How to Cook Tasty Dishes Without Salt

How to cook tasty dishes without salt is intended to draw attention to the excessive use of salt in our daily food intake, as this excess can have severe consequences for our health.

Sodium is one of the main elements in table salt or multiple processed products. It is added to many foods to enhance flavor, but its consumption should be limited or avoided altogether because excessive amounts of sodium are linked to dangerously high blood pressure.

The direct relationship between high salt intake and high blood pressure has been proven in multiple studies. Eating a low-salt diet, or not having salt at all, is a significant way to take care of your heart and significantly reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, or kidney disease.

Most people in the world consume about 3400 mg of sodium per day or even more. Those who wish to be healthy should consume no more than 2400 milligrams of salt per day.

People over age 45, or any age with high blood pressure, should decrease the sodium in their diet to 1500 milligrams per day or less, both in table salt and in processed foods.

To reach a healthy level, learn how to reduce the amount of salt in your diet without affecting its taste.

You will notice the difference when you start cooking with no or small quantities of salt. Fortunately, your sense of taste will change. After a period of adaptation, which is not long, most people stop missing salt and start enjoying the varied flavors of foods, spices, and herbs.

To Start Cooking Healthy Dishes without Salt

Start using the different varieties of spices and aromatic herbs, as they add an incredible combination of flavors to your meals.

At first, you can do a taste test by mixing a small pinch of a spice or condiment into a small piece of low-fat cream cheese. Let it sit in the refrigerator for an hour or more, then try it, and if you like the taste, go ahead.

Ideal Vegetable Seasoning

The herbs and spices that go best with different vegetables are:

Cooked carrots go well with cinnamon, cloves, dill, ginger, marjoram, nutmeg, rosemary, or sage.

Corn, with cumin, curry powder, paprika or parsley.

Nutritious beans, with dill, lemon juice, marjoram, oregano, tarragon, or thyme

Tasty tomatoes, with basil, bay leaf, dill, marjoram, onion, oregano, parsley or pepper.

Meat Flavorings

When it comes to meats, the best combinations are:

Fish of any kind combines very well with curry powder, dill, dry mustard, lemon juice, paprika, or pepper.

Chicken meat, with rosemary, sage, tarragon, or thyme.

Pork, with garlic, onion, sage, oregano, or pepper.

Beef, with marjoram, nutmeg, sage or thyme.

Beware of Processed Foods

Processed foods help make meal preparation and preservation easier, but they contribute to high sodium content in people’s diets. Their presentations can be as prepared mixes, soups, canned foods, etc.

A healthy sodium level is 140 milligrams or less per serving. If you use processed foods, look at the labels, and try to buy products that are low in salt.

Also, always use fresh or frozen vegetables instead of canned. Natural fruits and vegetables are a great source of flavor and nutrition.

Avoid processed meats such as ham, sausages, bacon, pickles, olives, and other foods prepared with salt.

Use small amounts of processed seasonings such as tomato sauce and mustard. As for soy sauce, even the low-salt versions often contain a lot of sodium. Consider making the tomato sauce without salt at home.

Try salt-free cooking and experiment with cooking foods with salt substitutes, adding a little lemon or sour orange or wine to soups and other stews. Or use them as a marinade for chicken and other meats.

Avoid onion or garlic salt and use fresh garlic or onion instead. Try white or red wine kinds of vinegar, rice wine, or balsamic. To make the flavor more intense, add them at the end of the cooking time.

Salt-Free Healthy Recipes

Toast with Vegetables, Roquefort and Walnut

Ingredients

4 slices of sandwich bread
1 eggplant, peeled and diced
2 chopped onions
2 chopped green peppers
1 tablespoon of virgin olive oil
4 ounces of Roquefort cheese
A handful of nuts

Directions

1. Fry the vegetables with the oil over low heat, occasionally stirring, until they are soft.
2. On a baking tray covered with baking paper, put the slices of bread and on these, distribute the vegetables.
3. Spread the cheese and chopped nuts on top.
4. Bake at 350º for 10 minutes or until they start to brown.

Stuffed Zucchini

Ingredients

4 zucchini
1 pound of ground beef
3 eggs
2 small-size onions
mozzarella cheese
1 tablespoon of virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon of butter
Pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a pot of boiling water, cook the zucchini for 15 minutes.
2. Remove the pot, strain and let them cool.
3. When the zucchini are cold, cut them in half, with a spoon, remove the meat very carefully so as not to break them, and set aside.
4. Chop the onion and fry it in a pan with olive oil until it becomes transparent.
5. Add the ground meat and pepper to taste.
6. Add the eggs, the zucchini meat you had reserved cut into small pieces.
7. Mix for a couple of minutes, and when it is cooked, turn off the heat.
8. Stuff the zucchini with the sofrito and top with the mozzarella cheese to taste.
9. Lightly grease an oven tray with butter and place the zucchini on top.
10. Heat the oven to 350º and bake au gratin until the cheese is melted and golden.

Grilled Tomatoes

Ingredients

2 tomatoes
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon of oregano
1 tablespoon of virgin olive oil

Directions

1. Wash the tomatoes and cut them into thick slices.
2. Put the garlic and oregano on top.
3. Sprinkle them with olive oil and put them in a frying pan over high heat until they are well browned at the bottom without turning them over.