Daisy,

Thank you so much for these wonderful recipes.

Thanks so much Daisy. That's just what I was looking for.

The recipes are terrific, but for those not looking to grow or buy all their own I have noticed recently that the spice/seasoning section of the local grocery is stocking herb blends and they are sold in disposable, clear grinders.

Kind of a neat idea, particularly when in a hurry and one wants the zip of some herbal goodness.

Not a herb, but a touch of lemon juice is supposed to make it easier to taste the natural salt in food. I empathise as I have been cooking low-salt foods for my husband in order to lower his blood pressure. Finely chopped shallots are also said to be useful. You do adjust to the difference in taste after a while: one day you'll eat something not cooked by yourself and find it overly salty.

Check with any herb/spice blends whether salt is added, by the way... with some shop-bought seasonings it sometimes is, which defeats the object. Many will be fine, you just need to make sure.

Bob, I agree with the others here - - avoiding salt will get easier the longer you stay away from it.

I have been in the same situation as Lori except for different genders. My wife shouldn't find it difficult to avoid salt since I can do it voluntarily.

What seems to me to be the best herb for unsalted dishes is cilantro. Its flavor can be wonderfully enhanced with green onions, a couple sprigs of mint, and a squeeze of lime juice.

Steve

if you like spicy stuff, find a good low or no sodium hot sauce and you can put it on everything from eggs to pasta to add a zing.

Garlic and salt may not taste alike, but at least for me extra garlic makes up for lost flavor in low-sodium foods. And, of course, the more spices the better :)

Good food dosn't need salt, it only hides the flavor of the food. But if you need more flavor go with the stronger spices, red pepper, garlic, rosemary, thyme. Be careful with hot sauces most are loaded with salt.

Recently, doctors are now aware that salt really doesn't affect blood pressure very much. Excesses will increase calcium output, and that can cause a rise in BP. Avoid ptoassium chloride, for two reasons, 1, its terrible tasting and 2 its dangerous to have high levels of potassium as your heart can stop. Most everything you buy has added salt. MSG is a substitute that can help some, as its not the same kind of sodium base. But MSG has an effect on some people too, so it should be used sparingly. Mrs. Dash has a few salt free spice blends that offer some decent flavor. To make your own garlic salt, buy a big container of granulated garlic from Costo or BJ's or other club, and add your own amount of salt, like 10 parts garlic to 1 part fine salt. The result is very low salt and lots more garlic flavor. Adding granulated onion also helps, as does good paprika. But now we are starting to het into the low/no salt spice/herb blends. Sea salt, higher in necessary minerals is usually a bit better for you compared to regular refined salt. If you live near oceans, don't use any salt that also contains iodine.

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ksrogers wrote, "Recently, doctors are now aware that salt really doesn't affect blood pressure very much."

Not only is this flat-out wrong, it is dangerous and irresponsible to post in response to someone who indicates their doctor has put them on a low salt diet for [elevated] blood pressure."

I have been eating almost no added salt for over 9 months now and included herbs and lemon juice. I have recently made the mistake of adding too much himalayan pink salt to my own cooked food and still ate it. I swelled up the next day. water retention. I didnt realize it till day 3, i was still eating that salty food, i had added sugar to it to negate the salty taste, i know very stupid thing to do, but i was not willing to make a new batch of veggies. 3rd day i threw that food away and went back to how i use to eat and incorporated fruit and water even more than before. it took 10 days before my swelling stopped, i even lost 5 kg... just water i guess. even the doctor didn't know what it was (figures :/ ) so to all you i would like to add this link about a couple that explained it so good and made me understand what was happening in my body. This took the fear away and I am all better now. And aware that if my tongue finds food too salty I dont eat it. period! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyRvJ0txeXE