Abracadiet, Salt Shaker

I love lamb! It is my favorite meat.

Recently, I fell ill, and my husband made a lamb stew. It smelled so delicious and looked even better.

However, when we ate it, I wanted SALT!

He said he did not add as much salt because we are watching our blood pressure. But, everyone in my household was adding hot sauce and pink salt to their bowls of stew.

This caused us to have higher levels of salt, in lieu of him just adding some to the entire stew pot.

I ended up adding some seasonings to the entire pot of the stew. and using a jerk seasoning paste and water. Then, voila, no need to add more salt to our individual bowls.

When trying to be cautious about certain elements of our nutrition we believe that we must sacrifice flavor and taste.

Within my culture, African-Americans have the highest prevalence of high blood pressure and diabetes (Holmes, 2020).

Honestly, we love seasoning!

I've had to come up with ways to reduce sodium, but not sacrifice good flavors in my cooking.

It was very hard at first.

One change we made was using pink Himalayan salt over our standard white salt product.

However, now there are salt substitutes that are supposed to give the same flavor without the sodium, for those on a restricted diet.

I honestly have not tried it yet, but the brand Morton recommends consulting with a doctor before using a salt substitute.

Another change we did in cooking was to use more natural flavor items like thyme, garlic, onion, cilantro, and peppers, with a low sodium broth.

I also may use a teaspoon of jerk seasoning added to water to make a seasoned broth and simmer before adding it to the dishes I cook.

We have seen lower blood pressure overall.

Occasionally, we will still indulge in take-out hot wings and deep-fried dishes at home.

The point is to have more reduced sodium days than the latter to find a good balance, without feeling like you are giving up FLAVOR.

Of course, I also recommend plenty of water! There is another post for all things water!

Please share below your suggestions on lowering sodium without the sacrifice of flavor.

References:

1. Holmes TE. African Americans More Likely to Have High Blood Pressure, Diabetes, CDC Says. Healthy Living. Published February 3rd, 2020. https://www.aarp.org/health/healthy-living/info-2020/health-risks-african-americans.html#:~:text=Indeed%2C%20African%20Americans%20are%20more%20likely%20to%20have,such%20conditions%20as%20cancer%2C%20diabetes%20and%20heart%20disease. Accessed January 7, 2022.

2. Morton Salt Substitute. Morton Salt. https://www.mortonsalt.com/business-product/morton-salt-substitute/. Accessed January 7, 2022.