Aging. Good, bad, ugly. I guess we need to embrace these so we can age gracefully (for the most part).
Since 2017, I have had on-again off-again vertigo, combined with tinnitus, and some hearing loss. Fast forward to 2021, my ENT has diagnosed me with Meniere's Disease. It's not deadly, but during my vertigo episodes it is completely debilitating. I have been doing a lot of reading and diligently taking my medications. I am also looking outside of the box for anything that will help manage these symptoms. Some days I can hardly get out of bed, while other days I feel like I can "climb any mountain". That is the nature of this particular beast - there is no cure and many things that work to manage it are anecdotal.
One of the things that does help me (and many others) is a low salt diet and drinking lots of water. Being the foodie that I am, this is devastating for me to have to control this, yet at the same time...challenge accepted.
My goal for sodium intake is to hover around 1500 - 2000 mg per day. Did you know that 1 teaspoon of salt has 2400 mg of sodium? YIKES! My favourite Hawkins Cheezies? Per individual serving has over 600 mg of sodium? NOOOOOOOOOOOO! Well, I can find a recipe for that (thank you Julie Van Rosendaal).
https://www.dinnerwithjulie.com/2010/04/23/homemade-cheezies/
Oh yes, and cheese. That also has salt. Well, fuck! I will pick and choose carefully, and I won't be giving up cheese (or wine) anytime soon.
So how do you flavour food without salt? There are cookbooks and diets dedicated to low salt due to other health conditions. What I am writing about is nothing earth shattering.
But, I am a foodie. I talk about food. I cook. I create. I indulge.
I love food. I am in love with food. I have a healthy-ish relationship with food
This is my way.
We can always cut down or eliminate salt from any recipe. That part is easy. Or we can enhance our meals with other brilliant options and Savour the Flavour Saviours!
Citrus
Pick any citrus fruit and enhance the flavour. I love making wings with lime and pepper, or with lemon and oregano for more of a Greek twist. For wings, if you make them extra crispy in the oven, you can just squeeze a fresh lime or lemon over top before serving. This works on ribs too. Try making a chimichurri style mixture and squeeze a lemon over the ribs as the come out of the oven. Hear them sizzle! Citrus also works well as a salad dressing with a bit of good quality olive oil. My favourite salad these days is a combo of avocado, cilantro, blood orange, naval orange and lime juice. Throw in some shrimp if you want a meal! Add chili flakes for heat!
Sherene's Greek Ribs - low in salt and full of flavour
Mix together the following, all finely minced for about 3lb of ribs
Can be in a rack or half rack. You can also cut them all before marinating and baking
Recipe doubles easily
1 TBSP dried basil
5 - 6 cloves of minced garlic
2 - 3 teaspoons of minced rosemary (fresh is awesome and dry also works)
2 teaspoons of dry mustard powder
1 teaspoon of salt (original recipe calls for 1 TBSP)
1 teaspoon of pepper
Mince altogether to create a yummy paste. Taste to see if it is to your liking. Coat ribs and slow cook covered with foil in oven for 3 hours on 325F. You want them tender and not quite falling off the bone. If doing half racks, can quickly BBQ after they are cooked if you want that grilled flavour. Once cooked, squeeze fresh lemon over top and enjoy!
Herbs and Garlic
Is there anything better than the smell of fresh herbs and garlic? Adding sage and garlic with brown butter to gnocchi is exceptionally delicious. Note that for butter, I use salted and don't add extra salt to what I am cooking. I have made this particular recipe for sweet potato gnocchi with ricotta cheese a few times. Devine.
https://damndelicious.net/2019/12/14/brown-butter-sweet-potato-gnocchi/
Fresh herbs and garlic can enhance anything. Try adding fresh basil to a salad. Make your own homemade chimichurri with what ever herbs you have on hand by mincing them with garlic and olive oil. I will sometimes go on "herb patrol" in my fridge. Anything that needs to be frozen will be blended with olive oil and a splash of red wine vinegar to make little ready-to-go seasoning cubes.
Herb Cube Combo's
cilantro/parsley/garlic
oregano/basil/garlic
thyme/sage/rosemary/garlic
rosemary/basil/garlic
Create your own favorite combo!
Blend together with olive oil, a splash of red wine vinegar and freeze in an ice cube tray. Once frozen, pop out and store in a freezer-safe container and use as needed!
OilsOils are another great way to flavour foods. A few years back, I was grocery shopping and ran into a friend I used to work with. She is the creator of this amazing
Seven Spice, by far one of our family favourites. We use it as a dip, dressing, spice...you name it. It is amazing with pizza, wings, or as part of a marinade. I also put this on top of salmon with some lemon slices and the flavour is fantastic! Try a drizzle of maple syrup for that sweet / savoury combination. We have also used Seven Spice to flavour Asian style soups, which seems to be that
missing ingredient that we all wondered about. Delicious!
Sesame oil or any infused oil adds a nice strong flavour and a little goes a long way. Wonderful with tuna poke, salad dressings, soups and marinades. I recently found a recipe for honey sesame chicken, and omitted the salt. The honey glaze and sesame oil combination was amazing! I came up with my own version so it could be low in sodium.
For the chicken:
Cubed chicken breast
cornstarch
black ground pepper
Mix together and sauté with sesame oil or any oil until fully cooked.
For the glaze:
1/3 cup honey
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon of spicy tomato jam (see below!)
1 teaspoon of sesame oil
1 tablespoon of cornstarch
1/2 cup water
Mix all this together and bring to a gentle boil until it thickens. Add cooked crispy chicken and serve with veggies and/or rice.
