget:Jarred herbs and spices can be pricey! Check the international foods aisle for cheaper (and smaller) packages of some common spices. Or find a local store that sells herbs and spices in bulk—they are typically MUCH cheaper, and you can buy just what you need!
5. Herb it up:Nothings brings a little extra life and flavor to a meal or dish like some fresh herbs (not to mention some powerful nutritional benefits from vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants!), without adding any extra fat, calories, or salt. Next time you harvest or buy fresh herbs (such as basil, cilantro, rosemary, or thyme), give them a good chop and mix them with a little oil. Add some of the herb infused oil to veggies or meats before grilling and store the rest in ice-cube trays in the freezer so you have ready-to-use marinade or seasoning oil on hand all winter long!
Try this recipe for
Everyday Herb Oil!
Dried herbs are more potent than fresh herbs. If you are subbing dried herbs for fresh in a recipe, use 1 teaspoon for every tablespoon of fresh herb (and vice versa).
6. Cooking with herbs: You can usually use either dried or fresh herbs in a recipe. Dried herbs are more potent than fresh—use 1 teaspoon of dried herb for every tablespoon of fresh (and vice versa).If you are cooking with dried herbs, add them to the dish earlier in the cooking process so they have time to release their flavor. For fresh herbs, add toward the end of cooking process.
7. Maximize your herb use: Here are some ideas for sneaking fresh herbs into everydays meals, snacks and even beverages:
Herbed salad greens: toss sprigs of parsley, basil, dill, or rosemary into a salad to add some extra pizzazz.
Herbed ice cubes: when freezing ice cubes, add mint or basil leaves to freshen an ordinary glass of water or iced tea.
Fresh herb pizza: Whether you make your pizza from scratch or buy it, there’s always room to add a few fresh leaves of basil, rosemary, or oregano to the top before you stick it in the oven.
Fresh herbs and tea: Add a few leaves of sage or spearmint in with your favorite varieties of tea to spice them up a little!
Find more tips for creating fresh, flavorful, and nourishing meals in my cookbook,Whole Cooking and Nutrition!
FAQs
Try Salt-free Cooking
Add a splash of lemon or lemon juice and other citrus fruits, or wine, to soups and other dishes. Use them as a marinade for chicken and other meats. Avoid onion or garlic salt. Instead, use fresh garlic and onion, or onion and garlic powder.
How to add more flavor without salt? ›
Try Salt-free Cooking
Add a splash of lemon or lemon juice and other citrus fruits, or wine, to soups and other dishes. Use them as a marinade for chicken and other meats. Avoid onion or garlic salt. Instead, use fresh garlic and onion, or onion and garlic powder.
What can you use instead of salt to enhance Flavour? ›
7 alternatives to salt
- lemon juice or zest.
- ground black pepper.
- fresh garlic or ginger.
- balsamic vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or red wine vinegar.
- infused oils (e.g. garlic or chilli oil)
- fresh or dried herbs (e.g. rosemary, oregano, basil, parsley, dill)
- spices (e.g. paprika, turmeric, white mustard, chilli flakes)
“Soy sauce, tamari, rice vinegar, black garlic, all these ingredients add umami from fermentation,” said Robert Murphy, chef and culinary development specialist. “By adding just a small amount of vinegar, the flavor of a recipe doesn't need as much sodium to deliver a very flavorful sauce or seasoning.
What are two ways you can enhance the flavor of food without adding salt, sugar, or fat? ›
Adding a bit of extra vanilla helps to boost the flavor, and in some dishes, spices like cinnamon, allspice or nutmeg often accomplishes the same thing.
What is the best food without salt? ›
Protein foods
- Beans and peas, canned with no salt.
- Butter, unsalted.
- Cream cheese.
- Eggs.
- Fresh fish (not smoked)
- Fresh meats (not smoked or cured)
- Ice cream.
- Milk.
Powerful herbs and spices: 25 alternatives to salt and sugar
- Mint. Taste: A bright and refreshing herb that works in sweet and savoury dishes. ...
- Rosemary. Taste: An aromatic herb with a pine-like fragrance. ...
- Nutmeg. Taste: Sweet and pungent flavour. ...
- Basil. Taste: Sweet and peppery. ...
- Cardamom. ...
- Chilli/Cayenne. ...
- Cinnamon. ...
- Chives.
Just a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to most food with brighten with a salty taste. Not too much lemon juice or it may become too lemony instead of with a salty edge. Experiment with the amount of lemon needed.
What food has the purest umami flavor? ›
Some foods that are high in umami compounds are seafood, meats, aged cheeses, seaweeds, soy foods, mushrooms, tomatoes, kimchi, green tea, and many others.
What is umami secret ingredient? ›
Seaweeds and umami are intertwined topics. Seaweeds like Kelp and Kombu offer concentrated, plant-based sources of umami taste. 'Umami' is regarded by many Japanese as 'critical to delicious cooking'.
Other Spice Options
- Salt-Free Lemon Pepper Seasoning – salt free lemon pepper seasoning is one of our favorite low sodium spices! ...
- Onion Powder: adds a delicious and savory flavor to this dish as well.
- Garlic Powder: Also a major pantry staple ingredient that gets used in our house daily!
What seasonings can be used in place of salt that will still add flavor to foods?
- Bay leaf.
- Cumin.
- Curry.
- Dill.
- Dry mustard.
- Green pepper.
- Lemon juice.
- Marjoram.
Options like fruits, vegetables, millets, buckwheat, lentils, yogurt, nuts, seeds, and coconut provided essential nutrients, aiding in digestion and hydration, which helped counter weakness caused by the lack of sodium and potassium during fasting.
How do you make food taste good without MSG? ›
Umami-Rich Alternatives
- Tamari or Low-Sodium Soy Sauce: For a soy sauce lover like me, tamari is a game-changer. ...
- Fish Sauce: If you're into Southeast Asian cuisine, fish sauce is your best friend. ...
- Nutritional Yeast: Nutritional yeast, the unsung hero of the plant-based world, adds a cheesy and umami kick.
You can add lemon juice, lime juice, or apple cider vinegar to salty food to help neutralize the saltiness. A tomato product, such as tomato sauce or tomato paste, will also work since tomatoes are acidic.
Why does food taste bland without salt? ›
The main reason is that, in many cases, added salt enhances the positive sensory attributes of foods, even some otherwise unpalatable foods; it makes them “taste” better. For people who are accustomed to high levels of salt in their food, its abrupt absence can make foods “taste” bad.