Savoury Spreads
Nothing says flavour like a savoury spread! These are two of my favourites Don't let the name "Spicy Tomato" fool you. It is incredibly versatile - great on a sandwich, burger, or as a charcuterie accompaniment. We used it in the above recipe for the honey glaze (the original recipe called for ketchup). With zero sodium and zesty flavour, how can you go wrong?
Coconut Aminos
Here is something I had never heard of before.
Coconut Aminos! I was catching up with a friend and had told her about my low salt woes. She mentioned this product as it's a lower sodium option to soy sauce made from fermented coconut palm sap. Is there anything that coconuts
can't do??It is soy-free and gluten-free if that's what you are looking for. While it still contains sodium, it has almost 50% less than the Kikkoman Less Sodium soy sauce. Per teaspoon, the Coconut Aminos has 90 mg of sodium. The Kikkoman Less Sodium has about 193 mg of sodium per teaspoon. It is not completely low, but a little goes a long way. It has a great savoury taste with a hint of sweetness.
The downside is that it is a bit pricy, but the cost of me enjoying my sushi.....priceless!
Liquid Smoke
I have only used liquid smoke in one recipe so far, which is from another dear friend of mine. It is simply the best three-ingredient recipe on the planet and has tons for leftovers.
https://www.lecremedelacrumb.com/slow-cooker-kalua-pork/
This pork is freaking amazing. While the recipe does call for 1 tablespoon of Pink Himalayan Salt (approximately 5500 mg sodium), I recently did this pork with half of the sodium in a 5 pound pork shoulder, adding a bit more liquid smoke (zero sodium in this smoky stuff). The taste was still incredible. Worth the non-effort for this meal, as it works for leftovers in tacos, nachos and sandwiches.
Vinegars
Vinegar - not just for cleaning anymore! So much flavour can be found in a variety of vinegars and with zero sodium, so go wild! They are great with oils as a dip, in a salad dressing or marinade. One of our favourite salad dressings is to just use the balsamic reduction drizzled over top.
I recently enjoyed one of my fave pub food meals - fish and chips. I did eat the batter on the fish (duh!) but got my fries with no salt (I don't like ketchup, so this is also a plus). Dipping those fries into malt vinegar sent me back to my childhood in Halifax, eating fish and chips at Point Pleasant Park. Fully enjoyed my pub meal without the salt. It is important to be vigilant when ordering at a restaurant. I am an expert at asking way too many questions about the foods on the menu, but worth the time and the extra malt on the side.
Alcohol
Never underestimate the power of alcohol. Cooking with booze is not new and adds so much flavour! Making a nice bourbon sauce for steak, or a white wine garlic sauce with lemon makes me go from zero to hero in the kitchen! I have no specific recipes that I use, but adding wine to any dish usually pans out (plus I get a glass or two on the side before dinner, a win-win!). A great way to enrich your dishes with lots of flavour. Just don't skimp out. Enhance your foods with wine that you will actually drink and don't go for the cheapo Naked Grape. I am not saying to cook with a Barolo, but cooking with good wine will give you the best results, plus a delectable pre-dinner glass-o-vino while cooking!
Nutritional Yeast
Here's a nutty-cheesy-gooder! Even my cheese-loathing child will put this on her popcorn. Not only does this have only 25 mg of sodium per 1/4 cup but it comes with a nutritional punch, also having 8 grams of protein and 3 grams of fibre. Plus it is loaded with B vitamins all well above 100%! We have used this primarily on popcorn (yes with a bit of melted butter so it sticks), but it is simply delicious! There is even a recipe on the back for a cheese sauce sans- fromage. Adding this to dips and other sauces would probably work too (have not tried yet) to add extra flavour and bonus points for nutrition.
Spices
Spices are another easy way to add a bit of zest and zing. Make sure you read the label, especially if you are buying a pre-made spice mix or a blend. We tend to avoid the packages, and often will create our own mixture. Either we put in a fraction of the salt, or hold the salt altogether. There are lots of great recipes online for rubs and mixes, whether you are cooking Greek, Mexican, or fusion.
Another spice that a friend introduced to me is
Sumac. Made from the crushed berries of the Sumac flower, it has a lemony tangy taste, often used in Middle Eastern cooking. It is quite versatile - filled with flavor, this spice can be used in dry rubs for grilling meats or as mixed with olive oil to dress a salad. Truly delicious!
Our favorite Spice Rub from "Gastro Grilling" by Ted Reader
1/2 cup paprika
1/4 cup chili powder
1 TBSP salt (original recipe calls for 3 TBSP)
2 TBSP ground coriander
2 TBSP garlic powder
2 TBSP white sugar
2 TBSP curry powder
2 TBSP hot mustard powder (we have omitted sometimes as we don't have it)
1 TBSP ground black pepper
1 TBSP dried basil
1 TBSP dried thyme
1 TBSP grond cumin
1 TBSP cayenne pepper (I use 1 teaspoon)
Great on ribs, chicken, burgers, fish, vegetables, potatoes and more! Next time I make this spice mix, I plan to try it sans-sodium!
Cooking with less salt and enhancing the flavour with other ingredients can take your creations to a new level. One of my favourite cookbooks (yes I still have cookbooks!) is The Flavor Bible. Set up alphabetically, each food has a list a mile long on what flavours and spices go with any food. Brilliant.
There are so many ways to enliven our palate without (much) salt. I refuse to let this dampen my sensory food experience. Flavour gives meaning and depth to the food we create. I encourage everyone to find inspiration and innovation when cooking and discover creative ways to add that extra zesty bite to everything you do!
